SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

After receiving Federal Financial Reports (FFRs), Carryover and Reallotment Reports (CRRs), and fourth-quarter Quarterly Reports (QRs) from FY23 LIHEAP recipients, ACF has determined that $18,363,980 in FY23 LIHEAP funds may be available for reallotment for FY24. This determination was based on the reports of 75 recipients and the total obligations of 4 recipients. LIHEAP recipients submitted the FY23 CRRs to OCS, as required by regulations applicable to LIHEAP at 45 CFR 96.81(b).

The LIHEAP statute allows recipients who have funds unobligated at the end of the FY for which they are awarded to request that they be allowed to carry over up to 10 percent of their full-year allotments to the next FY (42 U.S.C. 8626(b)(2)). Funds in excess of this amount must be returned to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and are subject to reallotment under 42 U.S.C. 8626(b)(1).

In accordance with 42 U.S.C. 8626(b)(3), ACF notified each of the 79 recipients that reported or, in the absence of reporting, had potentially $18,363,980 of unobligated funds above their carryover caps. In these notices, ACF told each recipient about the amount that, according to the recipients' reports, it needed to return for de-obligation and redistribution to FY24 recipients as part of the reallotment. It also gave each recipient 30 calendar days to provide comments directly to ACF.

All LIHEAP recipients that receive a portion of these funds will be notified of the final reallotment amount redistributed to them for FY24. This decision will also be published in the Federal Register and in a Dear Colleague Letter that is posted to ACF's website under LIHEAP Dear Colleague Letters.

The FY23 LIHEAP funds that ACF preliminarily expects to become available for reallotment determination come from the following recipients in the following amounts:

If funds are reallotted, then they will be allocated in accordance with 42 U.S.C. 8623 and must be treated by LIHEAP recipients that receive them as funds appropriated for FY24. As FY24 funds, they will be subject to all requirements of the LIHEAP statute, including 42 U.S.C. 8626(b)(2), which requires that a recipient obligate at least 90 percent of its total block grant allocation for a fiscal year by the end of the fiscal year for which the funds are appropriated; that is, by September 30, 2024. Furthermore, recipients that receive these funds may use these funds for any purpose authorized under LIHEAP and must add them to their total LIHEAP funds payable for FY24 for purposes of calculating statutory caps on administrative costs, carryover, Assurance 16 activities, and weatherization assistance.

Additionally, all recipients of these funds must (1) ensure that these funds are included in the amounts on Lines 1.1 of their FY24 CRRs; (2) reconcile these funds, to the extent that they received them, on their corresponding FFRs; and (3) record, on their FY24 Household Reports, households that receive benefits at least partly from these funds. State recipients must also ensure that these funds are included in the Grantee Survey sections of their FY24 LIHEAP Performance Data Forms. ( printed page 76846)

Statutory Authority:42 U.S.C. 8626(b).

89 FR 76844