2015-30681. Semiannual Regulatory Agenda

AGENCY:

Department of Housing and Urban Development.

ACTION:

Semiannual regulatory agenda.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with section 4(b) of Executive Order 12866, “Regulatory Planning and Review,” as amended, HUD is publishing its agenda of regulations already issued or that are expected to be issued during the next several months. The agenda also includes rules currently in effect that are under review and describes those regulations that may affect small entities, as required by section 602 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act. The purpose of publication of the agenda is to encourage more effective public participation in the regulatory process by providing the public with advance information about pending regulatory activities.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Aaron Santa Anna, Assistant General Counsel for Regulations, Office of General Counsel, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street SW., Room 10276, Washington, DC 20410-0500; telephone number 202-708-3055. (This is not a toll-free number.) A telecommunications device for hearing- and speech-impaired individuals (TTY) is available at 800-877-8339 (Federal Relay Service).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Executive Order 12866, “Regulatory Planning and Review” (58 FR 51735), as amended, requires each department or agency to prepare semiannually an agenda of: (1) Regulations that the department or agency has issued or expects to issue, and; (2) rules currently in effect that are under departmental or agency review. The Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601-612) requires each department or agency to publish semiannually a regulatory agenda of rules expected to be proposed or promulgated that are likely to have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of “small entities,” meaning small businesses, small organizations, or small governmental jurisdictions. Executive Order 12866 and the Regulatory Flexibility Act permit incorporation of the agenda required by these two authorities with any other prescribed agenda.

HUD's regulatory agenda combines the information required by Executive Order 12866 and the Regulatory Flexibility Act. As in the past, HUD's complete Unified Agenda will be available online at www.reginfo.gov,, in a format that offers users a greatly enhanced ability to obtain information from the Agenda database. While publication in the Federal Register is mandated for the regulatory flexibility agendas by the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 602), the Department notes that its Fall 2015 Unified Agenda does not list any rules expected to be proposed or promulgated that are likely to have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of “small entities.”

The Department is subject to certain rulemaking requirements set forth in the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act (42 U.S.C. 3531 et seq.). Section 7(o) of the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act (42 U.S.C. 3535(o)) requires that the Secretary transmit to the congressional committees having jurisdictional oversight of HUD (the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and the House Committee on Financial Services), a semiannual agenda of all rules or regulations that are under development or review by the Department. A rule appearing on the agenda cannot be published for comment before or during the first 15 calendar days after transmittal of the agenda. Section 7(o) provides that if, within that period, either committee notifies the Secretary that it intends to review any rule or regulation that appears on the agenda, the Secretary must submit to both committees a copy of the rule or regulation, in the form that it is intended to be proposed, at least 15 calendar days before it is to be published for comment. The semiannual agenda posted on www.reginfo.gov is the agenda transmitted to the committees in compliance with the above requirements.

HUD has attempted to list in this agenda all regulations and regulatory reviews pending at the time of publication, except for minor and routine or repetitive actions, but some may have been inadvertently omitted, or may have arisen too late to be included in the published agenda. There is no legal significance to the omission of an item from this agenda. Also, where a date is provided for the next rulemaking action, the date is an estimate and is not a commitment to act on or by the date shown.

In some cases, HUD has withdrawn rules that were placed on previous agendas for which there has been no publication activity. Withdrawal of a rule does not necessarily mean that HUD will not proceed with the rulemaking. Withdrawal allows HUD to assess the subject matter further and determine whether rulemaking in that area is appropriate. Following such an assessment, the Department may determine that certain rules listed as withdrawn under this agenda are appropriate. If that determination is made, such rules will be included in a succeeding semiannual agenda.

In addition, for a few rules that have been published as proposed or interim rules and which, therefore, require further rulemaking, HUD has identified the timing of the next action stage as “undetermined.” These are rules that are still under review by HUD for which a determination and timing of the next action stage have not yet been made.

Since the purpose of publication of the agenda is to encourage more effective public participation in the regulatory process by providing the public with early information about the Department's future regulatory actions, HUD invites all interested members of the public to comment on the rules listed in the agenda.

Dated: September 30, 2015.

Tonya Robinson,

Principal Deputy General Counsel.

Office of Housing—Proposed Rule Stage

Sequence No.	Title	Regulation Identifier No.
311	24 CFR 3280 Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards (FR-5739)	2502-AJ34

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT (HUD)

Office of Housing (OH)

Proposed Rule Stage

311. • Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards (FR-5739)

Legal Authority: 42 U.S.C. 5401 et seq.; 42 U.S.C. 3535(d)

Abstract: This proposed rule would amend the Federal Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards by adopting certain recommendations made to HUD by the Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee (MHCC). The National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974 (the Act) requires HUD to publish all proposed revised construction and safety standards submitted by the MHCC. This proposed rule is based on the third set of MHCC recommendations to update and improve various aspects of the Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards. HUD has reviewed those proposals and has made several editorial revisions to the proposals which were reviewed and accepted by the MHCC. This rule proposes to add new standards that would establish requirements for carbon monoxide detection, stairways, fire safety considerations for attached garages, and for draftstops when there is a usable space above and below the concealed space of a floor/ceiling assembly and would establish requirements for venting systems to ensure that proper separation is maintained between the air intake and exhaust systems.

Timetable:

Action	Date	FR Cite
NPRM	03/00/16

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: Yes.

Agency Contact: Richard Mendlen, Structural Engineer, Office of Manufactured Housing Programs, Office of Housing, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Housing, 451 7th Street SW., Washington, DC 20410, Phone: [phone].

RIN: 2502-AJ34