74612 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 241 / Tuesday, December 16, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 

1 Ginnie Mae is a registered service mark of the 

Government National Mortgage Association; see 

http://www.ginniemae.gov/. 

2That guidance can be found under the Guidance 

for Lenders’ Operator Financial Statement section at 

http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/federal_

housing_administration/healthcare_facilities/

residential_care. 

Issued under authority provided by 49 

U.S.C. 106(f), 44701(a), and 44703 in 

Washington, DC, on November 14, 2014. 

Michael P. Huerta, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2014–29386 Filed 12–15–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND 

URBAN DEVELOPMENT 

24 CFR Parts 5 and 232 

[Docket No. FR–5794–F–03] 

RIN 2502–AJ25 

Federal Housing Administration (FHA): 

Section 232 Healthcare Facility 

Insurance Program—Aligning Operator 

Financial Reports With HUD’s Uniform 

Financial Reporting Standards 

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Housing—Federal Housing 

Commissioner, HUD. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: On September 16, 2014, HUD 

published an interim rule that revised 

the financial reporting deadlines for 

operators participating in FHA’s 

program for insurance of health care 

facilities under section 232 of the 

National Housing Act (Section 232 

program) to bring them in-line with the 

reporting periods prescribed in HUD’s 

Uniform Financial Reporting Standards, 

to which owners and borrowers 

participating in the Section 232 program 

are subject. HUD received no public 

comments in response to its solicitation 

of comment in the September 16, 2014, 

rule, and is therefore adopting the 

interim rule without change. 

DATES: Effective date: January 15, 2015. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Vance T. Morris, Office of Residential 

Care Facilities, Office of Healthcare 

Programs, Office of Housing, 

Department of Housing and Urban 

Development, 451 7th Street SW., Room 

6264, Washington, DC 20410–8000; 

telephone number 202–708–0599 (this 

is not a toll-free number). Persons with 

hearing or speech impairments may 

access this number through TTY by 

calling the toll-free Federal Relay 

Service at 1–800–877–8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. Background 

Section 232 of the National Housing 

Act (12 U.S.C. 1715w) (Section 232) 

authorizes FHA to insure mortgages 

made by private lenders to finance the 

development of nursing homes, 

intermediate care facilities, board and 

care homes, and assisted living facilities 

(collectively, residential healthcare 

facilities). The Section 232 program 

allows for long-term, fixed-rate 

financing for new and rehabilitated 

properties for up to 40 years. Existing 

properties without rehabilitation can be 

financed with or without Ginnie Mae® 1

Mortgage Backed Securities for up to 35 

years. Eligible borrowers under the 

Section 232 program include investors, 

builders, developers, public entities, 

and private nonprofit corporations and 

associations. The documents executed 

at loan closing provide that the 

borrower may not engage in any other 

business or activity. The Section 232 

program regulations are codified in 24 

CFR part 232. 

In 2012, HUD commenced the 

rulemaking to update the Section 232 

program regulations, regulations that 

had not been revised since 1996. By 

final rule published on September 7, 

2012, at 77 FR 55120, HUD revised the 

Section 232 program regulations to 

reflect current policy and practices, and 

improve accountability and strengthen 

risk management in the Section 232 

program. The September 7, 2012, final 

rule was preceded by a proposed rule 

published on May 3, 2012, at 77 FR 

26304. 

Included in the updates made by the 

2012 rulemaking were revisions to 24 

CFR 5.801 (Uniform Financial Reporting 

Standards) and 24 CFR 232.1009 

(Financial Reports), both of which 

contained reporting requirements 

applicable to the Section 232 program. 

HUD revised these regulatory sections to 

include operators of projects insured or 

held by HUD as entities that must 

submit financial statements to HUD. 

Owners and borrowers have long been 

required to submit financial reports. 

Sections 5.801(c)(4) and 232.1009 

provide that operators must submit 

financial statements to HUD quarterly 

within 30 calendar days of the date of 

the end of each fiscal quarter, and 60 

calendar days from the end of the fiscalyear-end quarter to submit final fiscal 

year end quarter and fiscal year-to-date 

reports to HUD. The other entities 

required to submit reports were 

provided slightly longer periods to 

prepare and submit the reports than that 

provided to operators. In the September 

7, 2012, final rule, commenters asked 

that HUD extend the 30-day filing 

deadline for end-of-each quarterly 

report to 60 days. HUD declined to 

provide the extension and stated that 

receipt of unaudited quarterly and yearto-date operator financial statements 

promptly at the end of each quarter is 

needed for effective monitoring of a 

property’s financial operations and the 

trend of those operations. 

HUD’s September 16, 2014, interim 

rule, published at 79 FR 55360, revised 

the Section 232 program regulation to 

increase the amount of time operators 

have to comply with the reporting 

requirements provided in §§ 5.801(c)(4) 

and 232.1009. In the interim rule, HUD 

advised that with almost two years of 

administering the Section 232 program 

under the revised regulations, HUD 

determined that it can provide operators 

additional time to submit financial 

reports and maintain the effective 

monitoring of a property’s financial 

operations and the trend of those 

operations, which was of concern to 

HUD in the September 7, 2012, rule. 

The September 16, 2014, interim rule 

provided operators with 60 calendar 

days following the end of a fiscal 

quarter and 90 calendar days following 

the end of the fiscal-year-end quarter to 

comply with HUD’s financial statement 

reporting requirements. HUD solicited 

comment on the changes made to 

Section 232 program regulations by the 

September 16, 2014, interim rule, but 

received no public comments in 

response to this solicitation. 

On October 3, 2014, HUD published 

a notice in the Federal Register, at 79 

FR 59646, announcing the 

commencement of compliance with the 

Uniform Financial Reporting Standards. 

Section 5.801(d)(4) of HUD’s Uniform 

Financial Reporting Standards 

regulations provides that operators of 

projects with Section 232 insured 

mortgages (the entities described in 

§ 5.801(a)(6)) must comply with the 

requirements of § 5.801 with respect to 

fiscal years commencing on or after the 

date that is 60 calendar days after the 

date on which HUD announces, through 

Federal Register notice, that it has 

issued guidance on the manner in 

which these reports will be transmitted 

to HUD. The October 3, 2014, notice 

served as the notice required by 

§ 5.801(d)(4) that HUD has issued 

guidance on the manner in which the 

operator financial reports will be 

transmitted to HUD.2 Accordingly, 

operators must comply with the 

operator financial report requirements 

for fiscal years commencing on or after 

December 2, 2014. 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 241 / Tuesday, December 16, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 74613 

B. This Final Rule 

As noted above, HUD received no 

public comments in response to the 

September 16, 2014, interim rule, and is 

adopting the interim rule without 

change. 

Findings and Certifications 

Executive Order 13563, Regulatory 

Review 

The President’s Executive Order (EO) 

13563, entitled ‘‘Improving Regulation 

and Regulatory Review,’’ was signed by 

the President on January 18, 2011, and 

published on January 21, 2011, at 76 FR 

3821. This EO requires executive 

agencies to analyze regulations that are 

‘‘outmoded, ineffective, insufficient, or 

excessively burdensome, and to modify, 

streamline, expand, or repeal them in 

accordance with what has been 

learned.’’ Section 4 of the EO, entitled 

‘‘Flexible Approaches,’’ provides, in 

relevant part, that where relevant, 

feasible, and consistent with regulatory 

objectives, and to the extent permitted 

by law, each agency shall identify and 

consider regulatory approaches that 

reduce burdens and maintain flexibility 

and freedom of choice for the public. 

HUD submits that the changes made by 

this rule to the Section 232 regulations 

are consistent with the EO’s directions 

as the rule reduces the burden on 

regulated parties by allowing for less 

restrictive reporting periods. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) 

(5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) generally requires 

an agency to conduct a regulatory 

flexibility analysis of any rule subject to 

notice and comment rulemaking 

requirements, unless the agency certifies 

that the rule will not have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities. 

The changes required by this rule do 

not impose significant economic 

impacts on these small entities or 

otherwise adversely disproportionately 

burden such small entities. In fact, such 

small entities should benefit from the 

less restrictive reporting period. 

