On March 14, NAHRO will host an e-Briefing on Healthy Federally Assisted Housing: Smoke-Free Public Housing and Lead-Free Housing Rules. Below is a flyer with all of the details. Register online at www.nahro.org/training-calendar.
Policy
HUD Publishes PIH Notice on Limiting Payments to Influence Federal Transactions, Anti-Lobbying, and Disclosure Requirements
On March 3, HUD published PIH-2017-04 (HA) titled “Limitations on Payments to Influence Federal Transactions for PIH Programs and PHA Anti-Lobbying Certification and Disclosure Requirements.” According to this notice, PHAs are required to submit the following, if they have received over $100,000 in federally appropriated funds:
- Certification of Payments to Influence Federal Transactions (Form HUD-50071) – for PHAs to certify that they have not and will not make prohibited payments from federally appropriated funds; and
- Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (SF-LLL) – for PHAs that have used non-federally appropriated funds for influencing or attempting to influence executive or legislative branch personnel in connection with new funding, renewal funding, changing policy, or changing legislation.
PHAs are prohibited from using federally appropriated funds for lobbying activities. PHAs’ contributions to trade associations are not lobbying activities under this notice, nor do the certification and disclosure requirements in this notice apply to PHA contributions to trade associations. The requirements of this notice apply to all PHAs, including MTW agencies.
The notice also outlines record retention and other responsibilities of both PHAs and HUD Field Offices.
Additional information on the notice will be provided to NAHRO members in upcoming coverage.
The full notice can be found here.
Senate Confirms Dr. Ben Carson as HUD Secretary
Earlier today, the United States Senate confirmed Dr. Ben Carson as the 17th Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. He was confirmed on a vote of 58 to 41. NAHRO has invited Secretary Carson to speak at the 2017 NAHRO Washington Conference. NAHRO has also invited the Secretary to listen to the concerns of PHAs and RDAs as part of the countrywide listening tour he mentioned during his confirmation hearing. We look forward to working with him.
[3/3/17 Edit – HUD’s press release can be found here.]
UPCS-V Demonstration Update (February, 2017)
Earlier today, HUD held a conference call for participants of the UPCS-V Demonstration. The call provided an update of what was occurring with the Demonstration and the next steps in the process.
There are 234 agencies that are participating in the UPCS-V Demonstration. Of these, four agencies are currently doing UPCS-V inspections. Fifteen additional agencies are scheduled to begin doing UPCS-V inspections in April 2017. HUD has been gathering feedback from PHAs to improve the usability of the inspection software and has identified 39 items to improve in the software. Additionally, the protocol and decision trees are being updated from feedback from PHAs. HUD has noted that there are a limited number of electronic devices that will be available for the Demonstration and is prioritizing PHAs who need them and do not have them.
During the call, HUD noted two areas where they were looking for additional feedback. First, HUD would like feedback from landlords. They would like to hear from PHAs about landlord groups in their area. They are also looking to conduct a landlord event–possibly a call or a conference. Second, HUD will hold two IT vendor days in Phoenix, AZ and Jacksonville, FL on April 5th and April 7th respectively. They are encouraging PHAs to attend these events with their software vendors so that HUD is able to “facilitate a conversation.”
Finally, HUD shared this timeline during the update:
- Past;
- First PHAs completed inspections of record in January;
- UPCS-V 2.0 released;
- Updated software;
- Updated decision trees;
- Present;
- Expand adoption of UPCS-V to larger number of PHAs;
- In-person and WebEx training;
- Incorporating weekly updates from weekly trainings;
- February – June;
- Increase the number of inspections for statistical valid sample;
- Understanding potential challenges for PHAs;
- Release of next version of protocol of refinement of decision trees with PHA input;
- Continuous software user experience;
- IT Vendor Day;
- June – January (2018);
- Working towards a full online training tool; and
- Continue training PHAs and evaluating data collected from the Demonstration.
Any questions or feedback can be given to HUD at OED@hud.gov. In the past, HUD has posted a recording of the call and the accompanying slides on their OED website, within a few weeks.
MTW Expansion e-Briefing on Tuesday February 21!
Upcoming NAHRO e-Briefing on HUD Year in Review
On February 7, 2017, 
NAHRO will present, Moving Forward: A Review of 2016 Regulation and
Legislation, part of NAHRO’s Housing Rules!! series.
The NAHRO Policy team will discuss
many areas that HUD and Congress addressed during 2016 and NAHRO reviewed in detail
in NAHRO’s Regulatory and Legislative Year in Review – 2016, which will provide a solid regulatory and legislative foundation as we work with the new Administration and new Congress to keep our affordable housing agenda moving forward.
Registration information for this e-Briefing and other professional development offerings is available through the NAHRO Professional Development calendar.
NAHRO’s Call for Session Proposals for the 2017 Summer Conference is Now Open.
NAHRO’s Call for Session Proposals for the 2017 Summer Conference is now open.
Share your experience as a housing and community development professional by submitting a session proposal for consideration as a presentation at the 2017 NAHRO Summer Conference in Indianapolis, IN. We are looking for sessions on current and emerging issues, best practices, and strategies to handle challenges facing the industry.
Session proposals should fall under one of the following identified topic tracks – Public Housing, Section 8/HCV, H/CD Finance, Community Development, Commissioners, Organizational Management and International.
Deadline to submit: March 15 and proposals must be submitted thru NAHRO’s on-line submission tool.
Submissions should be complete with a clear and concise session title, description, three learning objectives and identified panelists.
New Executive Order Mandates Two Regulations Be Identified For Repeal For Every New Regulation Promulgated
On January 30, days after publishing its regulatory freeze memorandum, the new administration published an executive order titled “REDUCING REGULATION AND CONTROLLING REGULATORY COSTS.” The order mandates that “for every one new regulation issued, at least two prior regulations be identified for elimination.”
For FY 2017, the order directs agencies and executive departments to identify two existing regulations to be repealed for every new regulation to be issued. Additionally, a regulatory cap is established, which directs agencies to establish a limit such that the total incremental cost of all new regulations and repealed regulations finalized in FY 2017 does not exceed zero, unless required by law or consistent with the advice of the Director of Office of Management and Budget. Any new incremental costs associated with new regulations must be offset by the elimination of existing costs associated with two prior regulations. The Director will provide guidance to the agencies to implement this order.
For FY 2018 and future fiscal years, agency heads will identify two offsetting regulations for each regulation that increases incremental costs and provide the agency’s best approximation of costs or savings with each new regulation or repealed regulation. Each regulation approved by the Director will be included in the Unified Regulatory Agenda and will not be issued by an agency, if it is not included, unless required by law. During the presidential budget process, the Director will identify the total amount of incremental costs that will be allowed for each agency. No regulations exceeding the agency’s total incremental costs for the fiscal year will be permitted, unless required by law or approved by the Director. The Director will provide the heads of the agencies with guidance to implement this order.
It is unclear how this order will affect the regulatory process at HUD. NAHRO awaits further published guidance.
The full executive order can be found here.
Additional analysis on how the order impacts the federal bureaucracy as a whole can be found here and here.
NAHRO Releases Regulatory and Legislative Year in Review – 2016
In 2016, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) was very busy setting forth new rules and regulations and providing updated notices and guidances on many of the HUD administered affordable housing programs. The year has also been marked by many legislative victories and a few challenges.
NAHRO has drafted and compiled this Regulatory and Legislative Year in Review – 2016 to provide a primer of the topics on the forefront of the affordable housing industry. It can also provide you, your public housing agencies (PHAs) and local redevelopment agencies (LRAs) and your stakeholders with current information on many of the programs used and administered by HUD and the affordable housing community.
The full Regulatory and Legislative Year in Review – 2016, along with the individual topic one-pagers, is available on the NAHRO website. For the most up-to-date versions and information visit the NAHRO website and the NAHRO blog.
NAHRO Policy and Congressional teams are also conducting two e-Briefings through NAHRO Professional Development. The first is This Just in from Washington on January 31, 2017, where NAHRO’s Congressional team will give you an update on FY2017 appropriations, preview FY2018, outline potential legislative action on HCD programs, and discuss ways in which you can be the most effective advocate in this rapidly changing political climate. The second is part of the Housing Rules! Series, Moving Forward: A Review of 2016 Regulation and Legislation on February 7, 2017, where NAHRO’s Policy team will discuss many areas that HUD and Congress addressed during 2016 and NAHRO reviewed in detail in NAHRO’s Regulatory and Legislative Year in Review – 2016, which will provide a solid regulatory and legislative foundation as we work with the new Administration and new Congress to keep our affordable housing agenda moving forward. Registration information for both of these e-Briefings is available through the NAHRO Professional Development calendar.
HUD Publishes Coordinated Entry Requirements for Homeless Assistance Programs
Yesterday, HUD published long-awaited guidance (Notice CPD-17-01) establishing the additional requirements for the development and implementation of a “centralized or coordinated assessment system” (i.e., “coordinated entry” or “coordinated entry process”) for recipients and subrecipients of the Continuum of Care (CoC) and Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) programs.
The coordinated entry processes are intended to help communities prioritize people who are most in need of homeless assistance and help grantees and stakeholders strategically allocate their resources by providing information about local service needs and gaps. Each CoC must establish or update its coordinated entry process in accordance with the 2012 CoC interim final rule and this notice by January 23, 2018.
Once the coordinated entry process is established, updated and/or operationalized by CoC program recipients and subrecipients, HUD will expect the coordinated entry process to be used for all ESG programs and projects within the CoC’s geographic area. However, HUD does not require victim service providers under ESG to use the CoC’s coordinated entry process.
Additional analysis of this HUD guidance will be provided to members in a forthcoming edition of the NAHRO Monitor.
The NAHRO Blog: Legislative & Policy Updates from Washington, DC 