85648 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 235 / Friday, December 8, 2023 / Notices 

1See Section 6.1 of Section 6 of Notice H 2023– 

10/PIH 2023–27. 

2When a grantee in CPD programs has a choice 

in applying a definition of annual income under 

their program regulations and the grantee chooses 

the definition in 24 CFR 5.609, then the grantee is 

subject to the applicable requirements in 24 CFR 

5.609, as revised by the HOTMA final rule and 

applied in accordance with this Notice. 

Authority: The Paperwork Reduction 

Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. chapter 35, as 

amended. 

Dated: November 30, 2023. 

Kathleen Claffie, 

Chief, Office of Privacy Management, U.S. 

Coast Guard. 

[FR Doc. 2023–26957 Filed 12–7–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9110–04–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND 

URBAN DEVELOPMENT 

[Docket No. FR–6057–N–05] 

RIN 2577–AD03 

Housing Opportunity Through 

Modernization Act: Implementation of 

Sections 102, 103, and 104; Extension 

of Compliance Date 

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Community Planning and 

Development, U.S. Department of 

Housing and Urban Development 

(HUD). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This notice extends the 

compliance date for HUD’s final rule 

entitled ‘‘Housing Opportunity Through 

Modernization Act of 2016: 

Implementation of Section 102, 103, and 

104’’ (‘‘HOTMA final rule’’) for 

Community Planning and Development 

(‘‘CPD’’) programs. Specifically, HUD is 

extending the compliance date for the 

HOME Investment Partnerships Program 

(‘‘HOME’’), HOME-American Rescue 

Plan program, Housing Trust Fund 

(‘‘HTF’’), Housing Opportunities for 

Persons With AIDS (‘‘HOPWA’’), 

Community Development Block Grant 

Program (‘‘CDBG’’), Emergency Solution 

Grants (ESG), Continuum of Care (CoC) 

programs, and CPD programs funded 

through competitive process (‘‘CPD 

programs’’) until January 1, 2025. HUD 

is taking this action to allow 

jurisdictions, participants, and grantees 

additional time to incorporate HUD’s 

income and asset requirements into 

their own programs and the flexibility to 

transition implementing HOTMA 

requirements under their own timelines. 

DATES: Compliance Date: CPD 

participating jurisdictions, participants, 

and grantees (‘‘CPD grantees’’) subject to 

24 CFR parts 5, 92, 93, 570, 574, 576, 

and 578, or who apply the income 

requirements in 24 CFR part 5 pursuant 

to Notices of Funding Opportunity are 

not required to comply with the changes 

to these parts in the HOTMA final rule 

until January 1, 2025. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

the HOME Investment Partnerships 

Program and the Housing Trust Fund 

Program, Milagro Fisher, Senior 

Affordable Housing Specialist, Office of 

Affordable Housing Programs, at 

telephone (202) 708–2684, Room 7160; 

for the Housing Opportunities for 

Persons With AIDS program, Lisa 

Steinhauer, Senior Program Specialist, 

Office of HIV/AIDS Housing, at 

telephone (215) 861–7651, room 7248; 

for the Community Block Grant 

Program, B. Cory Schwartz, Deputy 

Director, State & Small Cities Division, 

at telephone (202) 402–4105, room 

7282. The mailing address for each 

office contact is Department of Housing 

and Urban Development, 451 Seventh 

Street SW, Washington, DC 20410–7000. 

HUD welcomes and is prepared to 

receive calls from individuals who are 

deaf or hard of hearing, as well as 

individuals with speech or 

communication disabilities. To learn 

more about how to make an accessible 

telephone call, please visit: https://

www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/ 

telecommunications-relay-service-trs. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

The HOTMA final rule was published 

on February 14, 2023 (88 FR 9600). The 

HOTMA final rule revises HUD’s 24 

CFR part 5 income regulations for 

Section 8, public housing, and other 

HUD programs. The HOTMA final rule 

included amendments to 24 CFR parts 

92, 93, 570, and 574 to align income 

requirements to implement sections 102 

and 104 of the Housing Opportunity 

Through Modernization Act of 2016 

(HOTMA) (Pub. L. 114–201, 130 Stat. 

