Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 109 / Tuesday, June 6, 2000 / Notices 36047

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND

URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR–4497–N–07]

RIN 2577–AC08

Public Housing Assessment System

(PHAS) Notice of PHAS Transition

Assistance for Certain PHAs

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant

Secretary for Public and Indian

Housing, and Office of the Director of

the Real Estate Assessment Center,

HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: This document notifies public

housing agencies (PHAs) with fiscal

years ending March 31, 2000, and June

30, 2000, that they may conduct

physical inspections of their units in

accordance with HUD’s Housing Quality

Standards. Additionally, this notice

advises that HUD extends advisory

scores to PHAs with fiscal years ending

March 31, 2000. Therefore, PHAS scores

will be issued for PHAs with fiscal years

ending on and after June 30, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For

further information contact the Real

Estate Assessment Center (REAC),

Attention: Wanda Funk, U.S.

Department of Housing and Urban

Development, 1280 Maryland Avenue,

SW, Suite 800, Washington DC, 20024;

telephone Technical Assistance Center

at (888)–245–4860 (this is a toll free

number). Persons with hearing or

speech impairments may access that

number via TTY by calling the Federal

Information Relay Service at (800) 877–

8339. Additional information is

available from the REAC Internet Site,

http://www.hud.gov/reac.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

On January 11, 2000 (65 FR 1712),

HUD issued a final rule that made

certain amendments to the Public

Housing Assessment System (PHAS)

regulations. The PHAS was

implemented by final regulations

published on September 1, 1998. The

amendments published to the PHAS

regulations on January 11, 2000,

followed a proposed rule published on

June 22, 1999, and were prompted by

both statutory and administrative

changes to the PHAS.

II. Additional Transition Assistance to

Certain PHAs

Following publication of the January

11, 2000, final rule, HUD was asked to

provide further transition assistance to

PHAs with fiscal years ending March

31, 2000, and June 30, 2000, by allowing

these PHAs to inspect occupied units in

accordance with HUD’s Housing Quality

Standards (HQS). Under sub-indicator

#3 of PHAS Indicator #3, Management

Operations, PHAs are assessed on the

percentage of units and systems that a

PHA inspects on an annual basis in

order to determine short-term

maintenance needs and long-term

Capital Fund needs. PHAs must inspect

these units in accordance with HUD’s

Uniform Physical Condition Standards.

In a notice published December 16,

1999 (64 FR 70274), HUD advised that

PHAs with fiscal years ending

September 30, 1999, and December 31,

1999, could inspect their units in

accordance with HQS because HUD

only recently released its physical

inspection and training guidebook. HUD

will extend the transition assistance

provided in its December 16, 1999,

notice to PHAs with fiscal years ending

March 31, 2000, and June 30, 2000.

Additionally, HUD was requested to

allow PHAs with fiscal years ending

March 31, 2000, to receive PHAS

advisory scores, given the date on which

the PHAS Amendments final rule was

issued—January 11, 2000. HUD agrees

to issue PHAS advisory scores to PHAs

with fiscal years ending March 31, 2000.

PHAS scores will be issued to PHAs

with fiscal years ending on or after June

30, 2000. As the October 21, 1999,

PHAS Transition Notice clarified,

however, HUD is required by statute to

assess PHAs performance. PHAs with

fiscal years ending March 31, 2000, will

receive an assessment score solely on

the basis of HUD’s assessment of the

PHA’s management operations in

accordance with 24 CFR part 902,

subpart D of the PHAS regulations

(PHAS Indicator #3, Management

Operations), as amended by the January

11, 2000, final rule, and corrected by the

correction document published

elsewhere in this edition of the Federal

Register.

III. PHAS Technical Correction

Elsewhere in this edition of the

Federal Register, HUD is publishing a

technical correction to the January 11,

2000 PHAS final rule.

Dated: March 30, 2000.

Harold Lucas,

Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian

Housing.

Donald J. LaVoy,

Director, Real Estate Assessment Center.

[FR Doc. 00–14161 Filed 6–5–00; 8:45 am]

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