Notice of Proposed Information Collection for Public Comment Enterprise Income Verification (EIV) System-Debts Owed to Public Housing Agencies & Terminations

AGENCY:

Office of the Assistance Secretary for Public and Indian Housing, HUD.

ACTION:

Notice of proposed information collection.

SUMMARY:

The proposed information collection requirement described below will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. The Department is soliciting public comments on the subject proposal.

DATES:

Comments Due Date: December 1, 2009.

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 sent to: Lillian L. Deitzer, Departmental Reports Management Officer, QDAM, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street, SW., Room 4178, Washington, DC 20410-5000; telephone 202.402.8048 (this is not a toll-free number) or e-mail Ms. Deitzer at Lillian.L.Deitzer@hud.gov for a copy of the proposed forms or other available information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Dacia Rogers, Office of Policy, Programs and Legislative Initiatives, PIH, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street, SW., Room 4116, Washington, DC 20410; telephone 202 402-3374, for copies of other available documents (this is not a toll-free number).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Department will submit the proposed information collection to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended).

This Notice is soliciting comments from members of the public and affected agencies concerning the proposed collection of information to: (1) Evaluate 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) evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information; (3) enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology; e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses.

This notice also lists the following information:

Title of Proposal: Debts Owed to PHAs & Terminations.

OMB Control Number: 2577-XXXX (Pending).

Description of the Need for the Information and Proposed Use: In accordance with new regulatory requirements at 24 CFR 5.233, published in the Federal Register on January 27, 2009 at 74 FR 4832, processing entities that administer the Public Housing, Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher, Moderate Rehabilitation programs are required to use HUD's Enterprise Income Verification (EIV) system to verify employment and income information of program participants and to reduce administrative and subsidy payment errors. The EIV system is a system of records owned by HUD, as published in the Federal Register on July 20, 2005 at 70 FR 41780 and updated on August 8, 2006 at 71 FR 45066.

The Department seeks to identify families who no longer participate in a HUD rental assistance program due to adverse termination of tenancy and/or assistance, and owe a debt to a Public Housing Agency (PHA). In accordance with 24 CFR 982.552 and 960.203, the PHA may deny admission to a program if the family is not suitable for tenancy for such reasons (but not limited to): unacceptable past performance in meeting financial obligations, history of criminal activity, eviction from Federally assisted housing in the last five years, family has committed fraud, bribery, or any other corrupt or criminal act in connection with a Federal housing program, or if a family currently owes rent or other amounts to the PHA or to another PHA in connection with a Federally assisted housing program under the U.S. Housing Act of 1937.

Within the scope of this new collection of information, HUD seeks to collect from all PHAs, the following information:

1. Amount of debt owed by a former tenant to a PHA;

2. If applicable, indication of executed repayment agreement;

3. If applicable, indication of bankruptcy filing;

4. If applicable, the reason for any adverse termination of the family from a Federally assisted housing program.

This information will be collected electronically from PHAs via HUD's EIV system. This information will be used by HUD to create a national repository of families that owe a debt to a PHA and/or have been terminated from a Federally assisted housing program. This national repository will be available within the EIV system for all PHAs to access during the time of application for rental assistance. PHAs will be able to access this information to determine a family's suitability for rental assistance, and avoid providing limited Federal housing assistance to families who have previously been unable to comply with HUD program requirements. If this information is not collected, the Department is at risk of paying limited Federal dollars on behalf of families who may not be eligible to receive rental housing assistance. Furthermore, if this information is not collected, the public will perceive that there are no consequences for a family's failure to comply with HUD program requirements.

Agency Form Numbers: N/A.

Members of Affected Public: State or Local Government; Public Housing Agencies (PHAs), Individuals or Households.

Estimation of the Total number of hours needed to prepare the information collection including number of respondents, frequency of response, and hours of response: 4,094 respondents; 356,270 average number of families annually, requiring monthly average of 29,689 responses; 0.08333 hours per response; 29,689.17 total burden hours.

Status of the Proposed Information Collection: New Request. Pending Authorization.

Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended.