03-4036. Notice of Submission of Proposed Information Collection to OMB; Emergency Comment Request; Fair Housing Initiatives Program Application

AGENCY:

Office of the Chief Information Officer.

ACTION:

Notice of proposed information collection.

SUMMARY:

The proposed information collection requirement described below has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for emergency review and approval, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. The Department is soliciting public comments on the subject proposal.

DATES:

Comments Due Date: March 6, 2003.

ADDRESSES:

Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding this proposal. Comments must be received within seven (7) days from the date of this Notice. Comments should refer to the proposal by name/or OMB approval number) and should be sent to: Lauren Wittenberg, HUD Desk Officer, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive Office Building, Washington, DC 20503; e-mail: [e-mail]; fax: [phone].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Wayne Eddins, Reports Management Officer, AYO, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20410; e-mail [e-mail]; telephone [phone]. This is not a toll-free number. Copies of available documents submitted to OMB may be obtained from Mr. Eddins.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

This Notice informs the public that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has submitted to OMB, for emergency processing, a proposed revision to the currently approved information collection for selecting applicants for the Fair Housing Initiatives (FHIP) Program grants.

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 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.

This Notice also lists the following information:

Title of Proposal: Fair Housing Initiatives Program Application.

Description of Information Collection: This is a revision to the currently approved information collection for selecting applicants for the Fair Housing Initiatives (FHIP) Program grants which will be part of the 2003 Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA). These grants are to fund fair housing enforcement and/or education and outreach activities under the following initiatives: Administrative Enforcement; Private Enforcement; Education and Outreach; and Fair Housing Organizations. Proposed revisions to the currently approved collections would include a certification requirement that FHIP funds will not be used to settle a claim, satisfy a judgment, or fulfill a court order in any defensive litigation or that key project personnel have no prior felony convictions or convicted of crimes involving fraud or perjury; descriptions of how program activities will support HUD goals, identify performance measures/outcomes in support of these goals, and identify baseline conditions and target levels of the performance measures that each applicant plans to achieve in reports submitted to HUD. It would also require the submission of two budgets: at 80 percent funding level and at 100 percent funding level.

OMB Control Number: 2529-0033.

Agency Form Numbers: HUD forms 40076-FHIP, 424, 424B, 424C, 424CB, 424CBW, 2880, 2990, 2991, 2993, 2994, and OMB SF LLL.

Members of Affected Public: Not-for-profit institutions, State, Local or Tribal Government, Business or other for-profit.

Estimation of the total numbers of hours needed to prepare the information collection including number of respondents, frequency of responses, and hours of response: An estimation of the total number of hours needed to prepare the information collection is 28,220, number of respondents is 400 frequency response is 4 per annum, and the total hours per respondent is 100.5.

Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended.

Dated: February 13, 2003.

Wayne Eddins,

Departmental Reports Management Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer.