AGENCY:
Office of the Policy Development and Research, HUD.
ACTION:
Notice.
SUMMARY:
HUD is seeking approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for the information collection described below. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, HUD is requesting comment from all interested parties on the proposed collection of information. The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment.
DATES:
Comments Due Date: November 7, 2022.
ADDRESSES:
Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding this proposal. Comments should refer to the proposal by name and/or OMB Control Number and should be sent to: Anna P. Guido, Reports Management Officer, REE, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street SW, Room 8210 Washington, DC 20410-5000; telephone 202-402-5535 (this is not a toll-free number) or email at Anna.P.Guido@hud.gov for a copy of the proposed forms or other available information. Persons with hearing or speech impairments may access this number through TTY by calling the toll-free Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Anna P. Guido, Reports Management Officer, REE, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street SW, Washington, DC 20410-5000; email Anna P. Guido at Anna.P.Guido@hud.gov or telephone 202-402-5535 (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 (800) 877-8339. Copies of available documents submitted to OMB may be obtained from Ms. Guido.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
This notice informs the public that HUD is seeking approval from OMB for the information collection described in section A.
A. Overview of Information Collection
Title of Information Collection: Capital Needs Assessment of Public Housing.
OMB Approval Number: Pending.
Type of Request: New collection.
Form Number: N/A.
Description of the Need for the Information and Proposed Use: The Office of Policy Development and Research at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is proposing the collection of information for the Capital Needs Assessment of Public Housing.
Public housing serves the housing needs of low- and very-low-income households, including needy families, the elderly, and the disabled. In the United States, public housing is owned and managed by public housing authorities (PHAs), which are units of state and local government. Public housing is nonetheless heavily subsidized and regulated by HUD's Office of Public and Indian Housing through the Operating Fund, Capital Fund, and other means. The capital needs of public housing have a direct bearing on HUD's Capital Fund budget and its support to PHAs for using alternative means of financing to meet those needs.
The number of public housing developments and units in the United States and the number of PHAs that own and manage public housing developments and units have changed over time. According to the most recent HUD data, there are 2,780 PHAs that own and manage 940,330 units in 6,523 public housing developments.
The public housing Capital Fund provides funds for the capital and management activities of PHAs as authorized under section 9 of the Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437g) (the Act). Capital needs are defined by section 9(d)(1) of the Act, as codified at 24 CFR part 905, with section 200 listing eligible activities. These activities include, among others, the development, financing, and modernization of public housing, vacancy reduction, nonroutine maintenance, and planned code compliance. This work is intended to bring each PHA's projects up to applicable modernization and energy conservation standards.
This Federal Register Notice provides an opportunity to comment on the information collection for the capital needs assessment (CNA) of public housing.
After OMB approval of the Paperwork Reduction Act package, HUD and its contractor will administer a web-based survey to a sample of approximately 300 PHAs to collect data on their CNA estimates, their practices to arrive at those estimates, and their use of those estimates.
After analyzing the data from the first survey of PHAs, HUD and its contractor will administer a second web-based survey of another 500 PHAs. This survey will ask many of the same questions as the first survey.
Both surveys will provide data that, when combined with HUD's other data sources, will be used to estimate the capital needs of public housing following an iterative and duplicable approach.
Both surveys also include questions about the processes that PHAs use to assess their capital needs. Based on responses to those questions, the study will assess PHAs' processes to see how they compare to in-person data collection methods used in previous CNAs and industry best practices.
The purpose of this assessment is to better understand if a non-inspection-based approach can yield reliable and valid results that are comparable to those in the past studies, if not better.
Respondents: PHA officials and staff participating in capital needs assessments.
Estimated Number of Respondents: This information collection will affect approximately 800 respondents. This includes (1) an initial survey of 300 PHAs and (2) a second survey of 500 PHAs.
Estimated Time per Response: Each PHA survey is expected to take 30 minutes.
Frequency of Response: 1 time for all surveys.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 400 hours for all surveys.
Estimated Total Annual Cost: 15,212 for all surveys.
Respondent's Obligation: PHA staff members.
Legal Authority: The collection of information is conducted under title 12, United States Code, section 1701z and section 3507 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44, U.S.C., 35, as amended.
| Information collection | Number of respondents | Frequency of response | Responses per annum | Burden hour per response | Annual burden hours | Hourly cost per response | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PHA survey 1 | 300 | 1 | 1 | 0.5 | 150 | $38.03 | $5,704.50 |
| PHA survey 2 | 500 | 1 | 1 | 0.5 | 250 | 38.03 | 9,507.50 |
| Total | 800 | 400 | 15,212.00 | ||||
| Source: Table B-3. Average hourly and weekly earnings of all employees on private nonfarm payrolls by industry sector, seasonally adjusted. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. January 2022(P) for all business and professional services. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t19.htm . |
To arrive at the dollar cost of the estimated response burden, we have used preliminary estimates from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on average hourly earnings in January 2022. For PHA staff, we use the estimate for professional and business services ($38.03).
B. Solicitation of Public Comment
This notice solicits comments from members of the public and affected parties concerning the collection of information described in Section A on the following:
(1) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility;
(2) The accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information;
(3) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and
(4) Ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including the use of appropriate automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses.
HUD encourages interested parties to submit comment in response to these questions
C. Authority
Section 3507 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. chapter 35 and title 42 U.S.C. 5424 note, title 13 U.S.C. 8(b), and title 12, U.S.C., section 1701z-1.
Todd M. Richardson,
General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research.
[FR Doc. 2022-19262 Filed 9-6-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P