[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 193 (Friday, October 6, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69647-69649]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-22290]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-7065-N-03]


60-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Generic 
Solicitation for Pre-Award Activities for HUD Competitive Discretionary 
Awards; OMB Control No.: 2501-NEW

AGENCY: Office of the Chief Financial Officer, HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: HUD is seeking approval from the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for the information collection described below. In 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, HUD is requesting comment 
from all interested parties on the proposed collection of information. 
The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment.

DATES: Comments Due Date: December 5, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding 
this proposal. Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection can be submitted within 60 days of publication 
of this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this 
particular information collection by selecting ``Currently under 60-day 
Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function. 
Interested persons are also invited to submit comments regarding this 
proposal by name and/or OMB Control Number and can be sent to: Colette 
Pollard, Reports Management Officer, Department of Housing and Urban 
Development, 451 7th Street SW, Room 4176, Washington, DC 20410-5000 or 
email at [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Colette Pollard, Reports Management 
Officer, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street 
SW, Room 4176, Washington, DC 20410-5000; email at 
[email protected] or telephone 202-402-3400 (this is not a toll-
free number). HUD welcomes and is prepared to receive calls from 
individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, as well as individuals 
with speech or communication disabilities. To learn more about how to 
make an accessible telephone call, please visit https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/telecommunications-relay-service-trs. Copies of 
available documents submitted to OMB may be obtained from Ms. Pollard.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice informs the public that the 
Department is soliciting comments prior to submitting the proposed 
information collection to OMB for review, as required by the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35, as amended). HUD is 
seeking approval from OMB for the information collection described in 
Section A.

A. Overview of Information Collection

    Title of Proposal: Generic Solicitation for Pre-Award Activities 
for Applications for HUD Competitive Discretionary Awards.
    Type of Request: New Information Collection Request.
    OMB Control Number, if applicable: 2501-NEW.
    Additional OMB control numbers applicable to government-wide 
standardized forms are also noted in this collection. As the burden is 
accounted for in those separate collections, it is not included in this 
calculation.

SF 424, OMB Control No. 4040-0004
SF 424-A, OMB Control No. 4040-0006
SF 424-B, OMB Control No. 4040-0007
SF 424-C, OMB Control No. 4040-0008
SF 424 D, OMB Control No. 4040-0009
SF LLL, OMB Control No. 4040-0013
Lobbying Form, OMB Control No. 4040-0013
Projects Abstract Summary, OMB Control No. 4040-0019

    Description of the need for the information and proposed use: HUD 
is required by 2 CFR 200.204 to publicly announce the availability of 
discretionary awards that are competed. To ensure grants and 
cooperative agreements are awarded to applicants best suited to perform 
the functions of the awards, applicants are generally

[[Page 69648]]

required to perform two pre-award steps, the submission of the 
application and the negotiation of the individual award terms. The 
first part of HUD's funding applications consists of submitting the 
Standard Form 424 (SF-424), ``Application for Federal Assistance'' 
along with mandatory and optional standard government-wide and HUD 
forms. The burden associated with these government-wide forms are 
reflected in separate OMB-sponsored government-wide information 
collections and are not reflected in this collection.
    After the applicants have been selected as part of an objective 
competition process, HUD usually requires negotiation between HUD and 
the selected applicant to determine the terms of the award. A technical 
proposal (or technical submission) is required during the negotiation 
process. The technical proposal demonstrates the selected applicant's 
capabilities in accordance with the application or statement of work 
submitted with the application and/or selection criteria and other 
related information as specified in the funding announcement.
    The provisions of 2 CFR 200.207 instruct Federal agencies to comply 
with the requirements of 5 CFR part 1320, ``Controlling Paperwork 
Burdens on the Public,'' with regard to all forms or collection of 
additional information used by HUD in place of or as a supplement to 
the SF-424 series.
    Respondents: Applicants for HUD's competitively funded financial 
assistance programs.
    Information Collection/Form Number: SF 424 (4040-0004); SF-424B 
(4040-0007); SF-424D (4040-0009); SF 424A (4040-0006); SF-424C (4040-
0008); SF LLL (4040-0013); Lobbying Form (4040-0013); Project Abstract 
Summary (4040-0019); HUD-424B; HUD-424CB; HUD-424CBW; HUD-424M; HUD-
2880; HUD-50070; Rural Cert; HUD 50153; HUD 2991; HUD 2993; Program 
specific requirements and rating factors (narrative and other 
attachments)
    Estimated Number of Respondents: HUD bases the following estimates 
on historical experience. HUD's average of 45 funding announcements per 
fiscal year will fall under this generic request, plus an expected 
average of 10 NOFOs derived from supplemental funding enacted outside 
of the regular appropriations process. Additionally, the Department 
projects that it will receive approximately 30,000 applications 
annually.
    Frequency of Response: Refer to Table 1.
    Responses per Annum: Refer to Table 1.
    Average Burden Hours per Response: HUD estimates it takes an 
average of 40 working hours to prepare and submit an application in 
grants.gov in response to a funding announcement. For applications 
submitted through esnaps.gov, HUD estimates it takes an average of 100 
working hours, including completing the registration in esnaps.hud.gov, 
preparing and submitting an application and technical submission, and 
proper storage of records.
    Total Estimated Burdens: For purposes of this information 
collection request, the HUD has used the average hourly earnings of a 
Project Management Specialist ($48.85 per hour) to monetize the value 
of respondent time. Therefore, the burden for these reporting 
activities is as follows using average response times:

30,000 applications * 140 hours * 1.2 frequency = 5,040,000 hours
5,040,000 hours * $48.85 = $246,204,000


                                                        Table 1--Estimated Burden for Respondents
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 Information collection (OMB control     Number of     Frequency of    Responses per    Burden hour     Annual burden     Hourly cost
                No.)                    respondents      response          annum       per response         hours        per response      Annual cost
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SF 424 (4040-0004)..................               0               0  ..............               0                 0              $0                $0
SF-424B (4040-0007).................               0               0  ..............               0                 0               0                 0
SF-424D (4040-0009).................               0               0  ..............               0                 0               0                 0
SF 424A (4040-0006).................               0               0  ..............               0                 0               0                 0
SF-424C (4040-0008).................               0               0  ..............               0                 0               0                 0
SF LLL (4040-0013)..................               0               0  ..............               0                 0               0                 0
Lobbying Form (4040-0013)...........               0               0  ..............               0                 0               0                 0
Project Abstract Summary (4040-0019)               0               0  ..............               0                 0               0                 0
HUD-424B............................          30,000             1.2          36,000             0.5         18,000.00           48.85        879,300.00
HUD-424CB...........................           1,375             1.2           1,650               3          4,950.00           48.85        241,807.50
HUD-424CBW..........................           1,375             1.2           1,650               3          4,950.00           48.85        241,807.50
HUD-424M............................             250             1.2             300             0.5            150.00           48.85          7,327.50
HUD-2880............................          30,000             1.2          36,000               2         72,000.00           48.85      3,517,200.00
HUD-50070...........................          30,000             1.2          36,000            0.25          9,000.00           48.85        439,650.00
Rural Certification.................             800             1.2             960            0.50            480.00           48.85         23,448.00
HUD 50153...........................             800             1.2             960            0.25            240.00           48.85         11,724.00
HUD 2991............................          30,000             1.2          36,000               3        108,000.00           48.85      5,275,800.00
HUD 2993............................          30,000             1.2          36,000            0.25          9,000.00           48.85        439,650.00
Program specific requirements and             30,000             1.2          36,000             127      4,572,000.00           48.85    223,342,200.00
 rating factors (narrative and other
 attachments).......................
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    HUD bases the following estimates on historical experience. HUD 
estimates it takes an average of 30 working hours for HUD to complete 
its pre-award activities associated with competitive applications, 
including parts 1 and 2 of the pre-award process. This includes 
activities related to proper storage of related records. For purposes 
of this information collection request, HUD has used a GS 13 step 5 
rate ($51.25 per hour) to monetize the value of HUD time. Therefore, 
the burden for pre-award activities is as follows using average 
response times:

30,000 applications * 30 hours * 1.2 frequency = 1,080,000 hours
1,080,000 hours * $51.25 = $55,350,000

    If the Department incurs any unique start-up or operational and 
maintenance costs with the collection of information covered by this 
ICR, HUD will include them on the request to OMB.

B. Solicitation of Public Comment

    This notice is soliciting comments from members of the public and 
affecting agencies concerning the proposed collection of information 
to: (1) Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the

[[Page 69649]]

functions of the agency, including whether the information will have 
practical utility; (2) Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate 
of the burden of the proposed collection of information; (3) Enhance 
the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; 
and (4) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those 
who are to respond; including through the use of appropriate automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., 
permitting electronic submission of responses.

C. Authority

    The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. chapter 35, as 
amended.

Daniel Ballard,
Acting Deputy Chief Financial Officer, Office of the Chief Financial 
Officer.
[FR Doc. 2023-22290 Filed 10-5-23; 8:45 am]
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