[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 24, Volume 1]

[Revised as of April 1, 2006]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 24CFR4.26]



[Page 35-36]

 

                 TITLE 24--HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

 

PART 4_HUD REFORM ACT--Table of Contents

 

    Subpart B_Prohibition of Advance Disclosure of Funding Decisions

 

Sec.  4.26  Permissible and impermissible disclosures.



    (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 103, an employee is 

permitted to disclose information during the selection process with 

respect to:

    (1) The requirements of a HUD program or programs, including 

unpublished policy statements and the provision of technical assistance 

concerning program requirements, provided that the requirements or 

statements are disclosed on a uniform basis to any applicant or 

potential applicant. For purposes of this part, the term ``technical 

assistance'' includes such activities as explaining and responding to 

questions about program regulations, defining terms in an application 

package, and providing other forms of technical guidance that may be 

described in a NOFA. The term ``technical assistance'' also includes 

identification of those parts of an application that need substantive 

improvement, but this term does not include advising the applicant how 

to make those improvements.

    (2) The dates by which particular decisions in the selection process 

will be made;

    (3) Any information which has been published in the Federal Register 

in a NOFA or otherwise;

    (4) Any information which has been made public through means other 

than the Federal Register;

    (5) An official audit, inquiry or investigation, if the disclosure 

is made to an auditor or investigator authorized by the HUD Inspector 

General to conduct the audit or investigation;



[[Page 36]]



    (6) Legal activities, including litigation, if the disclosure is 

made to an attorney who is representing or is otherwise responsible to 

the Department in connection with the activities; or

    (7) Procedures that are required to be performed to process an 

application, e.g., environmental or budget reviews, and technical 

assistance from experts in fields who are regularly employed by other 

government agencies, provided that the agency with which the expert is 

employed or associated is not an applicant for HUD assistance during the 

pending funding cycle.

    (b) An authorized employee, during the selection process, may 

contact an applicant for the purpose of:

    (1) Communication of the applicant's failure to qualify, after a 

preliminary review for eligibility and completeness with respect to his 

or her application, and the reasons for the failure to qualify, or the 

fact of the applicant's failure to be determined to be technically 

acceptable after a full review; or

    (2) Clarification of the terms of the applicant's application. A 

clarification, for the purpose of this paragraph (b), may include a 

request for additional information consistent with regulatory 

requirements.

    (c) Prohibition of advance disclosure of funding decisions. During 

the selection process an employee shall not knowingly disclose any 

covered selection information regarding the selection process to any 

person other than an employee authorized to receive that information.

    (1) The following disclosures of information are, at any time during 

the selection process, a violation of Section 103:

    (i) Information regarding any applicant's relative standing;

    (ii) The amount of assistance requested by any applicant;

    (iii) Any information contained in an application;

    (2) The following disclosures of information, before the deadline 

for the submission of applications, shall be a violation of Section 103:

    (i) The identity of any applicant; and

    (ii) The number of applicants.