[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 131 (Monday, July 8, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35802-35803]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-17174]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and
Development
[Docket No. FR-4096-D-01]
Redelegation of Authority; Waiver of Directives
AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and
Development, HUD.
ACTION: Notice of redelegation of authority.
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SUMMARY: In this notice, the Assistant Secretary for Community Planning
and Development redelegates to the Secretary's Representatives for
HUD's Field Offices the same waiver authority of directives and
handbook provisions pertaining to Community Planning and Development
(CPD) programs, as provided to the CPD Program Directors in the HUD
Field Offices. The Secretary's Representatives may further redelegate
the authority to waive directives and handbook provisions to State and
Area Coordinators within their geographic area.
EFFECTIVE DATE: June 28, 1996.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Joseph F. Smith, Director, Office of Executive Services, Office of
Community Planning and Development, Department of Housing and Urban
Development, Room 7208, 451 7th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20410,
telephone numbers (202) 708-1283 (voice), (202) 708-1455 (TTY). These
are not toll-free numbers.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purposes of this redelegation is to
provide the Secretary's Representatives with the same authority to
waive directives, including handbook provisions, redelegated to CPD
Program Directors in the Field Offices, and with the authority to
further redelegate to State and Area Coordinators. This redelegation
does not supersede the Department's Statement of Policy published on
April 22, 1991, at 56 FR 16337, entitled ``Waiver of Regulations and
Directives Issued by HUD.''
Department directives mandated by statute, executive order, or
regulation, and those related to civil rights compliance and
enforcement are not within this redelegation. The Secretary is the
ultimate repository of the authority both to issue and to waive the
regulations of the Department. Typically the authority to issue
regulations is delegated to an Assistant Secretary or official or
equivalent rank. Under section 7(q) of the Department of Housing and
Urban Development Act, 42 U.S.C. 3535(q), the Secretary may not
delegate the authority to waive a regulation below the Assistant
Secretary rank. This prohibition even includes individuals who have
been delegated authority concurrent with the Assistant Secretary. Under
circumstances prescribed in the policy statement, the General Counsel
must concur on proposed waivers of regulations subject to section 7(q)
of the HUD Act.
Under HUD's policy statement on waiver of regulations and
directives, Directive means a Handbook (including a change or
supplement), notice, interim
[[Page 35803]]
notice, special directive, and any other issuance that the Department
may classify as a directive. Handbook means a directive that
communicates information of a permanent nature (including clarification
of policies, instructions, guidance, procedures, forms, and reports)
for HUD staff or program participants. Its permanent nature
distinguishes a Handbook from other temporary HUD directives such as
notices.
As part of the Department's continued commitment to empowering
communities, the Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and
Development is redelegating in this document additional authority to
HUD's Secretary's Representatives. Each Secretary's Representative is
redelegated limited authority to issue waivers of Department
directives, including handbook provisions, for CPD program for the
geographic area for which the Secretary's Representatives is
responsible. The Secretary's Representative is concurrently redelegated
the same authority to waive Department directives concerning CPD
programs as reside with the Directors of CPD for the Field Offices in
the geographic area. The Program Director and the Secretary's
Representative must jointly concur in all requests for waivers, whether
the request is granted or denied. If the Secretary's Representative and
the Program Director do not agree, the matter will be referred to the
Assistant Secretary for CPD for resolution. If the Secretary's
Representative further redelegates his or her authority to a State and
Area Coordinator, and the Program Director and State and Area
Coordinator disagree on a waiver request, the State and Area
Coordinator will refer the matter to the Secretary's Representative.
Accordingly, the Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and
Development redelegates as follows:
Section A. Authority redelegated
The Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development
concurrently redelegates to each Secretary's Representative the
following authority to waive Department directors, including handbook
provisions, concerning CPD programs for the geographic area for which
the Secretary's Representative is responsible. This authority includes
the same authority to waive CPD directives as is redelegated to Field
Office Program Directors in the geographic area. The extent of this
waiver authority is currently described in the CPD field reorganization
redelegation at 59 FR 18280 (April 15, 1994), as amended by the
redelegation at 60 FR 30312 (June 8, 1995.) Each waiver granted shall
be in writing, specify the grounds for the waiver, and shall be
transmitted in writing to the Assistant Secretary for CPD. The
Assistant Secretary for CPD will publish any changes or further
amendments to these redelegations.
Section B. Authority to further redelegate
The authority redelegated pursuant to Section A., above, may be
further redelegated to the State and Area Coordinators for the
geographic region of the Secretary's Representative. If the Secretary's
Representative redelegates this authority to a State and Area
Coordinator, the redelegation shall include the requirement that each
waiver granted shall be in writing, specify the grounds for the waiver,
and shall be transmitted in writing simultaneously to the appropriate
Secretary's Representative and to the Assistant Secretary for CPD.
Authority: Sec. 7(d) of the Department of Housing and Urban
Development (42 U.S.C. 3535(d).
Dated: June 28, 1996.
Andrew M. Cuomo,
Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development.
[FR Doc. 96-17174 Filed 7-5-96; 8:45 am]
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