On December 3, 2012, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published the final rule resulting from the negotiated rulemaking over the NAHASDA (Native American Housing and Self Determination Act) regulations that began in 2010. This rule represents a significant modification to the regulations at 24 CFR part 1000, and addresses every part of those regulations except for Subpart D, dealing with the Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG) allocation formula (which will be the subject of an upcoming negotiated rulemaking). The areas amended by the new rule include the following subparts of part 1000:
Subpart A – addressing non-discrimination requirements, environmental reviews, program income, investment of IHBG funds, labor standards, administrative requirements, Indian preference, and procurement requirements.
Subpart B – addressing affordable housing activities, eligibility issues, useful life of units, and criminal records access and use.
Subpart C – addressing the annual Indian Housing Plans that must be prepared as a prerequisite to receiving the annual IHBG allocation, as well as use of IHBG funds for administrative and planning expenses, reserve accounts, local cooperation agreements, and exemption from taxation.
Subpart E – addressing the Title VI loan guarantee provisions of NAHASDA.
Subpart F – addressing oversight, monitoring, and enforcement of tribal housing programs by HUD.
The amendments were negotiated in a series of seven negotiated rulemaking sessions, six of which took place in 2010, and a final one in May 2012 that considered public comments received in response to the proposed rule, which had been published in November 2011.
The final rule published on December 3, 2012, represents only minor revisions to the proposed rule published a year ago. The new regulations go into effect on January 2, 2013. A copy of the final rule may be found here: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-12-03/pdf/2012-29133.pdf
Please let us know as indicated below if we may provide additional information on the final rule.
