[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 36 (Wednesday, February 23, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10044-10045]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-4030]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-5487-N-03]


Notice of Proposed Information Collection for Public Comment 
Public Housing Assessment System Appeals, Technical Reviews and 
Database Adjustments

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

ACTION: Notice.

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

DATES: Comments Due Date: April 25, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding 
this proposal. Comments should refer to the proposal by name/or OMB 
Control number and should be sent to: Colette Pollard, Department 
Reports Management Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer, 
Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street, SW., Room 
4160, Washington, DC 20410-5000; telephone 202.402.3400, (this is not a 
toll-free number) or e-mail Ms. [email protected]. Persons with 
hearing or speech impairments may access this number through TTY by 
calling the toll-free Federal Information Relay Service at (800) 877-
8339. (Other than the HUD USER information line and TTY numbers, 
telephone numbers are not toll-free.)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Arlette Mussington, Office of Policy, 
Programs and Legislative Initiatives, PIH, Department of Housing and 
Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW., (L'Enfant Plaza, Room 
2206), Washington, DC 20410; telephone: 202-402-4109. (This is not a 
toll-free number)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department will submit the proposed 
information collection to OMB for review, as required by the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended). This Notice 
is soliciting comments from members of the public and affected agencies 
concerning the revised 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: Public Housing Assessment System Appeals, 
Technical Reviews and Database Adjustments.
    OMB Control Number: 2577-0257.
    1. Description of the Need for the Information and Proposed Use: 
Section 502 of the National Affordable Housing Act of 1990, as amended 
by the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998 (QHWRA), 
implements section 6(j) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (the 
Act). Section 6(j) establishes specific assessment indicators and 
directs the Secretary to develop additional indicators to assess the 
management performance of public housing agencies (PHAs) in all major 
areas of management operations. The four Public Housing Assessment 
System (PHAS) indicators under the new proposed PHAS rule are: Physical 
condition; financial condition; management operations; and Capital Fund 
Program. A PHA is designated as troubled if it fails to perform under 
the assessment indicators, or if it is unable to administer the program 
for assistance from the Capital Fund Program.
    Pursuant to Sec.  6(j)(2)(A)(iii) of the Act, HUD is required to 
establish procedures

[[Page 10045]]

for a PHA to appeal its troubled designation. The proposed PHAS interim 
rule at Sec.  902.69 provides the opportunity for a PHA to appeal its 
troubled designation, petition for the removal of troubled designation, 
or appeal its score.
    The proposed PHAS interim rule at Sec.  902.68 affords PHAs the 
opportunity to request a technical review of its physical condition 
inspection or, at Sec.  902.24, a database adjustment if certain 
conditions are present. A technical review of the physical condition 
inspection may be requested if a PHA believes that an objectively 
verifiable and material error(s) occurred in the inspection of an 
individual property. A database adjustment may be requested by a PHA 
due to facts and circumstances affecting a project which are not 
reflected in the physical condition inspection or which are reflected 
inappropriately in the physical condition inspection.
    HUD uses the data it collects from program participants (PHAs) to 
evaluate the four individual PHAS indicators and to determine an 
overall PHAS score for each PHA, and to determine the physical 
condition scores for individual projects. The overall PHAS score 
determines if a PHA's performance is high, standard, substandard or 
troubled, including Capital Fund Program troubled. PHAs may request an 
appeal of its overall PHAS score, or a technical review or database 
adjustment of their physical condition score. These requests are 
submitted by letter from the PHA to HUD, and the letter includes 
documentation to justify the request. HUD reviews the request and 
accompanying documentation, and makes a determination as to whether to 
grant or deny the request based on what the PHA has submitted. These 
information collections are described in the proposed PHAS interim 
rule, with thorough definitions of each request. The granting of an 
appeal, technical review or database adjustment may change a PHA's 
designation, usually to a higher level.
    Agency form numbers: None.
    Members of affected public: Public housing agencies.
    Estimation of the total number of hours needed to prepare the 
information collection including number of respondents: 1,700 
respondents annually with 1 response per respondent. Average time per 
response for each form is 5.2 hours and total annual burden hours is 
8,840.
    Status of the proposed information collection: Revision of a 
currently approved collection.

    Authority: Section 3506 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 
44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended.

    Dated: November 22, 2010.
Merrie Nichols-Dixon,
Acting Deputy, Assistant Secretary for Office of Policy, Programs and 
Legislative Initiatives.
[FR Doc. 2011-4030 Filed 2-22-11; 8:45 am]
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