On June 20, HUD’s long-awaited proposed regulations to strengthen jurisdictions’ obligation to affirmatively further fair housing choice (AFFH), cleared review by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). OIRA’s notice indicates that its review found the proposed AFFH rule “Consistent without Change.”The proposed AFFH regulations are now back at HUD and it is up to HUD to take the next step of getting the proposed rule published in the Federal Register.While the contents of the proposed AFFH rule are not available, HUD’s Statement of Regulatory Priorities for FY13 (see Memo, 1/4) listed as key changes:1) A new fair housing assessment and planning tool, referred to as an Assessment of Fair Housing, which will replace the current Analysis of Impediments (AI);2) The provision of nationally uniform data that will help frame jurisdictions’ fair housing assessment activities; 3) Meaningful direction from HUD regarding the purpose of the Assessment of Fair Housing and the standards by which it will be evaluated; 4) A more direct link between the Assessment of Fair Housing and jurisdictions’ required planning products, such as the Consolidated Plan and the Public Housing Agency (PHA) Plan, tying fair housing planning into priority setting, use of resources, and specific activities to be carried out; and, 5) A new HUD review procedure based on clear standards.OIRA’s Executive Order Submissions with Review Completed in the Last 30 Days is at: http://1.usa.gov/cdjbJf