42382 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 151 / Wednesday, August 6, 1997 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND

URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR–4233–N–01]

Office of the Assistant Secretary for

Housing—Federal Housing

Commissioner; Notice Requesting

Statements of Interest From Private

Organizations to Administer a

Voluntary Process for the

Development of Suggested

Manufactured Housing Standards

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant

Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing

Commissioner, HUD.

ACTION: Notice requesting statements of

interest.

SUMMARY: The Department is committed

to full notice-and-comment rulemaking

in proposing or changing any of the

Federal Manufactured Home

Construction and Safety Standards

(FMHCSS). To improve the

Department’s ability to pursue effective

rulemaking on any of the FMHCSS,

however, the Department is interested

in working with a private sector

standards body to develop

recommendations in updating the

FMHCSS, consistent with longstanding

Federal Government policy and recent

codification of that policy. Any

organization that is interested in

coordinating and developing

suggestions for changes to the FMHCSS

is invited to advise the Department of its

interest, in accordance with the terms of

this notice.

In addition to regular notice-andcomment rulemaking, as required by

statute the Department will continue to

consult with the National Manufactured

Home Advisory Council before

adopting, in a final rule, any changes to

the FMHCSS that are suggested to the

Department.

DATES: Organizations wishing to

indicate interest in administering a

voluntary process for developing

suggested revisions of the FMHCSS

must do so by September 22, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Responses should be sent to

the Rules Docket Clerk, Office of the

General Counsel, Room 10276,

Department of Housing and Urban

Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW.,

Washington, DC 20410.

Communications should refer to the

above docket number and title.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

David R. Williamson, Director, Office of

Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, Room

9156, Department of Housing and Urban

Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW.,

Washington, DC 20410–8000, telephone

(202) 708–6409. (This is not a toll-free

number.) For hearing and speechimpaired persons, this number may be

accessed via TTY by calling the Federal

Information Relay Service at 1–800–

877–8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

Section 604 of the National

Manufactured Construction and Safety

Standards Act of 1974 (the Act), 42

U.S.C. 5403, requires the Secretary to

establish preemptive FMHCSS (codified

in 24 CFR part 3280) for all

manufactured homes. In 1990, Congress

established a National Commission on

Manufactured Housing to develop

recommendations for modernizing the

Act. The Commission could not reach

consensus on all aspects of its work, but

did agree on the need for the

establishment and maintenance of the

standards through a consensus process.

To this end, the Department joined

much of the Manufactured Housing

industry and consumer groups in

supporting bipartisan legislation last

year, which would have targeted

funding for and created an independent

consensus committee to develop and

revise the standards. The amendment

was attached to the public housing bill

that was not enacted.

II. Federal Preference for a Consensus

Process

The periodic review and updating of

manufactured housing construction and

safety standards has been difficult due

to strong differences of opinion among

manufacturers, consumer groups, and

other interested parties. President

Clinton has encouraged agencies to

reform the current way that the Federal

government develops and implements

regulations. (See Executive Order

12866.) A primary purpose of the reform

is to develop cooperative, consultative

means of producing sensible and

effective regulations. This effort furthers

a long-standing Federal Government

policy, articulated in OMB Circular A–

119, to rely on voluntary standards

whenever feasible, and to participate in

voluntary standards-making bodies

when such participation is in the public

interest and is compatible with

agencies’ missions, authorities,

priorities, and budget resources. This

policy was adopted as law last year,

when Congress passed the National

Technology Transfer and Advancement

Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–113, 110 Stat.

783, approved March 7, 1996) which

states, with several exceptions:

* * * All Federal agencies and

departments shall use technical standards

that are developed or adopted by voluntary

consensus standards bodies, using such

technical standards as a means to carry out

policy objectives or activities determined by

the agencies and departments.

III. Federal Advisory Committee Act

Considerations

At this time, the Department expects

that the voluntary standards body for

updating the FMHCSS will not be

subject to the requirements of the

Federal Advisory Committee Act (5

U.S.C., App.) (FACA). If the Department

determines that this solicitation of

statements of interest does not result in

a response that will be helpful to the

Department, the Department may

choose to take the steps necessary under

the FACA to establish and manage a

formal advisory committee.

