Opinion ID: 172239
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Funding Scheme under NAHASDA

Text: This case involves HUD's implementation of NAHASDA, a federal statute enacted to provide funding to Native American tribes in order to help[ ] tribes and their members ... improve their housing conditions and socioeconomic status. 25 U.S.C. § 4101(5). [1] Adopted in 1996, NAHASDA established a housing-assistance program that was funded directly through Indian Housing Block Grants (IHBG), id. § 4111, and disbursed to tribes on the basis of Indian Housing Plans prepared by the tribes and submitted to HUD, id. § 4112. All federally-recognized and state-recognized Indian tribes are eligible for IHBG funding. 24 C.F.R. § 1000.202; see 25 U.S.C. § 4103(12). The amount of IHBG funding each eligible tribe receives is determined in accordance with the allocation formula established by HUD pursuant to a negotiated rulemaking procedure and contained in the implementing regulations. 25 U.S.C. §§ 4116(b), 4151, 4152(a). While Congress delegated to HUD the authority to create the allocation formula, Congress also circumscribed HUD's discretion by specifically stating that the formula must be based on factors that reflect the need of the Indian tribes and the Indian areas of the tribes for assistance for affordable housing activities. Id. § 4152(b). The formula HUD created has two components: (1) Formula Current Assisted Housing Stock (FCAS), and (2) Need. 24 C.F.R. § 1000.310. Generally, the amount of annual funding for an Indian tribe is the sum of the FCAS component and the Need component. The Need component, the only component at issue here, is based on seven criteria set forth in the regulations  criteria such as the number of tribal households with income below a median income level and the number of households without kitchens and plumbing. [2] Id. § 1000.324. None of the criteria references court jurisdiction over a geographic area. In addition to these seven criteria, HUD has also created a Formula Area requirement. While the regulations do not say so explicitly, HUD apparently only applies the seven § 1000.324 criteria to Indian households within an applicant tribe's Formula Area. Therefore, applicant tribes must show that they possess a Formula Area in order to receive need-based funding under § 1000.324. At the time, the regulations defined Formula Area as the geographic area over which an Indian tribe could exercise court jurisdiction or is providing substantial housing services and, where applicable, the Indian tribe ... has agreed to provide housing services pursuant to a Memorandum of Agreement with the governing entity or entities (including Indian tribes) of the area, including but not limited to: ... ... (vi) Former Indian Reservation Areas in Oklahoma as defined by the Census as Tribal Jurisdictional Statistical Area. 24 C.F.R. § 1000.302. [3] However, even though the Formula Area requirement acts as a threshold for need-based funding under § 1000.324, tribes that do not possess a designated Formula Area are still entitled to a minimum funding amount under § 1000.328. Id. § 1000.328. See generally Fort Peck Hous. Auth. v. U.S. Dep't of Hous. and Urban Dev., 435 F.Supp.2d 1125, 1127-29 (D.Colo.2006) (describing NAHASDA's funding mechanism).