61366 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 204 / Monday, October 24, 2005 / Rules and Regulations 

PART 416—SUPPLEMENTAL 

SECURITY INCOME FOR THE AGED, 

BLIND, AND DISABLED 

Subpart B—[Amended] 

■ 4. The authority citation for subpart B 

of part 416 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: Secs. 702(a)(5), 1110(b), 1602, 

1611, 1614, 1619(a), 1631, and 1634 of the 

Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 902(a)(5), 

1310(b), 1381a, 1382, 1382c, 1382h(a), 1383, 

and 1383c); secs. 211 and 212, Pub. L. 93–

66, 87 Stat. 154 and 155 (42 U.S.C. 1382 

note); sec. 502(a), Pub. L. 94–241, 90 Stat. 

268 (48 U.S.C. 1681 note); sec. 2, Pub. L. 99–

643, 100 Stat. 3574 (42 U.S.C. 1382h note). 

■ 5. Amend § 416.216 by revising 

paragraph (a) to read as follows: 

§ 416.216 You are a child of armed forces 

personnel living overseas. 

(a) General Rule. For purposes of this 

part, overseas means any location 

outside the United States as defined in 

§ 416.215; i.e., the 50 States, the District 

of Columbia and the Northern Mariana 

Islands. You may be eligible for SSI 

benefits if you live overseas and if—

(1) You are a child as described in 

§ 416.1856; 

(2) You are a citizen of the United 

States; and 

(3) You are living with a parent as 

described in § 416.1881 who is a 

member of the armed forces of the 

United States assigned to permanent 

duty ashore overseas. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 05–21117 Filed 10–21–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4191–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND 

URBAN DEVELOPMENT 

24 CFR Part 990 

[Docket No. FR–4874–C–09] 

RIN 2577–AC51 

Revisions to the Public Housing 

Operating Fund Program; Correction 

to Formula Implementation Date 

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Public and Indian 

Housing, HUD. 

ACTION: Final rule; correction. 

SUMMARY: This document corrects 

HUD’s final rule published on 

September 19, 2005, that implements 

revisions to the public housing 

Operating Fund Program. The final rule 

includes dates from the proposed rule 

that assumed both an initial 

implementation of the revised formula 

in fiscal year (FY) 2006 and a one-year 

period for PHAs to transition to the new 

formula. In converting the rule from a 

proposed to final rule, HUD 

unintentionally failed to revise certain 

dates to reflect the updated schedule for 

implementation of the revised formula. 

Accordingly, the September 19, 2005, 

final rule inadvertently denies PHAs the 

one-year transition period. This 

document corrects the September 19, 

2005, final rule to provide that the 

revised allocation formula will be 

implemented for calendar year 2007, 

and adjusts the related dates specified 

in the rule to reflect the corrected 

implementation date. 

EFFECTIVE DATE: The final rule is 

effective on November 18, 2005. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Elizabeth Hanson, Public Housing 

Financial Management Division, Office 

of Public and Indian Housing, 

Department of Housing and Urban 

Development, 550 12th Street SW., 

Suite 100, Washington, DC 20410; 

telephone (202) 475–7949 (this 

telephone number is not toll-free). 

Individuals with speech or hearing 

impairments may access this number 

through TTY by calling the toll-free 

Federal Information Relay Service at 1–

800–877–8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

On September 19, 2005, (70 FR 

54983), HUD published a final rule 

amending the regulations of the Public 

Housing Operating Fund Program at 24 

CFR part 990, to provide a new formula 

for distributing operating subsidy to 

public housing agencies (PHAs) and 

establish requirements for PHAs to 

convert to asset management. More 

detailed information about this rule can 

be found in the preamble to the 

September 19, 2005, final rule. 

II. This Document 

The September 19, 2005, final rule 

establishes several requirements and 

determinations connected to the 

calendar year in which the distribution 

of operating subsidies will be made. 

Some of the dates in the final rule were 

carried over from the proposed rule and 

assumed both an initial implementation 

of the revised formula in FY2006, and 

a one-year transition period prior to 

implementation of the new formula. 

