2023-07369. Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing; Extension of Comment Period

AGENCY:

Office of the Secretary, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

ACTION:

Proposed rule; extension of comment period.

SUMMARY:

On February 9, 2023, HUD published in the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking entitled “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing”, proposing to implement the obligation to affirmatively further the purposes and policies of the Fair Housing Act, which is title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, with respect to certain recipients of HUD funds. The proposed rule provided for a 60-day comment period, which would have ended April 10, 2023. HUD has determined that a 14-day extension of the comment period, until April 24, 2023, is appropriate. This extension will allow interested persons additional time to analyze the proposal and prepare their comments.

DATES:

The comment period for the proposed rule published on February 9, 2023, at 88 FR 8516, is extended. Comments should be received on or before April 24, 2023.

ADDRESSES:

Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding this proposed rule to the Regulations Division, Office of General Counsel, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street SW, Room 10276, Washington, DC 20410–0500. Communications must refer to the above docket number and title. There are two methods for submitting public comments. All submissions must refer to the above docket number and title.

1. Submission of Comments by Mail. Comments may be submitted by mail to the Regulations Division, Office of General Counsel, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street SW, Room 10276, Washington, DC 20410–0500.

2. Electronic Submission of Comments. Interested persons may submit comments electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov. HUD strongly encourages commenters to submit comments electronically. Electronic submission of comments allows the commenter maximum time to prepare and submit a comment, ensures timely receipt by HUD, and enables HUD to make them immediately available to the public. Comments submitted electronically through the www.regulations.gov website can be viewed by other commenters and interested members of the public. Commenters should follow the instructions provided on that site to submit comments electronically.

Note:

To receive consideration as public comments, comments must be submitted through one of the two methods specified above. Again, all submissions must refer to the docket number and title of the rule.

No Facsimile Comments: Facsimile (FAX) comments are not acceptable.

Public Inspection of Comments. All properly submitted comments and communications submitted to HUD will be available for public inspection and copying between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays at the above address. Due to security measures at the HUD Headquarters building, an advance appointment to review the public comments must be scheduled by calling the Regulations Division at 202–402–3055 (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 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 all comments submitted are available for inspection and downloading at www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Tiffany Johnson, Director, Policy and Legislative Initiatives Division, Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street SW, Room 5250, Washington, DC 20410–8000, telephone number 202–402–2881 (this is not a toll-free number). Individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing and individuals with speech impairments may access this number via TTY by calling the toll-free Federal Relay Service during working hours at 1–800–877–8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

On February 9, 2023, at 88 FR 8516, HUD published a notice of proposed rulemaking entitled “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing”, proposing to implement the obligation to affirmatively further the purposes and policies of the Fair Housing Act with respect to certain recipients of HUD funds (the proposed rule). The Fair Housing Act not only prohibits discrimination, but also directs HUD to ensure that the agency and its program participants will proactively take meaningful actions to overcome patterns of segregation, promote fair housing choice, eliminate disparities in housing-related opportunities, and foster inclusive communities that are free from discrimination.

The proposed rule builds on the steps previously taken in HUD's 2015 Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) final rule (“2015 AFFH Rule”) ^[1] to implement the AFFH obligation and ensure that Federal funding is used in a systematic way to further the policies and goals of the Fair Housing Act. HUD proposed to retain much of the 2015 AFFH Rule's core planning process, with certain improvements such as a more robust community engagement requirement, a streamlined required analysis, greater transparency, and an increased emphasis on goal setting and measuring progress. It also includes mechanisms to hold program participants accountable for achieving positive fair housing outcomes and complying with their obligation to affirmatively further fair housing, modeled after those processes under other Federal civil rights statutes that apply to recipients of Federal financial assistance.

While the proposed rule had a 60-day comment period, HUD has received feedback from multiple commenters requesting additional time to review and provide comments on this rule. Therefore, HUD is extending the deadline for comments for an additional 14 days.

Aaron Santa Anna,

Associate General Counsel for Legislation and Regulations.

Footnotes

1.  80 FR 42271.