[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 4 (Friday, January 5, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 683-685]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-00106]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-5173-N-15]


Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing: Extension of Deadline for 
Submission of Assessment of Fair Housing for Consolidated Plan 
Participants

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal 
Opportunity, HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice advises that HUD is extending the deadline for 
submission of an Assessment of Fair Housing (AFH) by local government 
consolidated plan program participants to their next AFH submission 
date that falls after October 31, 2020. Such program participants will 
not be required to submit an AFH using the current Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB)-approved version of the Assessment of Fair Housing 
Tool for Local Governments (OMB Control No: 2529-0054), but must 
continue to comply with existing obligations to affirmatively further 
fair housing. Local government program participants that have already 
submitted an AFH that has been accepted by HUD must continue to execute 
the goals of that AFH.

DATES: 
    Applicability Date: January 5, 2018.
    Comment Due Date: March 6, 2018.

[[Page 684]]


ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments responsive 
to this notice to the Office of General Counsel, Regulations Division, 
Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street SW, Room 
10276, Washington, DC 20410-0001. All submissions should refer to the 
above docket number and title. Submission of public comments may be 
carried out by hard copy or electronic submission.
    1. Submission of Hard Copy Comments. Comments may be submitted by 
mail or hand delivery. Each commenter submitting hard copy comments, by 
mail or hand delivery, should submit comments to the address above, 
addressed to the attention of the Regulations Division. Due to security 
measures at all federal agencies, submission of comments by mail often 
results in delayed delivery. To ensure timely receipt of comments, HUD 
recommends that any comments submitted by mail be submitted at least 2 
weeks in advance of the public comment deadline. All hard copy comments 
received by mail or hand delivery are a part of the public record and 
will be posted to http://www.regulations.gov without change.
    2. Electronic Submission of Comments. Interested persons may submit 
comments electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at 
http://www.regulations.gov. HUD strongly encourages commenters to 
submit comments electronically. Electronic submission of comments 
allows the commenter maximum time to prepare and submit a comment, 
ensures timely receipt by HUD, and enables HUD to make comments 
immediately available to the public. Comments submitted electronically 
through the http://www.regulations.gov website can be viewed by other 
commenters and interested members of the public. Commenters should 
follow instructions provided on that site to submit comments 
electronically.
    No Facsimile Comments. Facsimile (fax) comments are not acceptable.
    Public Inspection of Comments. All comments submitted to HUD 
regarding this notice will be available, without charge, for public 
inspection and copying between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Eastern Time, 
weekdays at the above address. Due to security measures at the HUD 
Headquarters building, an advance appointment to review the public 
comments must be scheduled by calling the Regulations Division at 202-
708-3055 (this is not a toll-free number). Individuals with speech or 
hearing impairments may access this number through TTY by calling the 
Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339 (this is a toll-free number). 
Copies of all comments submitted are available for inspection and 
downloading at http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Krista Mills, Deputy Assistant 
Secretary, Office of Policy, Legislative Initiatives, and Outreach, 
Office Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, Department of Housing and 
Urban Development, 451 7th Street SW, Room 5246, Washington, DC 20410; 
telephone number 202-402-6577. Individuals with hearing or speech 
impediments may access this number via TTY by calling the toll-free 