782). Additionally, the HOTMA final 

rule changed the income requirements 

for programs subject to 24 CFR parts 576 

and 578, as well as competitive 

programs using Notices of Funding 

Opportunity (‘‘NOFOs’’) that reference 

the regulations in 24 CFR part 5. The 

final rule established an effective date 

for these amendments of January 1, 

2024. 

On September 29, 2023, HUD’s Office 

of Public and Indian Housing (‘‘PIH’’) 

and Office of Housing announced that 

HUD would allow for a later compliance 

date than the effective date of the 

HOTMA final rule in Section 6 of Notice 

H 2023–10/PIH 2023–27 (‘‘HOTMA 

Notice’’). This was in response to 

requests from PHAs, owners, and 

related housing partners for additional 

time to prepare for HOTMA final rule 

implementation. Through the HOTMA 

Notice, HUD allowed PHAs the 

flexibility to establish their own 

compliance date for sections 102 and 

104 of HOTMA as early as January 1, 

2024, and no later than January 1, 

2025.1 HUD has determined that CPD 

grantees receiving assistance through 

CPD programs must be provided similar 

flexibilities as PHAs and is 

communicating these flexibilities 

through this notice. 

II. Delay of Compliance Date 

CPD programs serve a broad group of 

beneficiaries through a range of 

activities not generally authorized under 

other HUD programs, including but not 

limited to downpayment assistance, 

homeowner rehabilitation, rental 

assistance for tenants, emergency 

shelter, homeless prevention activities, 

public services, construction of public 

facilities and improvements, and 

installation of infrastructure. CPD funds 

used for housing development are often 

layered in the same projects or units 

that also receive funding under HUD’s 

PIH and Housing programs, including 

the Section 8 voucher and rental 

assistance programs. Moreover, rental 

units developed with CPD funds may be 

occupied by families who also receive 

Federal tenant-based rental assistance 

(‘‘TBRA’’), including CPD-funded 

TBRA. 

Under the HOTMA final rule, CPD 

programs that reference or use 24 CFR 

5.603, 24 CFR 5.609, 24 CFR 5.611, 24 

CFR 5.617, or 24 CFR 5.618 are subject 

to new or different requirements on 

January 1, 2024.2 Additionally, HUD 

issued conforming regulations to 24 CFR 

parts 92, 93, 570, and 574 that are also 

effective January 1, 2024. To fully 

implement and comply with the 

HOTMA final rule no later than January 

1, 2025, CPD program administrators 

must develop and/or update program 

guidelines, including policies, 

procedures, and internal systems, and 

conduct software updates to incorporate 

the new income and asset requirements 

prior to implementing these 

requirements for their programs. CPD 

program administrators must also 

identify ways in which CPD grantees 

can obtain income determinations from 

other HUD programs in order to 

implement program flexibilities that 

were built into the HOTMA final rule 

for those programs. 

HUD recognizes that until HUD has 

provided the guidance and performed 

the software updates necessary for CPD 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 235 / Friday, December 8, 2023 / Notices 85649 

grantees to implement the HOTMA final 

rule, CPD grantees may not be able to 

comply with the requirements of the 

HOTMA final rule. Even after the 

necessary guidance and system updates 

are made, CPD grantees will still need 

additional time to incorporate this 

information into their program policies 

and procedures and update their 

systems and software. In recognition of 

these operational issues and challenges, 

HUD will allow CPD grantees to set 

their own compliance date for the 

applicable HOTMA final rule 

provisions. This compliance date may 

be as early as January 1, 2024, and no 

later than January 1, 2025. CPD grantees 

may continue to implement the 

requirements of the prior version of 

their program regulations and 

regulations in 24 CFR 5.603, 24 CFR 

5.609, 24 CFR 5.611, and 24 CFR 5.617, 

as applicable, until the CPD grantee’s 

compliance date. 

III. Instructions for CPD Programs 

HUD provides the below instructions 

and guidance for CPD programs. Before 

implementing the HOTMA final rule, 

CPD grantees must comply with all 

applicable HOTMA requirements to 

establish policies and procedures, 

including establishing hardship policies 

for programs implementing the hardship 

provisions contained in 24 CFR 

5.611(c)–(e), policies prescribing when 

and under what conditions a family 

must report a change in family income 

or composition in accordance with 24 

CFR 574.310(e)(4)(iv), and/or policies 

describing income verification when 

using the safe harbor provisions in 24 

CFR 5.609(c). In addition, CPD grantees 

must perform the following, as 

applicable, to implement the HOTMA 

final rule: 

• Conduct any public process 

necessary to comply with the 

consolidated plan requirements. 

