[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 40 (Tuesday, March 1, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 11187-11190]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-4431]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
38 CFR Part 59
RIN 2900-AN77
Due Date of Initial Application Requirements for State Home
Construction Grant
AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This document proposes to amend the Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA) regulation concerning the calendar date that VA must
receive an initial application for a State Home Construction Grant in
order for the application to be included on the
[[Page 11188]]
priority list for the award of grants during the next fiscal year. We
propose to require that initial application materials must be received
by VA on April 15, and not August 15, of the year before the fiscal
year in which the application would be considered for inclusion on the
priority list for the award of grants. Similarly, we propose to require
that a State make its matching funds for a project available by April
15, and not August 15, in order for the project to be placed in
priority group 1 of the priority list for the next fiscal year. The
purpose of these changes is to ensure that VA has sufficient time to
process all applications received and timely prepare the priority list.
We also propose technical revisions to conform with these proposed
revisions.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before May 2, 2011.
ADDRESSES: Written comments may be submitted by email through http://www.regulations.gov; by mail or hand-delivery to Director, Regulations
Management (02REG), Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Ave.,
NW., Room 1068, Washington, DC 20420; or by fax to (202) 273-9026.
Comments should indicate that they are submitted in response to ``RIN
2900-AN77-Due Date of Initial Application Requirements for State Home
Construction Grant.'' Copies of comments received will be available for
public inspection in the Office of Regulation Policy and Management,
Room 1063B, between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through
Friday (except holidays). Please call (202) 461-4902 for an
appointment. (This is not a toll-free number.) In addition, during the
comment period, comments may be viewed online through the Federal
Docket Management System (FDMS) at http://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom Graves, Director (114), State Home
Construction, 810 Vermont Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20420, (202) 461-
6084. (This is not a toll-free number).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under 38 U.S.C. 8131 through 8138, VA is
authorized to award grants to assist States in constructing,
remodeling, altering, or expanding State home facilities that will
furnish specified types of care to veterans. VA has implemented this
statutory authority at 38 CFR part 59.
Under 38 U.S.C. 8135, States that wish to receive assistance for a
State home construction project (or acquisition of an existing facility
to be used as a State home facility) must submit an application that
includes certain information and documentation described in the
statute. VA has implemented the application requirement in current
Sec. 59.20(a), which requires that applicants seeking inclusion on the
priority list for grants awarded during the next fiscal year submit to
VA an original and one copy of a completed VA Form 10-0388-1 and all
information, documentation, and other forms specified by VA Form 10-
0388-1. Under current Sec. 59.20(c), VA encourages the submission of
the application by April 15 but considers any application submitted
before August 16. VA maintains the ``priority list'' pursuant to
current 38 CFR 59.50.
We propose to revise Sec. 59.20(c) to improve the clarity and
efficacy of the application process and to address certain
administrative challenges presented by the current rule. We also
propose to make technical revisions to related provisions in part 59.
First, we propose to change the phrase at the beginning of the
first sentence of Sec. 59.20(c) from ``[t]he information requested
under paragraph (a) of this section'' to ``[t]he items requested under
paragraph (a) of this section''. Paragraph (a) requires the submission
of forms and documentation as well as information, and all of the items
described in paragraph (a) must be timely submitted in order for VA to
consider the project for inclusion on the priority list for the next
fiscal year. Yet, the current rule could be misinterpreted to require
timely submission of only the ``information'' described in paragraph
(a), and not the ``documentation, and other forms specified.'' This is
a technical, clarifying change.
Next, we propose to change the date that initial applications must
be received by VA. Current Sec. 59.20(c) states that applications
``should be submitted to VA by April 15,'' but ``must be received by VA
by August 15'' in order for VA to consider the application on the next
year's priority list. The regulation does not address the distinction
between submission and receipt and does not explain the four-month gap
between the two dates. As a practical matter, this often results in the
items not being received by VA until August 15. At the same time,
current 38 CFR 59.20(d), 59.50(a), and 59.70(b) use the August 15 date
without mentioning the April 15 date, which leads to further confusion
as to which date actually applies.
A U.S. Government fiscal year begins on October 1 of a calendar
year and extends through September 30 of the next calendar year. A
fiscal year carries the date of the calendar year in which it ends. For
example, if a State seeks assistance for a Fiscal Year 2012
construction project, the State's application must be received by VA,
under the current rule, on or before August 15, 2011, so that the
application can be on the priority list for the next fiscal year, which
begins on October 1, 2011. As a matter of custom and practice, and to
ensure the quick and efficient distribution of funds to States that
need VA's assistance, VA seeks to issue the priority list shortly after
the beginning of the fiscal year to which it applies. Under current
Sec. 59.20(c), we have from August 16 to September 30, before the
beginning of the fiscal year, to analyze and process the applications.
We need more time to evaluate all of the applications so that we can
make fully-informed decisions concerning the allocation of grant money
to the States. For Fiscal Year 2011, VA had to evaluate 111
applications in order to prepare the priority list before October 1,
2010. Therefore, we propose to revise Sec. 59.20(c) to require that
all initial applications be received by VA no later than April 15, and
also to amend Sec. Sec. 59.20(d) and 59.50(a) in accordance with the
April 15 requirement.
We recognize that this will require some States to submit their
initial applications up to 4 months earlier than has been their custom
in the past. However, the April 15 submission date is already
encouraged in current Sec. 59.20(c) and implies that States should
submit applications to VA as soon as possible before the current August
15 deadline. The proposed revision to Sec. 59.20(c) would prescribe
only one date, the date that the application must be received by VA.
This revision would clarify the regulation. We note that the proposal
does not otherwise expand the application requirements or in any way
change the nature of the items submitted.
Consistent with our need to and proposal for amending Sec.
59.20(c), we also propose to amend Sec. 59.70(b). Specifically, we
propose to amend the date, from August 15 to April 15, by which a State
must commit funds for a project in order for that project to be
eligible for inclusion in priority group 1 of the priority list for the
next fiscal year. (Priority group 1 projects are projects that have
State matching funds. State matching funds are not required to be
placed in priority groups 2-7 on the priority list.) Paragraph (b) of
Sec. 59.70 requires that, as a condition of receiving a grant for a
project, a State must make sufficient funds available for the project
so that the project may proceed upon approval of the grant without
further action required by the State to make the funds available. An
authorized State
[[Page 11189]]
budget official must certify that the State funds are, or will be,
available for the project, so that if VA awards the grant, the project
may proceed without further State action. That certification must be
updated each year by every State with a priority group 1 project. Under
the current rule, a State must make such funds available by August 15
of the year prior to the fiscal year for which the grant is requested
to be eligible for inclusion in priority group 1. Under the proposed
amendment of Sec. 59.70(b), a State would be required to make the
funds available by April 15 of the year prior to the fiscal year for
which the grant is requested. We recognize that the budgetary deadlines
for the States differ and that the revision will result in some
projects being excluded from priority group 1 of the priority list for
a given fiscal year. However, VA's need to have sufficient time to
prepare the priority list before the beginning of an upcoming fiscal
year necessitates this change.
As a result of the change, projects in States that obtain funding
before April 15 would be eligible for priority group 1 for the upcoming
fiscal year, and projects in States that obtain funding after April 15
would not be eligible. In any given year, the only impact of the change
will be realized for projects funded by States after April 15 and
before August 16. As mentioned above, projects that are not eligible
for inclusion in priority group 1 because funds are unavailable would
still be eligible for inclusion in priority groups 2-7 because the
initial application does not require the commitment of funds. For all
of the priority groups, the date on which an application for a project
is received by VA affects the position of the project on the priority
list (the earlier the application was received, the higher the priority
given within a specific priority group or, where relevant, subpriority
group). See 38 CFR 59.50.
Finally, we are making a technical amendment to add, after the
authority citation for Sec. 59.20, a parenthetical noting that the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved the information
collection required by that regulation. It is VA's practice to include
notations concerning the information collection approval number at the
end of regulations containing information collections, and the omission
here was an oversight.
Unfunded Mandates
The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 requires, at 2 U.S.C.
1532, that agencies prepare an assessment of anticipated costs and
benefits before issuing any rule that may result in an expenditure by
State, local, and tribal governments, in the aggregate, or by the
private sector, of $100 million or more (adjusted annually for
inflation) in any given year. This proposed rule would have no such
effect on State, local, and tribal governments, or on the private
sector.
Paperwork Reduction Act
Although this document contains provisions constituting collections
of information, at 38 CFR 59.20, under the provisions of the Paperwork
Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), no new or proposed revised
collections of information are associated with this proposed rule. The
information collection requirements for Sec. 59.20 are currently
approved by OMB and have been assigned OMB control number 2900-0661.
Executive Order 12866
Executive Order 12866 directs agencies to assess all costs and
benefits of available regulatory alternatives and, when regulation is
necessary, to select regulatory approaches that maximize net benefits
(including potential economic, environmental, public health and safety,
and other advantages; distributive impacts; and equity). The Executive
Order classifies a regulatory action as a ``significant regulatory
action,'' requiring review by OMB unless OMB waives such review, if it
is a regulatory action that is likely to result in a rule that may: (1)
Have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more or
adversely affect in a material way the economy, a sector of the
economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, public
health or safety, or State, local, or tribal governments or
communities; (2) create a serious inconsistency or otherwise interfere
with an action taken or planned by another agency; (3) materially alter
the budgetary impact of entitlements, grants, user fees, or loan
programs or the rights and obligations of recipients thereof; or (4)
raise novel legal or policy issues arising out of legal mandates, the
President's priorities, or the principles set forth in the Executive
Order.
The economic, interagency, budgetary, legal, and policy
implications of this proposed rule have been examined, and it has been
determined not to be a significant regulatory action under Executive
Order 12866.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Secretary hereby certifies that this proposed rule would not
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities as they are defined in the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5
U.S.C. 601-612. The rule affects States and has no impact on any small
entities. Therefore, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 605(b), this proposed
amendment is exempt from the initial and final regulatory flexibility
analysis requirements of sections 603 and 604.
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance program numbers and
titles for this rule are as follows: 64.005, Grants to States for
Construction of State Home Facilities; 64.007, Blind Rehabilitation
Centers; 64.008, Veterans Domiciliary Care; 64.009, Veterans Medical
Care Benefits; 64.010, Veterans Nursing Home Care; 64.014, Veterans
State Domiciliary Care; 64.015, Veterans State Nursing Home Care;
64.018, Sharing Specialized Medical Resources; 64.019, Veterans
Rehabilitation Alcohol and Drug Dependence; 64.022, Veterans Home
Based Primary Care; and 64.024, VA Homeless Providers Grant and Per
Diem Program.
Signing Authority
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or designee, approved this
document and authorized the undersigned to sign and submit the document
to the Office of the Federal Register for publication electronically as
an official document of the Department of Veterans Affairs. John R.
Gingrich, Chief of Staff, Department of Veterans Affairs, approved this
document on February 8, 2011, for publication.
List of Subjects in 38 CFR Part 59
Administrative practice and procedure, Alcohol abuse, Alcoholism,
Claims, Day care, Dental health, Drug abuse, Government contracts,
Grant programs--health, Grant programs--veterans, Health care, Health
facilities, Health professions, Health records, Homeless, Mental health
programs, Nursing homes, Philippines, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Veterans.
Dated: February 23, 2011.
Robert C. McFetridge,
Director, Regulation Policy and Management, Office of the General
Counsel, Department of Veterans Affairs.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, VA proposes to amend 38
CFR part 59 as follows:
PART 59--GRANTS TO STATES FOR CONSTRUCTION OR ACQUISITION OF STATE
HOMES
1. Revise the authority citation for part 59 to read as follows:
[[Page 11190]]
Authority: 38 U.S.C. 101, 501, 1710, 1742, 8105, 8131-8137.
2. Amend Sec. 59.20 by:
a. Revising paragraph (c).
b. Removing ``August'' from paragraph (d) and adding, in its place,
``April''.
c. Adding an information collection approval parenthetical after
the authority citation at the end of the section.
The revision and addition read as follows:
Sec. 59.20 Initial application requirements.
* * * * *
(c) The items requested under paragraph (a) of this section must be
received by VA no later than April 15 in order for VA to include the
application on the priority list for the award of grants during the
next fiscal year. See Sec. 59.50, Priority List.
* * * * *
(The Office of Management and Budget has approved the information
collection requirements in this section under control number 2900-
0661.)
Sec. 59.50 [Amended]
3. Amend Sec. 59.50 by removing ``August'' from the introductory
text of paragraph (a) and adding, in its place, ``April''.
Sec. 59.70 [Amended]
4. Amend Sec. 59.70 by removing ``August'' from paragraph (b) and
adding, in its place, ``April''.
[FR Doc. 2011-4431 Filed 2-28-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8320-01-P