Federal Relay Service during working hours at 1-800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    On July 16, 2015, at 80 FR 42357, HUD published in the Federal 
Register its Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) final rule. 
The AFFH final rule provides HUD program participants with a new 
approach for planning for fair housing outcomes that will assist them 
in meeting their statutory obligation to affirmatively further fair 
housing as required by the Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. 3608. To assist 
HUD program participants in meeting this obligation, the AFFH rule 
provides that program participants must conduct an Assessment of Fair 
Housing (AFH) using an ``Assessment Tool.'' HUD's AFFH regulations 
provide for a staggered AFH submission deadline for its program 
participants. (See 24 CFR 5.160.)
    On October 24, 2016, at 81 FR 73129, HUD published a notice 
extending the deadline for submission of an AFH for local government 
consolidated plan participants that received in Fiscal Year (FY) 2015, 
or receive in a subsequent fiscal year, a CDBG grant of $500,000 or 
less, or in the case of a HOME consortium, whose members collectively 
received a CDBG grant of $500,000 or less, from the program year that 
begins on or after January 1, 2018, to the program year that begins on 
or after January 1, 2019 for which a new consolidated plan is due. By 
notice published in the Federal Register on January 13, 2017, at 82 FR 
4388, HUD announced the renewal of approval of the Assessment Tool for 
use by local governments that receive Community Development Block 
Grants (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME), Emergency 
Solutions Grants (ESG), or Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS 
(HOPWA) formula funding from HUD when conducting and submitting their 
own AFH, and in some joint and regional collaborations, as explained in 
that notice. This Assessment Tool is referred to as the Assessment of 
Fair Housing Tool for Local Governments.
    This notice extends the deadline for submission of an Assessment of 
Fair Housing (AFH) to all local government consolidated plan program 
participants until their next AFH submission deadline that falls after 
October 31, 2020. (See 24 CFR 5.160(a) for information about how to 
calculate a program participant's AFH submission deadline.) The AFFH 
rule requires that program participants have no less than 9 months 
after the publication of the OMB-approved assessment tool to submit 
their AFH. Therefore, the Department selected the October 31, 2020 date 
in anticipation that it will complete the Paperwork Reduction Act 
requirements and receive OMB approval to renew the Assessment of Fair 
Housing Tool for Local Governments by January 31, 2020. Local 
government program participants will not be required to submit an AFH 
using the current OMB-approved version of the Assessment of Fair 
Housing Tool for Local Governments (OMB Control No: 2529-0054), but 
must continue to comply with existing statutory obligations to 
affirmatively further fair housing. (See 42 U.S.C. 3608.) Local 
government program participants who qualified for an extension under 
the October 24, 2016 notice are also covered by this notice, extending 
their deadline for submission of an AFH to their next AFH submission 
deadline (See 24 CFR 5.160(a).) that falls after October 31, 2020.
    Based on the initial AFH reviews, HUD believes that program 
participants need additional time and technical assistance to adjust to 
the new AFFH process and complete AFH submissions that can be accepted 
by HUD. HUD's decision is informed by the review of AFH submissions 
received. Based on the first 49 AFH initial submissions that received a 
determination of accept, non-accept, or deemed accepted from HUD, the 
Department found that many program participants are striving to meet 
the requirements of the AFFH rule. In 2017, the Department conducted an 
evaluation of these submissions and found that more than a third (35%) 
were initially non-accepted.
    HUD's analysis identified several reasons that merit a delay of AFH 
submission deadlines, including program participants' need for 
additional technical assistance. HUD determined that many program 
participants struggled to meet the regulatory requirements of the AFFH 
rule, such as developing goals that