IV. Rulemaking Procedures for

Issuance of Any New Standards

The Department intends to review

and accept, modify, or reject standards

developed, packaged, and submitted to

it by the designated voluntary standards

body. If accepted or modified, the

Department will publish in the Federal

Register for comment the proposed

standards or modifications, in

accordance with the procedures for

notice-and-comment rulemaking set out

in the Administrative Procedure Act (5

U.S.C. 553). After considering public

comments on the proposed revised

standards and consulting with the

National Manufactured Home Advisory

Council in accordance with section 605

of the Act (42 U.S.C. 5304), the

Department will then issue final

standards in a final rule.

The Department will not, by use of

this standards development process,

relinquish its responsibility and

authority under the Act to establish and

enforce the FMHCSS, but the

Department intends and hopes that

standards developed by this voluntary

standards body will, under most

circumstances, be accepted as submitted

to the Department for publication as a

proposed rule. In addition, the

Department will continue to consider

standards developed and submitted by

other organizations or persons for

incorporation into the FMHCSS, as

required by law. Only those standards

that are deemed appropriate by the

Department will be incorporated into

the FMHCSS.

V. Selecting a Voluntary Standards

Body

The Department wishes to select a

private organization, or a combination

of private organizations, that is

qualified, interested in, and capable of

developing and maintaining model
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 151 / Wednesday, August 6, 1997 / Notices 42383

standards that can revise or supplement

standards in the FMHCSS. The

Department will look more favorably

upon any statement of interest

providing assurances that the

submitting organization will seek to

ensure that its suggestions for changes

to the FMHCSS reflect a balance of

interests and that the submitting

organization is willing to give priority

consideration to developing suggestions

for standards identified by the

Department as requiring prompt

attention. At the present time, the

Department does not anticipate

providing the applicant with funding for

the expenses incurred in the operation

of the voluntary standards body,

including travel and per diem expenses.

Applicants must address in their

statements of interest how they will

meet this responsibility.

A. Content of Statements of Interest

Respondents must describe in detail

how they would accomplish the

development and maintenance of

revised model standards pertaining to

the construction and safety of

manufactured housing by:

1. Identifying the technical

capabilities of staff and other entities to

be used for examining and developing

changes and such additional standards

as may be appropriate for inclusion in

the FMHCSS;

2. Defining how the proposed changes

to the FMHCSS would be evaluated in

accordance with the purpose of the Act

to promote the safety, durability, and

quality of manufactured housing;

3. Identifying the methodology to be

used in developing, updating, removing,

or withdrawing standards, and stating

the frequency that recommendations

resulting from these actions would be

submitted to the Department;

4. Stating proposed procedures to be

used to balance the views of divergent

interest groups (manufacturers and

suppliers, consumers, and State and

local regulatory officials);

5. Stating whether the applicant is

willing to provide travel and per diem

for the consumer and State government

representatives who would be unable to

attend the meetings of the voluntary

standards body without such travel and

expense reimbursement.

6. Stating whether the applicant is

willing, upon a showing of need, to

furnish technical support to any interest

category of the voluntary standards

committee.

7. Providing the policies and

procedures to be used for the

identification and appointment of

voluntary standards body members, and

for managing, coordinating, voting on,

processing, and submitting the proposed

changes in the FMHCSS to the

Department.

B. Criteria To Be Used in Reviewing

Statements of Interest

In reviewing the statements of

interest, the Department will consider

the demonstrated knowledge,

experience, and qualifications of each

applicant in the following areas:

1. Building codes and standards, their

function, development and scope;

2. The development, review, approval

and publication of model standards

with respect to building codes and

standards;

3. Organizing and coordinating efforts

that develop standards for structural,

testing, fire safety, plumbing,

mechanical, ventilation and electrical

systems pertaining to residential

building; and

4. Qualifications, time commitments,

and assignments of managerial,

administrative and technical personnel,

whether primarily involved or referred

to on an as-needed basis.

Dated: July 31, 1997

Nicolas P. Retsinas,

Assistant Secretary for Housing—Federal

Housing Commissioner

[FR Doc. 97–20673 Filed 8–5–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4210–27–P