80 FR 20239 - 30-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: CDBG Urban County Qualification/Requalification Process

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 72 (April 15, 2015)

HUD has submitted the proposed information collection requirement described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. The purpose of this notice is to allow for an additional 30 days of public comment.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 72 (Wednesday, April 15, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20239-20240]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-08655]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-5831-N-18]


30-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: CDBG Urban 
County Qualification/Requalification Process

AGENCY: Office of the Chief Information Officer, HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: HUD has submitted the proposed information collection 
requirement described below to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) for review, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. The 
purpose of this notice is to allow for an additional 30 days of public 
comment.

DATES: Comments Due Date: May 15, 2015.

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: HUD Desk Officer, Office of 
Management and Budget, New Executive Office Building, Washington, DC 
20503; fax: 202-395-5806. Email: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Colette Pollard, Reports Management 
Officer, QDAM, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th 
Street SW., Washington, DC 20410; email at Colette [email protected] or 
telephone 202-402-3400. Persons with hearing or speech impairments may 
access this number through TTY by calling the toll-free Federal Relay 
Service at (800) 877-8339. This is not a toll-free number. Copies of 
available documents submitted to OMB may be obtained from Ms. Pollard.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice informs the public that HUD has 
submitted to OMB a request for approval of the information collection 
described in Section A.
    The Federal Register notice that solicited public comment on the 
information collection for a period of 60 days was published on 
February 9, 2015 at 80 FR 7028.

A. Overview of Information Collection

    Title of Information Collection: Community Development Block Grant 
(CDBG) Urban County Qualification/Requalification Processes.
    OMB Approval Number: 2506-0170.
    Type of Request: Revision of currently approved collection.
    Form Numbers: N/A.
    Description of the need for the information and proposed use: The 
Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as amended, at sections 
102(a)(6) and 102(e) requires that any county seeking qualification as 
an urban county notify each unit of general local government within the 
county that such unit may enter into a cooperation agreement to 
participate in the CDBG program as part of the county. Section 102(d) 
of the statute specifies that the period of qualification will be three 
years. Based on these statutory provisions, counties seeking 
qualification or requalification as urban counties under the CDBG 
program must provide information to HUD every three years identifying 
the units of general local governments (UGLGs) within the county 
participating as a part of the county for purposes of receiving CDBG 
funds. The population of UGLGs for each eligible urban county is used 
in HUD's allocation of CDBG funds for all entitlement and State CDBG 
grantees.
    New York towns undertook a similar process every three years. 
However,

[[Page 20240]]

after consultation with program counsel, it was determined that a 
requalification process for New York towns is unnecessary because the 
units of general local government in New York towns do not have the 
same statutory notice rights (under Section 102(e) of the Housing and 
Community Development Act of 1974) as units of general local government 
participating in an urban county. In addition, each New York town has 
automatic renewing agreements with the incorporated units of general 
local governments contained within their boundaries. Therefore, it is 
presumed that all incorporated units of general local government will 
continue to participate in the New York towns in which they are located 
unless Headquarters is notified to the contrary.
    Respondents: Urban counties that are eligible as entitlement 
grantees of the CDBG program.
    Estimation Number of Respondents: There are currently 185 qualified 
urban counties participating in the CDBG program that must requalify 
every three years.
    Frequency of Response: On average, two new counties qualify each 
year. The burden on new counties is greater than for existing counties 
that requalify. The Department estimates new grantees use, on average, 
100 hours to review instructions, contact communities in the county, 
prepare and review agreements, obtain legal opinions, have agreements 
executed at the local and county level, and prepare and transmit copies 
of required documents to HUD. The Department estimates that counties 
that are requalifying use, on average, 60 hours to complete these 
actions. The time savings on requalification is primarily a result of a 
grantee's ability to use agreements with no specified end date. Use of 
such ``renewable'' agreements enables the grantee to merely notify 
affected participating UGLGs in writing that their agreement will 
automatically be renewed unless the UGLG terminates the agreement in 
writing, rather than executing a new agreement every three years.

 
 
 
Average of 2 new urban counties    2 x 100 hrs = 200 hrs.
 qualify per year.
185 grantees requalify on          62 x 60 hrs. = 3,720 hrs.
 triennial basis; average annual
 number of respondents = 62.
                                  --------------------------------------
    Total combined burden hours..  3,920 hours.
 

    This total number of combined burden hours can be expected to 
increase annually by 200 hours, given the average of two new urban 
counties becoming eligible entitlement grantees each year.

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                                             Number of     Frequency of   Responses  per    Burden hour   Annual  burden    Hourly cost
    Information collection  2506-0170       respondents      response          annum       per response        hours       per response     Annual cost
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                                                       2               2               2             100             200  ..............  ..............
                                                     185               1              62              60           3,720  ..............  ..............
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    Total...............................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............           3,920          $18.00         $70,560
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Solicitation of Public Comment

    This notice is soliciting 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 through 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.

     Authority: Section 3507 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 
44 U.S.C. Chapter 35.

    Dated: April 9, 2015.
Colette Pollard,
Department Reports Management Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer.
[FR Doc. 2015-08655 Filed 4-14-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4210-67-P