Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2014/08/07/2014-18723/removal-of-emergency-homeowners-loan-program-regulations
Timestamp: 2018-02-22 19:09:49
Document Index: 501727373

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 2700', 'ART 2700', 'art 2700', 'art 2700', 'art 2700', '§\u2009200', 'art 10', 'art 10', 'arts 200', '§\u2009200', 'art 2700', 'art 2700', 'art 2700']

Federal Register :: Removal of Emergency Homeowners' Loan Program Regulations
A Rule by the Housing and Urban Development Department on 08/07/2014
79 FR 46181
46181-46182 (2 pages)
24 CFR 2700
2502-AJ24
2014-18723
HUD-2014-0063
FR–5795–F–01 Removal of Emergency Homeowners’ Loan Program Regulations
24 CFR Part 2700
PART 2700—[Removed]
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2014-18723 https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2014-18723
Through this rule, HUD removes regulations for the Emergency Homeowners' Loan Program. The statutory authority to provide emergency assistance to homeowners under this program expired on September 30, 2011. Because these regulations are no longer operative, they are being removed by this final rule. To the extent that assistance made available under this program is still ongoing, the removal of these regulations does not affect the requirements for transactions entered into when these parts were in effect. Assistance made available under the Emergency Homeowners' Loan Program will continue to be governed by the regulations that existed immediately before September 8, 2014.
On July 2, 1975, the Emergency Housing Act of 1975 (Pub. L. 94-50) (12 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) was signed into law. Title I of this statute is the Emergency Homeowners' Relief Act (1975 Act), which conferred on HUD standby authority to insure or make loans to, or make emergency mortgage relief payments on behalf of, homeowners to defray their mortgage expenses (collectively emergency assistance). The goal of the program was to prevent widespread mortgage foreclosures and distress sales of homes by homeowners who had experienced a substantial reduction of income resulting from the temporary involuntary loss of employment or underemployment due to adverse economic conditions. HUD promulgated regulations implementing the 1975 Act on December 30, 1975 (see 40 FR 59866) and codified these regulations in 24 CFR part 2700. This emergency assistance program, quickly put in place by HUD in 1975, was not utilized and, in 1995, as part of HUD's effort to remove outdated, obsolete, or unutilized regulations, HUD removed the regulations in 24 CFR part 2700 from the CFR. (See 60 FR 47263.)
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Pub. L.111-203) (the Dodd-Frank Act), signed into law on July 21, 2010, reauthorized the 1975 Act, with certain amendments, and the Emergency Homeowners' Loan Program (EHLP). The Dodd-Frank Act also made available $1,000,000,000 for HUD to provide emergency mortgage assistance on behalf of homeowners struggling to make mortgage payments due to a substantial reduction of income resulting from the temporary involuntary loss of employment or underemployment due to adverse economic conditions. In accordance with the 1975 Act, as reauthorized and amended, HUD reinstituted regulations for EHLP on March 4, 2011, at 76 FR 11946, and administered EHLP. (For further information about EHLP, see 76 FR 11946 through 11948.)
The reauthorization of EHLP, however was only for one fiscal year, fiscal year (FY) 2011. September 30, 2011 was the last date upon which HUD could enter into binding agreements with individual mortgagors approved for participation in EHLP. As provided in the March 4, 2011, rule, a binding agreement was considered to have occurred only when a borrower had been approved for participation in this program and funds had been allocated to that borrower, all of which must have occurred on or before September 30, 2011.
Since authority for HUD to enter into agreements with borrowers to provide emergency assistance under the EHLP expired on September 30, 2011, HUD is proceeding to remove EHLP regulations codified in 24 CFR part 2700.
Emergency assistance provided under EHLP that is still outstanding will continue to be governed by the regulations in effect prior to September 8, 2014. Accordingly, this rule amends 24 CFR 200.1301 (Expiring Programs—Savings Clause) of 24 CFR 200, subpart W (Administrative Matters), and adds a new paragraph (f) to § 200.1301, which preserves the EHLP regulations as in effect prior to the effective date of this final rule and continues to govern any assistance provided under EHLP on or before September 30, 2011.
HUD generally publishes a rule for public comment before issuing a final rule for effect, in accordance with HUD's own regulations on rulemaking in 24 CFR part 10. However, part 10 provides for exceptions to the general rule if the agency finds good cause to omit advance notice and public participation. The good cause requirement is satisfied when prior public procedure is impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest.” (See 24 CFR 10.1.)
HUD finds that public notice and comment are not necessary for this rulemaking because the authority to provide assistance under EHLP expired on September 30, 2011, assistance is no longer being provided under this program and therefore, the regulations are no longer operative. For these reasons, HUD has determined that it is unnecessary to delay the effectiveness of this rule in order to solicit prior public comment.
Section 202 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA) [1] requires that an agency prepare a budgetary impact statement before promulgating a rule that includes a Federal mandate that may result in the expenditure by state, local and tribal governments, in the aggregate, or by the Start Printed Page 46182private sector of $100 million or more in any one year. If a budgetary impact statement is required, section 205 of UMRA also requires an agency to identify and consider a reasonable number of regulatory alternatives before promulgating a rule.[2] However, the UMRA applies only to rules for which an agency publishes a general notice of proposed rulemaking pursuant to the APA.[3] As discussed above, HUD has determined for good cause that the APA does not require general notice and public comment on this rule and, therefore, the UMRA does not apply to this final rule.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, and under the authority of 42 U.S.C. 3535(d), amend title 24, parts 200 and 2700, as follows:
2. Revise § 200.1301 to add paragraph (f) to read as follows:
(f) No new emergency mortgage assistance, emergency mortgage relief loans, advances of credit or emergency mortgage relief payments, or any other type of assistance permitted under the Emergency Housing Act of 1975, title I of the Emergency Homeowners' Relief Act (12 U.S.C. 2701), as amended by section 1496 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Pub. L. 111-203) is being provided under the programs listed below. Any existing emergency assistance, emergency mortgage relief loans, advances of credit or emergency mortgage relief payments under these programs will continue to be governed by the regulations in effect as they existed immediately before September 8, 2014 (24 CFR part 2700):
(1) Part 2700, Emergency Homeowners' Loan Program (12 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.)
3. Remove part 2700.
3. 2 U.S.C. 1532(a).
[FR Doc. 2014-18723 Filed 8-6-14; 8:45 am]