[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 131 (Monday, July 8, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35800-35801]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-17172]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing
[Docket No. FR-4104-D-01]


Redelegation of Authority; Waiver of Directives

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian 
Housing, HUD.

ACTION: Notice of redelegation of authority.

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SUMMARY: In this notice, the Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian 
Housing redelegates to the Secretary's Representatives for HUD's Field 
Offices the same waiver authority of directives and handbook provisions 
pertaining to Public Housing (PH) programs, as provided to the PH 
Directors in the HUD Field Offices. The Secretary's Representatives may 
further redelegate the authority to waive directives and handbook 
provisions to State and Area Coordinators within their geographic area. 
Offices of Native American Programs are not covered by this 
redelegation.

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 28, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cheryl Teninga, Field Operations 
Staff, Office of Public and Indian Housing, Department of Housing and 
Urban Development, Room 4124, 451 7th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20410, 
telephone numbers (202) 708-4016 (voice), (202) 708-1455 (TTY). These 
are not toll-free numbers

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of this redelegation is to 
provide Secretary's Representatives with the same authority to waive 
directives, including handbook provisions, redelegate to Public Housing 
Directors in the Field Offices, and with the authority to further 
redelegated to

[[Page 35801]]

State and Area Coordinators. This redelegation does not supersede the 
Department's Statement of Policy published on April 22, 1991, at 56 FR 
16337, entitled ``Waiver of Regulations and Directives Issued by HUD.''
    Department directives mandated by statute, executive order, or 
regulation, and those related to civil rights compliance and 
enforcement are not within this redelegation. The Secretary is the 
ultimate repository of the authority both to issue and to waive the 
regulations of the Department. Typically the authority to issue 
regulations is delegated to an Assistant Secretary or official of 
equivalent rank. Under section 7(q) of the Department of Housing and 
Urban Development Act, 42 U.S.C. 3535(q), the Secretary may not 
delegate the authority to waive a regulation below the Assistant 
Secretary rank. This prohibition even includes individuals who have 
been delegated authority concurrent with the Assistant Secretary. Under 
circumstances prescribed in the policy statement, the General Counsel 
must concur on proposed waivers of regulations subject to section 7(q) 
of the HUD Act.
    Under HUD's policy statement on waiver of regulations and 
directives, Directive means a Handbook (including a change or 
supplement), notice, interim notice, special directive, and any other 
issuance that the Department may classify as a directive. Handbook 
means a directive that communicates information of a permanent nature 
(including clarification of policies, instructions, guidance, 
procedures, forms, and reports) for HUD staff or program participants. 
Its permanent nature distinguishes a Handbook from other temporary HUD 
directives such as notices.
    As part of the Department's continued commitment to empowering 
communities, the Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing is 
redelegating in this document additional authority to HUD's Secretary's 
Representatives. Each Secretary's Representative is redelegated limited 
authority to issue waivers of Department directives, including handbook 
provisions, for Public Housing programs for the geographic area for 
which the Secretary's Representative is responsible. The Secretary's 
Representative is concurrently redelegated the same authority to waive 
Department directives concerning Public Housing programs as reside with 
the Public Housing Directors for the Field Offices in the geographic 
area. The PH Director and the Secretary's Representative must jointly 
concur in all requests for waivers, whether the request is granted or 
denied. If the Secretary's Representative and the PH Director do not 
agree, the matter will be referred to the Assistant Secretary for PIH 
for resolution. If the Secretary's Representative further redelegates 
his or her authority to a State and Area Coordinator, and the PH 
Director and State and Area Coordinator disagree on a waiver request, 
the State and Area Coordinator will refer the matter to the Secretary's 
Representative.
    Accordingly, the Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing 
redelegates as follows:

Section A. Authority Redelegated

    The Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing concurrently 
redelegates to each Secretary's Representative the following authority 
to waive Department directives, including handbook provisions, 
concerning Public Housing programs for the geographic area for which 
the Secretary's Representative is responsible. This authority includes 
the same authority to waive Public Housing directives as is redelegated 
to Public Housing Directors in the geographic area. The extent of this 
waiver authority is currently described within the redelegations at 59 
FR 51200 (October 7, 1994) and 60 FR 50635 (September 29, 1994). Each 
waiver granted shall be in writing, specify the grounds for the waiver, 
and shall be transmitted in writing to the Assistant Secretary for PIH. 
The Assistant Secretary for PIH will publish any changes or amendments 
to these redelegations.

Section B. Authority To Further Redelegate

    The authority redelegated pursuant to Section A., above, may be 
further redelegated to the State and Area Coordinators for the 
geographic region of the Secretary's Representative. If the Secretary's 
Representative redelegates this authority to a State and Area 
Coordinator, the redelegation shall include the requirement that each 
waiver granted shall be in writing, specify the grounds for the waiver, 
and shall be transmitted in writing simultaneously to the appropriate 
Secretary's Representative and to the Assistant Secretary for PIH.

    Authority: Sec. 7(d) of the Department of Housing and Urban 
Development (42 U.S.C. 3535(d)).

    Dated: June 28, 1996.
Kevin Emanuel Marchman,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing.
[FR Doc. 96-17172 Filed 7-5-96; 8:45 am]
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