HUD posted two new proposed regulations on the EO 12866 Regulatory Review web page of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), an arm of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). One proposed rule would implement changes to the Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) program as required by statutory changes made in 2018. The second proposed rule would allow public housing agencies (PHAs) to establish replacement reserves to be used for Capital Fund-eligible purposes, as allowed by HOTMA statutory changes made in 2016.
The proposed FSS changes will reflect amendments authorized by the “Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act” signed into law on May 24, 2018. The act made multiple amendments to the FSS program, including expanding the definition of “eligible family” to include tenants of certain privately owned projects subsidized with project-based rental assistance, updating the program coordinator and action plan requirements, clarifying escrow account requirements, and changing the size calculation for the FSS program. According to the Fall Regulatory Agenda description, the statute required a proposed regulation by February 1, 2019. A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) is now anticipated for March 2020.
The proposed public housing Capital Fund regulation was authorized by the “Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016” (HOTMA). The proposed regulation will implement the HOTMA provision allowing PHAs to establish replacement reserves to be used for Capital Fund-eligible activities. The proposed rule would also allow small PHAs to accumulate capital funds to carry out capital improvements. A NPRM is anticipated for April 2020.
EO 12866 Regulatory Review information is at: https://bit.ly/39D41Du. Choose “Department of Housing and Urban Development” at the window labeled “Regulations under EO 12866 Review, Select Agency.” Clicking on the RIN number opens the Regulatory Agenda page that has the Fall 2019 Regulatory Agenda, which has a little more information.
The Family Self-Sufficiency Fall Regulatory Agenda summary is at: https://bit.ly/2SOGd9P
The Capital Fund Fall Regulatory Agenda summary is at: https://bit.ly/2ZMYt4Q
More about the Family Self-Sufficiency Program is on page 7-8 of NLIHC’s 2019 Advocates’ Guide.
More about public housing is on page 4-25 of NLIHC’s 2019 Advocates’ Guide.