Accordingly, the undersigned certifies 

that this rule will not have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities. 

Environmental Impact 

This rule does not direct, provide for 

assistance or loan and mortgage 

insurance for, otherwise govern or 

regulate real property acquisition, 

disposition, leasing, rehabilitation, 

alteration, demolition, or new 

construction; or establish, revise, or 

provide for standards for construction or 

construction materials, manufactured 

housing, or occupancy. This rule is 

limited to changing submission 

deadlines for required reports. 

Accordingly, under 24 CFR 50.19(c)(1), 

this rule is categorically excluded from 

environmental review under the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321). 

Executive Order 13132, Federalism 

Executive Order 13132 (entitled 

‘‘Federalism’’) prohibits an agency from 

publishing any rule that has federalism 

implications if the rule either: (1) 

Imposes substantial direct compliance 

costs on State and local governments 

and is not required by statute, or (2) 

preempts state law, unless the agency 

meets the consultation and funding 

requirements of section 6 of the 

Executive Order. This rule does not 

have federalism implications and does 

not impose substantial direct 

compliance costs on State and local 

governments or preempt State law 

within the meaning of the Executive 

Order. 

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

Title II of the Unfunded Mandates 

Reform Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1531– 

1538) (UMRA) establishes requirements 

for federal agencies to assess the effects 

of their regulatory actions on state, 

local, and tribal governments, and on 

the private sector. This rule does not 

impose any federal mandates on any 

state, local, or tribal governments, or on 

the private sector, within the meaning of 

UMRA. 

Information Collection Requirements 

The information collection 

requirements contained in this rule 

were reviewed by the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) under 

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(44 U.S.C. 3501–3520), and assigned 

OMB Control Number 2502–0605. In 

accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act, an agency may not 

conduct or sponsor, and a person is not 

required to respond to, a collection of 

information, unless the collection 

displays a currently valid OMB control 

number. 

Catalogue of Federal Domestic 

Assistance 

The Catalogue of Federal Domestic 

Assistance Number for the Mortgage 

Insurance Nursing Homes, Intermediate 

Care Facilities, Board and Care Homes 

and Assisted Living Facilities mortgage 

insurance programs is 14.129. 

List of Subjects 

24 CFR Part 5 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Aged, Claims, Grant 

programs—housing and community 

development, Individuals with 

disabilities, Intergovernmental relations, 

Loan programs—housing and 

community development, Low and 

moderate income housing, Mortgage 

insurance, Penalties, Pets, Public 

housing, Rent subsidies, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, Social 

security, Unemployment compensation, 

Wages. 

24 CFR Part 232 

Fire prevention, Health facilities, 

Loan programs—health, Loan 

programs—housing and community 

development, Mortgage insurance, 

Nursing homes, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

PART 5—GENERAL HUD PROGRAM 

REQUIREMENTS; WAIVERS 

PART 232—MORTGAGE INSURANCE 

FOR NURSING HOMES, 

INTERMEDIATE CARE FACILITIES, 

BOARD AND CARE HOMES, AND 

ASSISTED LIVING FACILITIES 

■ Accordingly, the interim rule 

amending parts 5 and 232 of title 24 of 

the Code of Federal Regulations, which 

was published at 79 FR 55360 on 

September 16, 2014, is adopted as final 

without change. 

Date: December 5, 2014. 

Biniam Gebre, 

Acting Assistant Secretary for Housing— 

Federal Housing Commissioner. 

[FR Doc. 2014–29464 Filed 12–15–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4210–67–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation 

and Enforcement 

30 CFR Part 934 

[SATS No. ND–052–FOR; Docket ID No. 

OSM–2012–0021; S1D1SS08011000

SX066A00067F144S180110; S2D2SS080

11000SX066A00033F14XS501520] 

North Dakota Regulatory Program 

AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining 

Reclamation and Enforcement, Interior. 

ACTION: Final rule; approval of 

amendment. 

SUMMARY: We are approving an 

amendment to the North Dakota 

regulatory program (the ‘‘North Dakota 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with RULES