• Update program guidelines, policies 

and procedures, templates, income and 

asset forms, and applications. 

• Conduct internal and external 

system and software updates. 

• Update income and asset regulatory 

citations and requirements in written 

agreement templates. 

• Require owners to send notices to 

tenants of any expected changes to 

leases or rents required by the HOTMA 

final rule. 

• Train staff, subrecipients, and 

contractors on the new income 

requirements and perform outreach to 

housing partners (e.g., project owners) 

to implement the HOTMA final rule. 

To assist CPD grantees in 

implementing these requirements, HUD 

intends to issue supplemental guidance 

to HOME participating jurisdictions and 

HTF grantees, including guidance on 

obtaining income eligibility 

determinations made by PHAs, owners, 

and providers of HUD rental assistance 

or subsidy programs. HUD also intends 

to publish, through a Federal Register 

notice, guidance on implementing 

HOTMA standards applicable to the 

HOPWA program. 

IV. Conclusion 

Accordingly, HUD revises the January 

1, 2024 compliance date for the changes 

made to 24 CFR parts 5, 92, 93, 570, and 

574 for the CPD programs described in 

this notice to January 1, 2025, at which 

time CPD grantees subject to these parts 

must comply with the HOTMA final 

rule. Until January 1, 2025, CPD 

grantees subject to these parts may 

instead choose to comply with these 

parts as they existed prior to January 1, 

2024. 

Marion McFadden, 

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for 

Community Planning and Development. 

[FR Doc. 2023–27026 Filed 12–7–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4210–67–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R4–ES–2023–0198; FWS–R4–ES– 

2023–0194; and FWS–R4–ES–2023–0193; 

FXGO16621010010–245–FF10G13300] 

Three Incidental Permit Applications 

and Proposed Habitat Conservation 

Plans; Lake, Volusia, and Orange 

Counties, FL; Reopening of Comment 

Periods 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability; reopening 

of public comment periods. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, are reopening the 

comment periods on notices 

announcing three incidental take permit 

applications, three proposed habitat 

conservation plans, and related 

documents. We are taking this action 

because of a disruption in the public’s 

access to regulations.gov as a means of 

viewing documents and submitting 

comments when the three notices were 

initially published. We invite comments 

from the public and local, State, Tribal, 

and Federal agencies. If you already 

submitted a comment, you do not need 

to resubmit it. 

DATES: The comment periods on the 

three notices, all of which published 

October 23, 2023 (88 FR 72774, 88 FR 

72775, and 88 FR 72776), are reopened. 

We will accept comments received or 

postmarked on or before January 8, 

2024. 

ADDRESSES: 

Obtaining Documents: You may 

obtain copies of documents for review, 

and view received public comments, at 

http://www.regulations.gov. Please see 

the table in SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

to ensure that you are look in the 

desired docket. 

Submitting Comments: Please make 

sure you are commenting on the desired 

docket. See the table in SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION for docket information. 

You may submit written comments by 

one of the following methods: 

• Online: https://

www.regulations.gov. Search for and 

submit comments on the desired docket. 

• U.S. mail: Public Comments 

Processing, Attn: [insert correct docket 

number]; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 

5275 Leesburg Pike, MS: PRB/3W, Falls 

Church, VA 22041–3803. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erin 

Gawera, by telephone at 904–404–2464 

or via email at erin_gawera@fws.gov. 

Individuals in the United States who are 

deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have 

a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, 

TDD, or TeleBraille) to access 

telecommunications relay services. 

Individuals outside the United States 

should use the relay services offered 

within their country to make 

international calls to the point-ofcontact in the United States. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), 

are reopening the comment periods on 

notices announcing three incidental 

take permit applications, three proposed 

habitat conservation plans, and related 

documents. We are taking this action 

because of a disruption in the public’s 

access to regulations.gov when the three 

notices were initially published. If you 

previously submitted a comment, you 

need not resubmit it. The three notices 

for which we are reopening the 

comment periods are in the table below. 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES