Public Housing Agency Plans and Section 8 Certificate and Voucher Merger Announcement of Public Forums; Solicitation of Additional Public Comment on Relationship of PHA Plans to Consolidated Plan

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

24 CFR Part 903

[Docket No. FR-4420-N-02]

RIN 2577-AB89

Public Housing Agency Plans and Section 8 Certificate and Voucher

Merger Announcement of Public Forums; Solicitation of Additional Public

Comment on Relationship of PHA Plans to Consolidated Plan

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian

Housing, HUD.

ACTION: Interim rule; Public forum.

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SUMMARY: This document announces the dates and locations of the public

forums to be held on HUD's Public Housing Agency (PHA) Plan interim

rule that was published on February 18, 1999, and on HUD's Section 8

certificate and voucher merger interim rule (Section 8 merger) that

will be published in the next several weeks. The statute authorizing

these two rules requires that before HUD issues final rules on these

subjects, HUD will convene at least two public forums for each rule,

and specifically seek recommendations from certain organizations and

individuals, as specified in the statute. This notice also identifies

these organizations and individuals and solicits their recommendations.

DATES: The first public forum will address only the PHA Plan rule and

will be held on May 4, 1999. The second public forum will address both

the PHA Plan rule and the Section 8 merger rule and will be held on May

19, 1999. The third public forum, which also will address both the PHA

Plan rule and the Section 8 merger rule, will be held on June 28, 1999.

An additional public forum that will address only the Section 8 merger

rule will be scheduled for a date after June 28, 1999, and this date

will be announced separately. The exact times of the forums are

provided in the Supplementary Information section of this notice.

ADDRESSES: The first public forum will be held at the Strom Auditorium,

Lower Plaza, Richard B. Russell Federal Building, 75 Spring Street, SW,

Atlanta, Georgia.

The second public forum will be held at Creighton University, Criss

Building (east side of campus), Room 452, 2500 California Plaza, Omaha,

Nebraska.

The third public forum will be held in Syracuse, New York. The

exact location for the third public forum has not yet been determined.

The location for the public forum to be held in Syracuse, New York,

and the location for the additional public forum for the Section 8

merger rule will be announced in a separate notice. (Again, please see

Supplementary Information for times of the meetings.)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: As additional information regarding

these public forums becomes available (specifically, information about

the locations of the third and any subsequent forums), this information

will be posted on the QHWRA page of HUD's website (www.hud.gov/pih/

legis/titlev.html). Information also may be obtained by contacting your

local HUD office, or by contacting the Office of Policy, Program and

Legislative Initiatives, in the Office of Public and Indian Housing,

Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW,

Room 4116, Washington, DC

[[Page 22551]]

20410; telephone (202) 708-0713 (this is not a toll-free number).

Persons with hearing or speech impairments may access that number via

TTY by calling the Federal Information Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

PHA Plan Interim Rule

Section 511 of the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of

1998 (Pub. L. 105-276, 112 Stat. 2461, approved October 21, 1998) (the

1998 Act) added a new section 5A to the United States Housing Act of

1937 (USHA) (42 U.S.C. 1437 et seq.). This new section provides for

public housing agencies (PHAs) to develop and submit to HUD two plans--

a five-year plan and an annual plan on their goals and objectives and

current PHA operations. Section 511 also required HUD to publish,

within 120 days of enactment of the statute, an interim rule

implementing the requirements of the PHA plans and the submission

process. HUD published its interim rule on February 18, 1999 (64 FR

8170). The rule provides for a 60-day public comment period which

closed on April 19, 1999.

Section 511 also requires that before HUD issues its final rule,

HUD will seek recommendations on implementation of the PHA plans from

organizations representing:

(1) State or local public housing agencies;

(2) Residents, including resident management corporations;

(3) Other appropriate parties.

Section 511 also requires HUD to convene not less than two public

forums at which the person or organization making recommendations may

express their views concerning the proposed disposition of their

recommendations.

Through its February 18, 1999 interim rule, HUD specifically sought

rulemaking recommendations from these three categories of organizations

(see 64 FR 8170, middle column), and again seeks their recommendations

through this notice.

Section 8 Certificate and Voucher Merger Rule

Section 545 of the 1998 Act amended section 8(o) of the USHA to

provide for the merger of the Section 8 certificate and voucher

programs. HUD's interim rule implementing the merger of these two

sections will be issued within the next several weeks. In accordance

with section 559 of the 1998 Act, HUD will also hold two public forums

on this rule.

Section 559 provides that the Secretary of HUD shall issue interim

regulations as may be necessary to implement the amendments made by the

1998 Act as these amendments relate to section 8(o) of the USHA.

Section 559 also provides that before the publication of final

regulations, in addition to public comment invited in connection with

the publication of the interim rule, the Secretary shall seek

recommendations on the implementation of sections 8(o)(6(B), 8(o)(7)(B)

and 8(o)(10)(D) of the USHA and on the implementation of the renewals

of expiring tenant-based assistance from organizations representing:

(1) State or local public housing agencies;

(2) Owners and managers of tenant-based housing assisted under

section 8 of the USA;

(3) Families receiving tenant-based assistance under section 8 of

the USHA; and

(4) Legal services organizations.

Section 559 also requires HUD to hold not less than two public

forums at which the individuals and organizations described above may

express views concerning the proposed disposition of the

recommendations.

Through this notice, HUD specifically seeks recommendations on

implementation from these categories of organizations and individuals.

Announcement of Public Forums

First Public Forum--PHA Plan Rule Only. HUD will hold its first

public forum on the PHA Plan interim rule on May 4, 1999, from 9:30 am

to 1:00 pm at the Strom Auditorium, Lower Plaza, Richard B. Russell

Federal Building, 75 Spring Street, SW, Atlanta, Georgia.

Second Public Forum--PHA Plan Rule & Merger Rule. HUD will hold its

second public forum on the PHA Plan interim rule on May 19, 1999, from

1:30 pm to 4:00 pm.

On this same date, May 19, 1999, HUD will hold its first public

forum on the Section 8 Merger rule. The public forum for the merger

rule will be held from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm. (** Please note that the

merger rule will be the first subject of discussion at this second

public forum).

Both public forums will be held at Creighton University, Criss

Building (east side of campus), Room 452, 2500 California Plaza, Omaha,

Nebraska.

Third Public Forum--PHA Plan Rule & Merger Rule. HUD will hold its

third public forum on the PHA Plan interim rule on June 28, 1999, from

9:00 am to 12:00 pm.

On this same date, June 28, 1999, HUD will hold its second public

forum on the Section 8 Merger rule. The public forum for the merger

rule will be held from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm.

Both public forums will be held in Syracuse, New York, at the same

location. The exact location of the public forums in Syracuse has not

yet been determined. HUD will announce the exact location in a separate

notice.

Fourth Public Forum--Merger Rule Only. As noted earlier in this

notice, HUD will hold an additional public forum on the Merger rule for

a date to be scheduled after June 28, 1999. The date of this public

forum on the Merger rule will be announced separately.

Discussions at Public Forums. So that the discussions at the public

forums can be productive as intended by the statute, comments need to

be submitted in as far in advance of the forum dates as possible. The

address where comments may be submitted is provided later in this

notice.

Solicitation of Additional Comment on Relationship of PHA Annual

Plan to Consolidated Plan

In the February 18, 1999 interim rule, HUD stated under the

``Submission Guidance'' for the Housing Needs component of the PHA

Annual Plan (64 FR 8173, right hand column) that PHAs may obtain

information on housing needs from the Consolidated Plan for their

jurisdiction if the Consolidated Plan accurately describes their

housing needs. HUD is considering whether a PHA must obtain this

information from the Consolidated Plan and provide any additional or

supplementary information to the extent that the Consolidated Plan does

not contain the required housing needs information. HUD is aware that

the intent of the Congress was that reliance on the Consolidated Plan

will ensure that the PHA's statement of housing needs is consistent

with the needs described in the Consolidated Plan (the statute requires

this consistency) and should reduce the administrative burden imposed

on PHAs in providing its statement of housing needs. HUD welcomes any

comment on this specific issue, and also on the treatment of any

situation in which the Consolidated Plan needs or priorities do not

match those the PHA would like to identify in its plan, either

substantively or because the jurisdictions in question are not

identical.

Where To Submit Comments for the Forums

Comments on this issue, and recommendations from the three

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categories of organizations may be submitted to the Regulations

Division, Office of General Counsel, Room 10276, Department of Housing

and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC 20410.

Communications should include the following reference: ``PHA Plan

interim rule (FR-4420); Public Forum.''

Future Notices

Again, HUD will issue additional notices to provide the public with

the locations of the third and fourth public forums.

Dated: April 21, 1999.

Harold Lucas,

Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing.

[FR Doc. 99-10462 Filed 4-26-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4210-33-P