Public and Indian housing: Section 8 Housing Certificate Fund Rule Negotiated Rulemaking Committee— Establishment and meeting,

[Federal Register: April 26, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 79)]

[Proposed Rules]

[Page 20232-20234]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr26ap99-38]

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

24 CFR Chapter IX

[Docket No. FR-4459-N-03]

Section 8 Housing Certificate Fund Rule; Notice of Establishment of Negotiated Rulemaking Committee and Notice of First Meeting

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing, HUD.

ACTION: Establishment of Negotiated Rulemaking Advisory Committee and notice of first meeting.

SUMMARY: HUD announces the establishment of a negotiated

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rulemaking advisory committee under the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The establishment of the committee is required by the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998, which requires issuance of regulations under the Negotiated Rulemaking Act of 1990. The purpose of the Committee is to discuss and negotiate a rule that would change the current method of distributing funds to public housing agencies (PHAs) for purposes of renewing assistance contracts in the tenant-based Section 8 program. The committee will consist of persons representing stakeholder interests in the outcome of the rule. This notice announces the committee members and the dates, location, and agenda for the first committee meeting.

DATES: The first committee meeting will be held on April 27 and 28, 1999. On both days, the meeting will begin at approximately 9:00 am and conclude at approximately 5:00 pm.

ADDRESSES: The first committee meeting will take place at the Hyatt Dulles Hotel (Concorde Ballroom), 2300 Dulles Corner Boulevard, Herndon, VA 22701.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Dalzell, Senior Program Advisor, Office of Public and Assisted Housing Delivery, Office of Public and Indian Housing, Room 4204, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC 20410-0500; telephone (202) 708-1380 (this telephone number is not toll-free). Hearing or speech-impaired individuals may access this number via TTY by calling the toll-free Federal Information Relay Service at 1-800- 877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. Background

   On October 21, 1998, the Congress enacted the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998 (Pub. L. 105-276, 112 Stat. 2461) (the ``1998 Act''). The 1998 Act made significant changes to HUD's public and assisted housing programs. These changes include the addition of a new section 8(dd) to the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437 et seq.).

   The new section 8(dd) specifies the method to be used by HUD in calculating assistance provided to public housing agencies (PHAs) to renew Section 8 tenant-based rental and voucher contracts. Specifically, section 8(dd) directs HUD to establish an allocation baseline amount of assistance (budget authority) to cover the renewals, and to apply an inflation factor (based on local or regional factors) to the baseline.

   Section 556(b) of the 1998 Act requires HUD to implement section 8(dd) through notice not later than December 31, 1998, and to issue final regulations on this subject that are developed through the negotiated rulemaking process no later than October 21, 1999. On December 30, 1998, HUD issued Public and Indian Housing (PIH) Notice 98-65, which advised PHAs on how HUD is calculating the amount of assistance available for purposes of Section 8 tenant-based rental certificate and voucher contract renewals. On February 18, 1999 (64 FR 8188), HUD published a notice in the Federal Register providing, for the benefit of the public, the contents of PIH Notice 98-65.

   On March 19, 1999 (64 FR 13531), HUD published a notice of intent to establish an advisory committee to discuss and negotiate a proposed rule that would implement new section 8(dd). The basic concept of negotiated rulemaking is to have the agency that is considering drafting a rule bring together representatives of affected interests for face-to-face negotiations that are open to the public. The give- and-take of the negotiation process is expected to foster constructive, creative and acceptable solutions to difficult problems. The March 19, 1999 notice: (1) Advised the public of HUD's intent to establish the negotiated rulemaking committee; (2) solicited public comments on the proposed membership of the committee; and (3) explained how persons could be nominated for membership on the committee.

2. The Negotiated Rulemaking Advisory Committee

   This notice announces HUD's establishment of the Negotiated Rulemaking Advisory Committee on Section 8 Tenant-Based Contract Renewal Allocation. As noted above, the March 19, 1999 notice tentatively identified a list of possible interests and parties to be represented on the negotiated rulemaking committee, and requested public comment on the proposed committee membership. The public comment period on the March 19, 1999 notice closed on April 19, 1999. HUD has carefully considered the 10 comments received on the proposed committee membership.