Given the timing of publication and 

the effective date of the final rule, initial 

implementation of the revised formula 

must be deferred to calendar year 2007 

in order to provide PHAs with the 

necessary one year transition period. 

However, in converting this rule from a 

proposed rule to a final rule, HUD 

inadvertently failed to revise certain 

dates to reflect the updated schedule for 

implementation of the new formula, and 

unintentionally denied PHAs the oneyear transition period. 

This document corrects certain 

provisions in the September 19, 2005, 

final rule to appropriately reflect initial 

implementation of the revised Operating 

Fund formula in calendar year 2007. 

The corrections made by this document 

are necessary to assist PHAs in proper 

budgetary planning and to bring their 

policies and procedures into 

compliance with the new formula 

requirements. The effective date of the 

rule remains November 18, 2005, and all 

other dates contained in the final rule 

that do not affect the new formula 

allocation of operating subsidies are 

unchanged. 

The following section of this 

document describes the most significant 

corrections being made to the 

September 19, 2005, final rule. 

III. Corrections to the September 19, 

2005, Final Rule 

Revised subpart F of 24 CFR part 990 

establishes procedures to assist PHAs in 

transitioning to the new funding levels 

under the new Operating Fund formula. 

As provided in § 990.225 of the final 

rule, the determination of the amount 

and period of the transition funding will 

be based on the difference in subsidy 

levels between the revised formula and 

the formula in effect prior to 

implementation of the final rule. 

Differences in subsidy levels will be 

calculated using FY 2004 data. 

1. Transition Funding. Under 

§§ 990.230 and 990.235 of the final rule, 

PHAs that experience a decrease or 

increase in operating subsidy will have 

that decrease phased-in over a specified 

number of years following the effective 

date of the final rule (November 18, 

2005). The phase-in period is five years 

for subsidy reductions and two years for 

increases in operating subsidies. By 

specifying the date of November 18, 

2005, the final rule incorrectly connects 

the first year of the phased-in reduction 

to initial formula implementation in FY 

2006. This document corrects 

§§ 990.230 and 990.235 by removing 

references to specific dates. 

2. Discontinuation of subsidy 

reduction as a result of conversion to 

asset management (‘‘stop-loss’’ 

provision). As noted above, the final 

rule provides that phased-in reductions 

in operating subsidy will be 

discontinued if the PHA can 

demonstrate successful conversion to 

the asset management requirements 

contained in revised subpart H of the 

part 990 regulations. HUD will 

discontinue the reduction in accordance 

Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 204 / Monday, October 24, 2005 / Rules and Regulations 61367 

with the corrected ‘‘stop-loss’’ schedule 

set forth in § 990.230 of the final rule 

that reflects initial formula 

implementation in calendar year 2007. 

For example, the first demonstration 

date in the corrected schedule is 

October 1, 2006, as opposed to the 

October 1, 2005, date incorrectly 

provided in the September 19, 2005, 

final rule. 

■ Accordingly, FR Doc. 05–18624, 

Revisions to the Public Housing 

Operating Fund Program; Final Rule, 

(FR–4874–F–08), published in the 

Federal Register on September 19, 2005 

(70 FR 54984), is corrected as follows: 

PART 990—[AMENDED] 

■ 1. On page 55003, in the second 

column, correct § 990.195(c) to read as 

follows: 

§ 990.195 Calculation of formula income. 

* * * * * 

(c) Frozen at 2004 level. After a PHA’s 

formula income is calculated as 

described in paragraph (a) of this 

section, it will not be recalculated or 

inflated for fiscal years 2007 through 

2009, unless a PHA can show a severe 

local economic hardship that is 

impacting the PHA’s ability to maintain 

some semblance of its formula income 

(see subpart G of this part—Appeals). A 

PHA’s formula income may be 

recalculated if the PHA appeals to HUD 

for an adjustment in its formula. 

