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Extension of Minimum Funding Under the Indian Housing Block Grant Program
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[Federal Register: January 27, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 17)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 3999-4001]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr27ja05-14]
[[Page 4000]]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
24 CFR Part 1000
[Docket No. FR-4825-I-03; HUD-2005-0001]
RIN 2577-AC43
Extension of Minimum Funding Under the Indian Housing Block Grant Program
AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian
Housing, HUD.
ACTION: Interim rule.
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SUMMARY: This interim rule provides authority for Indian tribes to
receive a minimum grant amount under the need component of the Indian
Housing Block Grant (IHBG) Formula for Fiscal Years 2005 and 2006. The
minimum funding provision currently in effect in HUD's regulations
limited authority for receipt of a minimum grant amount to Fiscal Year
2004. HUD and Indian tribes, through negotiated rulemaking procedures,
have developed a proposed rule to address ways to improve and clarify
the IHBG Formula regulations, including the minimum funding provisions.
The reinstatement of the authority for minimum grant amounts in Fiscal
Years 2005 and 2006 will avoid hardship to the affected tribes until
the revised minimum funding provisions contained in the negotiated
proposed rule are issued as a final rule and become effective.
DATES: Effective Date: February 28, 2005.
Comment Due Date: March 28, 2005.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding
this rule to the Regulations Division, Office of General Counsel, Room
10276, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street,
SW., Washington, DC 20410-0500. Electronic comments may be submitted
through either:
? The Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov;
or
? The HUD electronic Web site at http://www.epa.gov/feddocket.
Follow the link entitled ``View Open HUD Dockets.'' Commenters should
follow the instructions provided on that site to submit comments
electronically.
Facsimile (FAX) comments are not acceptable. In all cases,
communications must refer to the docket number and title. All comments
and communications submitted will be available for public inspection
and copying between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays at the above address.
Copies are also available for inspection and downloading at
http://www.epa.gov/feddocket.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rodger Boyd, Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Native American Programs, Room 4126, Department of
Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC
20410-0001; telephone (202) 401-7914 (this is not a toll-free number).
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.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act
of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4101 et seq.) (NAHASDA) streamlined the way that
housing assistance is provided to Native Americans. NAHASDA eliminated
several separate assistance programs and replaced them with a single
block grant program, known as the Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG)
Program. In addition to simplifying the process of providing housing
assistance, the purpose of NAHASDA is to provide federal assistance for
Indian tribes in a manner that recognizes the right of Indian self-
determination and tribal self-governance.
The regulations governing the IHBG Program are found in part 1000
of HUD's regulations in title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
The part 1000 regulations were established as part of a March 12, 1998,
final rule implementing NAHASDA. In accordance with section 106 of
NAHASDA, HUD developed the March 12, 1998, final rule with active
tribal participation and using the procedures of the Negotiated
Rulemaking Act of 1990 (5 U.S.C. 561-570).
Under the IHBG Program, HUD makes assistance available to tribes
for Indian housing activities. The amount of assistance made available
to each Indian tribe is determined using a formula (IHBG Formula) that
was developed as part of the NAHASDA negotiated rulemaking process. A
regulatory description of the IHBG Formula is located in subpart D of
24 CFR part 1000 (Sec. Sec. 1000.301-1000.340). The IHBG Formula
consists of two components: (1) Need and (2) formula current assisted
stock (FCAS). Generally, the amount of funding for a tribe is the sum
of the need component and the FCAS component, subject to a minimum
funding amount authorized by Sec. 1000.328.
The minimum funding provision at Sec. 1000.328 provides that in
the first year of NAHASDA participation, an Indian tribe whose
allocation is less than $50,000 under the need component of the formula
shall have its need component of the grant adjusted to $50,000. In
subsequent fiscal years, an Indian tribe whose allocation is less than
$25,000 under the need component of the formula shall have its need
component of the grant adjusted to $25,000. As originally adopted by
the negotiated rulemaking committee and reflected in the March 12,
1998, final rule, Sec. 1000.328 provided that minimum funding under
the need component would not extend beyond Fiscal Year 2002.
Section 1000.328 also specifies that the need for the minimum
funding provisions will be reviewed in accordance with Sec. 1000.306.
Section 1000.306 provides that the IHBG Formula be reviewed within five
years after promulgation to determine whether any changes are needed.
The negotiated rulemaking committee intended that the IHBG Formula
would be reviewed before expiration of the minimum funding provision.
In accordance with Sec. 1000.306, HUD established a negotiated
rulemaking committee for the purposes of reviewing and developing
changes to the regulations governing the IHBG Formula, including the
minimum funding provisions. However, the work of the committee
continued beyond Fiscal Year 2002 and the expiration of the minimum
funding provisions. Accordingly, on June 24, 2003 (68 FR 37660), HUD
published an interim rule extending the minimum funding under the need
component through Fiscal Year 2003 in order to avoid hardship to the
affected Indian tribes. The interim rule provided for a 60-day public
comment period. HUD received no comments in response to the interim
rule. On June 17, 2004 (69 FR 34020), HUD published a second interim
rule extending the minimum funding requirement for Fiscal Year 2004.
The June 17, 2004, interim rule also provided for a 60-day public
comment period, and HUD did not receive any public comments on the
interim rule.