   The list of committee members includes representatives from PHAs, public interest groups, national/regional PHA associations, independent accounting firms, and HUD. Additionally, five members of the Consensus Building Institute, Inc. will serve as facilitators. The list of members for the Negotiated Rulemaking Advisory Committee on Section 8 Tenant-Based Contract Renewal Allocation is as follows:

   Housing Agencies

   1. Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development, Boston, MA 2. New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, Trenton, NJ 3. Southeastern Minnesota Multi-County Housing and Redevelopment Authority, Wabasha, MN 4. Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency, Oklahoma City, OK 5. Fort Worth Housing Authority, Fort Worth, TX 6. Minneapolis Metropolitan Council Housing and Redevelopment Agency, Saint Paul, MN 7. Santa Cruz County Housing Authority, Santa Cruz, CA 8. Burlington Housing Authority, Burlington, VT 9. Michigan State Housing Development Authority, Lansing, MI 10. New York City Housing Authority, NYC, NY 11. Atlanta Housing Authority, Atlanta, GA 12. Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority, Cincinnati OH 13. Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 14. Stillwater Housing Authority, Stillwater, OK 15. Spokane Housing Authority, Spokane, WA 16. Jacksonville Housing Authority, Jacksonville, FL 17. FCHA, Bay County, FL 18. Alameda County Housing Authority, Alameda, CA 19. Housing Authority of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA 20. Stustman County Housing Authority, Stustman County, ND

   Public Interest Groups

   1. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Washington, D.C. 2. New Community Corporation, Newark, NJ 3. Disability Rights Action Coalition for Housing 4. Section 8 Residents Council of New Orleans, Inc., New Orleans, LA

   Independent Accounting Firms

   1. Fenton, Ewald & Associates, PC 2. Orion Consulting, Inc.

   National/Regional PHA Associations

   1. National Leased Housing Association (NLHA) 2. National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) 3. Council of Large Public Housing Authorities (CLPHA)

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   4. Public Housing Authority Directors Association (PHADA)

   Federal Government

   1. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

   In addition to the list of committee members noted above, HUD has identified the following two organizations as possible alternate or additional members of the negotiated rulemaking committee:

   1. Southeast Regional Section 8 Housing Association (SERSHA) 2. Richmond Better Housing Coalition, Richmond, VA

3. First Committee Meeting

   The first meeting of the negotiated rulemaking committee will be held on April 27 and April 28, 1999. On both days, the meeting is expected to start at 9 am and run until approximately 5 pm. On both days, the meeting will take place at the Hyatt Dulles Hotel (Concorde Ballroom), 2300 Dulles Corner Boulevard, Herndon, VA 22701.

   The agenda planned for the meeting includes: (1) orienting members to the negotiated rulemaking process; (2) establishing a basic set of understandings and ground rules (protocols) regarding the process that will be followed in seeking a consensus; and (3) discussion of the issues relating to the development of regulations implementing new section 8(dd).

   The meeting will be open to the public without advance registration. Public attendance may be limited to the space available. Members of the public may make statements during the meeting, to the extent time permits, and file written statements with the committee for its consideration. Written statements should be submitted to the address listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION section of this document. Summaries of committee meetings will be available for public inspection and copying at the address in the same section.

   In accordance with the General Services Administration (GSA) regulations implementing the Federal Advisory Committee Act, HUD normally publishes a Federal Register meeting document at least 15 calendar days before the date of an advisory committee meeting (see 41 CFR 105-54.301(i)). The GSA regulations, however, also provide that an agency may give less than 15 days document if the reasons for doing so are included in the Federal Register meeting document. (See 41 CFR 105- 54.301(j).) Given the strict statutory deadline for implementation of new section 8(dd), HUD believes it is imperative that the negotiations for development of the regulations begin as soon as possible. Failure to publish the final rule on a timely basis will delay the provision of Section 8 tenant-based renewal funding to PHAs. Accordingly, rather than defer the start of the negotiations, HUD has decided to proceed with the committee meeting announced in the March 19, 1999 notice.

   Dated: April 21, 1999. Harold Lucas, Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing.

   [FR Doc. 99-10461Filed4-23-99; 8:45 am]

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