* * * * * 

■ 2. In § 990.225, on page 55004, in the 

second column, correct the first 

sentence to read as follows: 

§ 990.225 Transition determination. 

The determination of the amount and 

period of the transition funding shall be 

based on the difference in subsidy levels 

between the formula set forth in this 

part and the formula in effect prior to 

implementation of the formula set forth 

in this part. * * * 

* * * * * 

■ 3. In § 990.230, on page 55004, in the 

third column, correct paragraphs (a), (b), 

(c), and (e) to read as follows: 

§ 990.230 PHAs that will experience a 

subsidy reduction. 

(a) For PHAs that will experience a 

reduction in their operating subsidy, as 

determined in § 990.225, such 

reductions will have a limit of: 

(1) 24 percent of the difference 

between the two funding levels in the 

first year following implementation of 

the formula contained in this part; 

(2) 43 percent of the difference 

between the two funding levels in the 

second year following implementation 

of the formula contained in this part; 

(3) 62 percent of the difference 

between the two levels in the third year 

following implementation of the 

formula contained in this part; and 

(4) 81 percent of the difference 

between the two levels in the fourth 

year following implementation of the 

formula contained in this part. 

(b) The full amount of the reduction 

in the operating subsidy level shall be 

realized in the fifth year following 

implementation of the formula 

contained in this part. 

(c) For example, a PHA has a subsidy 

reduction from $1 million under the 

formula in effect prior to 

implementation of the formula 

contained in this part to $900,000 under 

the formula contained in this part using 

FY 2004 data. The difference would be 

calculated at $100,000 ($1 

million¥$900,000 = $100,000). In the 

first year, the subsidy reduction would 

be limited to $24,000 (24 percent of the 

difference). Thus, the PHA will receive 

an operating subsidy amount of this rule 

plus a transition-funding amount of 

$76,000 (the $100,000 difference 

between the two subsidy amounts 

minus the $24,000 reduction limit). 

* * * * * 

(e) The schedule of reductions for a 

PHA that will experience a reduction in 

subsidy is reflected in the table below. 

Funding period Demonstration dated by Reduction limited to 

Prior to year 1 ..................................................... October 1, 2006 ................................................. 5 percent of the difference between 

the two funding levels. 

Year 1 ................................................................. October 1, 2007 ................................................. 24 percent of the difference. 

Year 2 ................................................................. October 1, 2008 ................................................. 43 percent of the difference. 

Year 3 ................................................................. October 1, 2009 ................................................. 62 percent of the difference. 

Year 4 ................................................................. October 1, 2010 ................................................. 81 percent of the difference. 

Year 5 ................................................................. October 1, 2011 ................................................. Full reduction reached. 

* * * * * 

■ 4. In § 990.235, on page 55005, in the 

first and second columns, correct 

paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) to read as 

follows: 

§ 990.235 PHAs that will experience a 

subsidy increase. 

(a) For PHAs that will experience a 

gain in their operating subsidy, as 

determined in § 990.225, such increases 

will have a limit of 50 percent of the 

difference between the two funding 

levels in the first year following 

implementation of the formula 

contained in this part. 

(b) The full amount of the increase in 

the operating subsidy level shall be 

realized in the second year following 

implementation of the formula 

contained in this part. 

(c) For example, a PHA’s subsidy 

increased from $900,000 under the 

formula in effect prior to 

implementation of the formula 

contained in this part to $1 million 

under the formula contained in this part 

using FY 2004 data. The difference 

would be calculated at $100,000 ($1 

million¥$900,000 = $100,000). In the 

first year, the subsidy increase would be 

limited to $50,000 (50 percent of the 

difference). Thus, in this example the 

PHA will receive the operating subsidy 

amount of this rule minus a transitionfunding amount of $50,000 (the 

$100,000 difference between the two 

subsidy amounts minus the $50,000 

transition amount). 

* * * * * 

Dated: October 19, 2005. 

Paula O. Blunt, 

General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public 

and Indian Housing. 

[FR Doc. 05–21268 Filed 10–21–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4210–33–P