[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 34 (Friday, February 18, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-3687]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: February 18, 1994]
BILLING CODE 4210-33-P
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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
[Docket No. D-94-1049; FR-3597-D-01]
Redelegation of Authority for the Issuance of Waivers of Office
of Public and Indian Housing Directives
AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian
Housing, HUD.
NOTICE: Notice of redelegation of authority.
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SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing is
redelegating to all HUD Field Office Public Housing Division Directors,
and the Director, Office of Native American Programs, and, in turn the
Directors, Offices of Indian Programs (waiver officials), the authority
to issue waivers of Office of Public and Indian Housing directives. A
similar redelegation of authority for Office of Housing Directives was
recently signed by the Assistant Security for Housing-Federal Housing
Commissioner and published in the Federal Register.
EFFECTIVE DATE: Februry 9, 1994.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mildred M. Hamman, Directives
Management Officer, Office of Public and Indian Housing, Department of
Housing and Urban Development, room 4244, 451 7th Street SW.,
Washington, DC 20410, telephone (202) 708-0846. (This is not a toll-
free number.)
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 106 of the Department of Housing and
Urban Development Reform Act of 1989 (Pub. L. 101-235, approved
December 15, 1989) (HUD Reform Act), amended section 7 of the
Department of Housing and Urban Development Act (42 U.S.C. 3535) (HUD
Act) by adding section 7(q), governing circumstances upon which the
Department may issue waives of regulations and handbooks. According to
section 7(q)(2), only an individual of Assistant Secretary rank or the
equivalent may waive a regulation. This redelegation of authority does
not address the authority to waive regulations.
With respect to handbooks, section 7(q)(4) states that a waiver of
a provision of a handbook must:
(A) Be in writing;
(B) Specify the grounds for approving the waivers; and
(C) Be maintained in indexed form and made available for public
inspection for not less than the 3-year period beginning on the date of
the waiver.
On April 22, 1991, at 56 FR 16337, HUD published a Statement of
Policy implementing section 106 of the HUD Reform Act. The notice
stated that although new section 7(q)(4) of the HUD Act only addressed
``handbooks'', HUD would apply this term to all of the Department's
directives in order to give section 7(q)(4) ``the widest possible
coverage.'' Therefore, the term ``directive'' was defined in the notice
as follows:
Directives means a Handbook (including a change or supplement),
notice, interim notice, special directive, and any other issuance
that the Department may classify as a directive.
HUD's Statement of Policy also indicated that the authority to
waive directives may be delegated to any officer or employee in the
issuing official's organization, as well as to any officer or employee
in a Field or Regional Office. This Statement of Policy, therefore,
effectively delegated to each Assistant Secretary, the official
responsible for issuing directives, the authority to waive directives.
The current process of reviewing waiver requests in headquarters
frequently adds an unnecessary layer to a procedure that can be
adequately carried out at the field level. Officials in the field are
often best situated to assess, and react promptly to, requests for
relief from administrative requirements of general application, where
specific circumstances, unanticipated under the directive, warrant a
departure from the ordinary standard.
Therefore, in keeping with the stated objectives of the Secretary
of Housing and Urban Development to improve the efficiency and enhance
the productivity of the Department, the Assistant Secretary for Public
and Indian Housing is redelegating the authority to waive Office of
Public and Indian Housing directives to all waiver officials, effective
immediately, with the following exceptions:
1. A directive, or portion thereof, that restates a statutory,
regulatory or contractual provision;
2. A directive, or portion thereof, that requires a HUD field
office action to be performed (such as a mandatory process to determine
the frequency of monitoring visits at housing agencies);
3. OMB approved HUD forms, reporting requirements, and the use of
prescribed forms for the collection and reporting of national data; and
4. A Notice of Funding Availability and associated processing
instructions.
All Directors to whom waiver authority is hereby redelegated must
comply with the policies and procedures for waiving directives set out
in the Statement of Policy. Waiver officials are cautioned against the
development of local requirements, processes, or procedures to replace
those that are waived, which would counteract the intent of the waiver
process.
This redelegation of the authority does not except any public and
Indian housing programs or program components. If, however, the
Assistant Secretary elects at a later time to except a new program, the
redelegation accompanying the new program will state that the authority
to waive directives concerning this program is not redelegated. Also,
the Assistant Secretary may at a later time elect to modify or withdraw
in its entirety the authority to waive directives redelegated herein.
Before approval of a request for a waiver of a directive, the
waiver official will consult with the HUD counsel in the field office
and request written approval that the directive at issue is one that
can be lawfully waived. For example, a directive, or portion thereof,
which restates provisions of a regulation cannot be waived by waiver
officials. Finally, waiver officials must observe management control
procedures designed to prevent fraud, waste and mismanagement when
considering a waiver request.
Waiver officials are required to submit a copy of each waiver
justification both to the Departmental Directives Management Officer,
Office of Administrative and Management Services--ASES, Office of
Administration, room 5286 and to Office of Public and Indian Housing,
Attention: Directives Management Officer, within 30 calendar days after
issuance of the waiver. The waiver justification must cite the specific
directive, or provision thereof, being waived, include a statement that
the HUD field office counsel considers the waiver lawful, the time
period the waiver shall be in effect (if not indefinitely), as well as
the reason(s) for granting the waiver. This is so because HUD is
required by statute to maintain a record of all such waivers and make
them available for public inspection. The Office of Public and Indian
Housing will periodically review all waivers to assess such matters as:
(a) Whether a particular directive (or provision thereof) warrants
revision (because, for example, the exception should become the rule),
and (b) whether there is consistency.
Accordingly, the Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing
redelegates as follows:
Section A. Authority Redelegated
The Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing redelegates
to all HUD Field Office Public Housing Division Directors, the
Director, Office of Native American Programs and, in turn, the
Directors, Offices of Indian Programs (waiver officials), the authority
to issue waivers of Office of Public and Indian Housing directives.
Section B. Authority Excepted
1. A directive, or portion thereof, that restates a statutory,
regulatory or contractual provision;
2. A directive, or portion thereof, that requires a HUD field
office action;
3. OMB approved HUD forms, reporting requirements, and the use of
prescribed forms for the collection and reporting of national data; and
4. A Notice of Funding Availability and associated processing
instructions.
Section C. No Further Redelegation
The authority granted to waiver officials under this redelegation
may not be further redelegated pursuant to this redelegation.
Authority: Sec. 7(d), Department of Housing and Urban
Development Act (42 U.S.C. 3535(d)), and sec. 7(q), Department of
Housing and Urban Development Act (42 U.S.C. 3535(q).
Dated: February 9, 1994.
Joseph Shuldiner,
Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing.
[FR Doc. 94-3687 Filed 2-17-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-33-M