The negotiated rulemaking committee has completed its work on
development of the proposed rule. HUD anticipates that the negotiated
proposed rule will be published within the next few months. However,
because a rule implementing these regulatory changes was not published
prior to the end of Fiscal Year 2004, HUD has determined that an
additional extension is required for the minimum funding provision of
Sec. 1000.328. If action is not taken now to extend the minimum
funding provision,
[[Page 4001]]
Indian tribes, especially small Indian tribes, would be affected by the
lapse of the minimum funding provision.
II. This Interim Rule
The interim rule authorizes for Fiscal Years 2005 and 2006 the
provision in Sec. 1000.328 with respect to the minimum funding amount
under the need component of the IHBG for tribes returning for their
second or subsequent year's grant. The provision with respect to the
$50,000 an Indian tribe receives in its first year of funding under the
IHBG Program is not revised by this interim rule. That provision,
unlike the minimum funding amount for returning Indian tribes, has no
expiration date. Accordingly, this rule applies only to the minimum
grant amount that returning Indian tribes may receive.
The reinstatement of the authority for minimum grant amounts in
Fiscal Years 2005 and 2006 will avoid unnecessary hardship to the many
Indian tribes until the revised minimum funding provisions contained in
the negotiated proposed rule are issued as a final rule and become
effective. Once effective, the minimum funding provisions established
by the negotiated final rule will supersede the current regulations. In
the interim, affected tribes will not suffer a financial loss because
of the expiration of the minimum funding provision in the current
regulation.
III. Justification for Interim Rulemaking
Generally, HUD publishes a rule for public comment before issuing a
rule for effect, in accordance with its own regulations on rulemaking
at 24 CFR part 10. Part 10, however, does provide in Sec. 10.1 for
exceptions from that general rule where HUD finds good cause to omit
advance notice and public participation. The good cause requirement is
satisfied when the prior public procedure is ``impracticable,
unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest.''
HUD finds that good cause exists to publish this interim rule for
effect without first soliciting public comment. The rule will allow a
minimum amount of funding to continue to Indian tribes without a
significant lapse in time during which the tribes would be foreclosed
from receiving funds entirely or would receive a significant reduction
in funds. The funding meets a critical need of many tribes, which would
go unmet during the time that it otherwise would take to publish a rule
for effect. Further, as noted above in this preamble, this interim rule
follows publication of two HUD interim rules published on June 24,
2003, and June 17, 2004, which similarly extended the IHBG minimum
funding provisions. The rules were non-controversial and welcomed by
Indian tribes. Although both interim rules invited public comments, HUD
did not receive any public comments on the extension of the minimum
funding provisions. HUD, however, solicits public comment on this rule.
IV. Findings and Certifications
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
Title II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C.
1531-1538) (UMRA) establishes requirements for federal agencies to
assess the effects of their regulatory actions on state, local, and
tribal governments and the private sector. This interim rule does not
impose any federal mandate on any state, local, or tribal government or
the private sector within the meaning of UMRA.
Environmental Impact
A Finding of No Significant Impact with respect to the environment
was made for the June 24, 2003, interim rule, in accordance with HUD
regulations at 24 CFR part 50, which implement section 102(2)(C) of the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)). That
finding remains applicable to this interim rule and is available for
public inspection between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays in
the Regulations Division, Office of General Counsel, Room 10276,
Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW.,
Washington, DC 20410-0500.
Impact on Small Entities
The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.),
generally requires an agency to conduct a regulatory flexibility
analysis of any rule subject to notice and comment rulemaking
requirements unless the agency certifies that the rule will not have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
This interim rule does not impose any new or modify existing regulatory
requirements. Rather, the rule is exclusively concerned with extending
the minimum funding provisions under the need component of the IHBG
Formula. To the extent the interim rule has any impact on small
entities, it will be to the benefit of small Indian tribes that are the
primary beneficiaries of the minimum funding provisions. Accordingly,
the undersigned certifies that this rule will not have a significant
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Numbers
The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number for the IHBG
Program is 14.867.
List of Subjects in 24 CFR Part 1000
Aged, Community development block grants, Grant programs-housing
and community development, Grant programs-Indians, Indians, Individuals
with disabilities, Public Housing, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
? Accordingly, HUD amends 24 CFR part 1000 as follows:
PART 1000--NATIVE AMERICAN HOUSING ACTIVITIES
? 1. The authority citation for 24 CFR part 1000 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 25 U.S.C. 4101 et seq.; 42 U.S.C. 3535(d).
? 2. Revise Sec. 1000.328 to read as follows:
Sec. 1000.328 What is the minimum amount an Indian tribe can receive
under the need component of the formula?
In the first year of NAHASDA participation, an Indian tribe whose
allocation is less than $50,000 under the need component of the formula
shall have its need component of the grant adjusted to $50,000. The
Indian tribe's IHP shall contain a certification of the need for the
$50,000 funding. In subsequent years, but not to extend beyond Federal
Fiscal Year 2006, an Indian tribe whose allocation is less than $25,000
under the need component of the formula shall have its need component
of the grant adjusted to $25,000. The need for this section will be
reviewed in accordance with Sec. 1000.306.
Dated: January 5, 2005.
Michael M. Liu,
Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing.
[FR Doc. 05-1454 Filed 1-26-05; 8:45 am]
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