2014-27457. 30-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: HOPE VI Public Housing Programs

AGENCY:

Office of the Chief Information Officer, HUD.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

HUD has submitted the proposed information collection requirement described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. The purpose of this notice is to allow for an additional 30 days of public comment.

DATES:

Comments Due Date: December 19, 2014.

ADDRESSES:

Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding this proposal. Comments should refer to the proposal by name and/or OMB Control Number and should be sent to: HUD Desk Officer, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive Office Building, Washington, DC 20503; fax: [phone]. Email: [e-mail].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Colette Pollard, Reports Management Officer, QDAM, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street SW., Washington, DC 20410; email at Colette [e-mail] or telephone [phone]. Persons with hearing or speech impairments may access this number through TTY by calling the toll-free Federal Relay Service at [phone]. This is not a toll-free number. Copies of available documents submitted to OMB may be obtained from Ms. Pollard.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

This notice informs the public that HUD has submitted to OMB a request for approval of the information collection described in Section A.

The Federal Register notice that solicited public comment on the information collection for a period of 60 days was published on September 17, 2014.

A. Overview of Information Collection

Title of Information Collection: HOPE VI Public Housing Program.

OMB Approval Number: 2577-0208.

Type of Request: Reinstatement with change of a previously approved collection.

Form Number: HUD-52774, HUD-52780, HUD 52785, HUD-52787, HUD-52798, HUD-52790, HUD-52797, HUD-52799, HUD-52800, HUD-52825-A, HUD-52860-A, HUD-52861, HUD-53001-A, HUD 96010, and HUD 96011.

Description of the need for the information and proposed use: Section 24 of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937, as added by section 535 of the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998 (Pub. L. 105-276, 112 Stat. 2461, approved October 21, 1998) and revised by the HOPE VI Program Reauthorization and Small Community Main Street Rejuvenation and Housing Act of 2003 (Pub. L. 108-186, 117 Stat. 2685, approved December 16, 2003), establishes the HOPE VI program for the purpose of making assistance available on a competitive basis to public housing agencies (PHAs) in improving the living environment for public housing residents of severely distressed public housing projects through the demolition, rehabilitation, reconfiguration, or replacement of severely distressed public housing projects (or portions thereof); in revitalizing areas in which public housing sites are located, and contributing to the improvement of the surrounding community; in providing housing that avoids or decreases the concentration of very low-income families; and in building sustainable communities. In addition, the HOPE VI Program Reauthorization and Small Community Main Street Rejuvenation and Housing Act of 2003 added to the HOPE VI program the purpose of making assistance available on a competitive basis to small units of local government to develop affordable housing as part of Main Street rejuvenation projects. The program authorization was renewed by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010 (Pub. L. 111-117, approved December 16, 2009), which extends the program until September 30, 2011. Under this requirement, the Department only has a few months to award and obligate the 2011 funds or they will be returned to the Treasury. These information collections are required in connection with the annual publication in the Federal Register of Notices of Funding Availability (NOFAs), contingent upon available funding and authorization, which announce the availability of funds provided in annual appropriations for HOPE VI Revitalization, Demolition grants, and HOPE VI Main Street grants.

Eligible public housing agencies (PHAs) (for HOPE VI Revitalization and Demolition) and eligible local units of government (for HOPE VI Main Street) interested in obtaining HOPE VI grants are required to submit applications to HUD, as explained in each program NOFA. The information collection conducted in the applications enables HUD to conduct a comprehensive, merit-based selection process in order to identify and select the applications to receive funding. With the use of HUD-prescribed forms, the information collection provides HUD with sufficient information to approve or disapprove applications.

Applicants that are awarded HOPE VI grants are required to report on a quarterly basis on the sources and uses of all amounts expended for revitalization, demolition, or Main Street activities. HOPE VI Revitalization grantees use a fully-automated, Internet-based process for the submission of quarterly reporting information. HUD reviews and evaluates the collected information and uses it as a primary tool with which to monitor the status of HOPE VI Revitalization projects and the HOPE VI Revitalization program.

Members of affected public: Public Housing Agencies.

Estimation of the total number of hours needed to prepare the information collection including number of respondents, frequency of response, and hours of response:

For HOPE VI Revitalization Application: 30 respondents, once annually, 195.5 hours average per response results in a total annual reporting burden of 5,865.0 hours.

For HOPE VI Demolition Applications: 34 respondents, once annually, 40.25 hours average per response results in a total annual reporting burden of 1,368.50 hours.

For HOPE VI Main Street Applications: 15 respondents, once annually, 48.67 hours average per response results in a total annual reporting burden of 675.0 hours.

For HOPE VI Revitalization Quarterly Reporting: 207 respondents, 4 times annually, 20 hours average per response results in a total annual reporting burden of 16,560 hours.

Grand total: These information collections, along with other Non-NOFA information collection items required in connection with the HOPE VI program including budget updates, supportive services and relocation plans, and cost certificates result in an annual total reporting burden of 26,516.00 hours.

B. Solicitation of Public Comment

This notice is soliciting comments from members of the public and affected parties concerning the collection of information described in Section A on the following:

(1) 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) The accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information;

(3) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and

(4) Ways to 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.

HUD encourages interested parties to submit comment in response to these questions.

Authority: Section 3507 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35.

Dated: November 13, 2014.

Colette Pollard,

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