[[Page 685]]

could be reasonably expected to result in meaningful actions to 
overcome the effects of contributing factors and related fair housing 
issues. Further, program participants struggled to develop metrics and 
milestones that would measure their progress as they affirmatively 
furthering fair housing. HUD determined that program participants' 
frequent misunderstanding of how to set clear goals, metrics, and 
milestones that addressed their identified contributing factors and 
related fair housing issues often resulted in non-accepted AFHs. HUD 
believes that additional technical assistance may result in program 
participants better understanding their obligations under the AFFH 
rule. HUD also believes that by enhancing its technical assistance that 
resources expended by program participants will be reduced because they 
are more likely to submit an initial AFH that can be accepted by HUD.
    Additionally, HUD determined that significant staff resources are 
required when deciding that an AFH will not be accepted because it is 
inconsistent with fair housing or civil rights requirements or 
substantially incomplete, or both. (See 24 CFR 5.162 (a)(2)(b).) HUD 
believes that it can reduce the resources expended by program 
participants by examining and revising its technical assistance content 
and methods of delivery so that program participants' AFHs are more 
likely to meet the regulatory requirements on first submission.
    In order to reduce burden for program participants in conducting 
AFHs that meet the regulatory requirements, HUD, in the AFFH rule, 
encourages program participants to share resources and to address fair 
housing issues from a broader perspective by collaborating and 
submitting a single AFH. Nonetheless, HUD believes that some joint and 
regional collaborations that were non-accepted on their first 
submission may have benefited from technical assistance early in the 
process. For example, the largest regional AFH submitted to HUD 
consisted of 19 program participants. In its review of the AFH, HUD 
determined that each of the 19 program participants met the regulatory 
standards for nonacceptance. HUD believes that improving technical 
assistance for collaborative AFHs will enable collaborations to more 
efficiently use their resources to address fair housing issues that 
cross jurisdictional boundaries.
    Based on the initial AFH reviews, HUD believes that local 
government program participants need additional time and technical 
assistance from HUD to adjust to the new AFFH process and complete 
acceptable AFH submissions. HUD also believes it can use this time to 
improve its Data and Mapping Tool (AFFH-T) and the User Interface 
(AFFH-UI). The extension period allows HUD to further refine its 
materials to provide additional guidance to program participants. 
Finally, this extension allows HUD staff to devote additional time to 
providing program participants, and program participants in an AFH 
collaboration, with technical assistance on the legal objective to 
affirmatively further fair housing.
    Consolidated plan program participants must continue to comply with 
existing, ongoing obligations to affirmatively further fair housing. 
Until a consolidated plan program participant is required to submit an 
AFH, it will continue to provide the AFFH Consolidated plan 
certification in accordance with the requirements that existed prior to 
August 17, 2015. See 24 CFR 5.160(a)(3). The requirements obligated a 
program participant to certify that it will affirmatively further fair 
housing, which means that it will conduct an analysis of impediments 
(AI) to fair housing choice within the jurisdiction, take appropriate 
actions to overcome the effects of any impediments identified through 
that analysis, and maintain records reflecting the analysis and 
actions.
    For Consolidated plan program participants that are starting a new 
3-5-year Consolidated plan cycle that begins before their due date for 
an AFH, the AI should continue to be updated in accordance with the 
HUD, Fair Housing Planning Guide (1996), available at https://www.hud.gov/sites/documents/FHPG.PDF until those consolidated plan 
program participants submit an AFH after October 31, 2020. HUD 
encourages consolidated plan program participants to use the data and 
mapping tool and the AFH Assessment Tool as resources for program 
participants that are updating their AIs. HUD encourages program 
participants to collaborate to develop a regional AI, as regional 
collaborations provide an opportunity for program participants to share 
resources and address fair housing issues that cross jurisdictional 
boundaries.\1\
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    \1\ Please refer to HUD's 2017 interim guidance for additional 
information on collaboration, specifically the Q&A captioned: ``How 
can States Collaborate with Local Governments or PHAs?''. The 
guidance is available at: https://www.hudexchange.info/resources/documents/Interim-Guidance-for-Program-Participants-on-Status-of-Assessment-Tools-and-Submission-Options.pdf. This guidance is 
generally applicable to all types of program participants.
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    Program participants that have already submitted an AFH which has 
been accepted by HUD must continue to execute the goals of that 
accepted AFH and are not required to conduct a separate AI. Program 
participants that are covered by this notice and that may have already 
begun work on an AFH may continue to do so, as the AFFH rule may 
provide program participants with a useful framework for complying with 
their AFFH obligation.
    HUD will discontinue the review of AFHs currently under review and 
will not render an accept, deemed accepted, or non-accept 
determination. Program participants that received a non-accept decision 
from HUD on their AFH submission and are preparing to re-submit an AFH 
are also covered by this notice and should not submit their revised 
AFHs. HUD encourages these program participants to use the information 
contained in their draft AFHs to conduct the required AI analysis. 
Finally, program participants prepared to submit their first AFH are 
covered by this notice and should not submit an AFH to HUD. Program 
participants that have not received an accept or non-accept 
determination from HUD, or that have received a non-accept but will no 
longer be required to resubmit their AFH, are still required to prepare 
an AI, as described above in this notice.
    HUD is issuing this notice for applicability immediately upon 
publication. Program participants must continue to affirmatively 
further fair housing as required by the Fair Housing Act. 42 U.S.C. 
3608.
    Although HUD is issuing this notice for applicability immediately 
upon publication, it also invites public comment for a period of 60-
days on the extension. HUD will consider all the comments in its 
ongoing process of reviewing the Assessment of Fair Housing Tool for 
Local Governments.

    Dated: January 2, 2018.
Anna Maria Far[iacute]as,
Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity.
[FR Doc. 2018-00106 Filed 1-4-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P