Notice2022-23564
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERA2)
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
October 31, 2022
Issuing agencies
Treasury Department
Abstract
The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other federal agencies to comment on the proposed information collections listed below, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 209 (Monday, October 31, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 209 (Monday, October 31, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65647-65648]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-23564]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection;
Comment Request; Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERA2)
AGENCY: Office of Recovery Programs, Departmental Offices, U.S.
Department of the Treasury.
ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.
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SUMMARY: The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing
effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general
public and other federal agencies to comment on the proposed
information collections listed below, in accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995.
DATES: Comments should be received on or before December 30, 2022 to be
assured of consideration.
ADDRESSES: Send comments regarding the burden estimate, or any other
aspect of the information collection, including suggestions for
reducing the burden, to Melody Braswell, Treasury PRA Clearance
Officer, 1750 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Suite 8100, Washington, DC 20220,
or email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c393918283b7b1a6a2b0b6b1baeda4acb5"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0a5a584b4a7e786f6b797f7873246d657c">[email protected]</span></a>. Copies of the submissions may be obtained
from Haley Adams by emailing <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#87efe6ebe2fea9e6e3e6eaf4c7f3f5e2e6f4f2f5fea9e0e8f1"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="a5cdc4c9c0dc8bc4c1c4c8d6e5d1d7c0c4d6d0d7dc8bc2cad3">[email protected]</span></a> or viewing the
entire information collection request at <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov">www.reginfo.gov</a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERA2).
OMB Control Number: 1505-0270.
Type of Review: Extension of a previously approved collection.
Description: On March 11, 2021, the President signed the American
Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (the ``Act'') into law. The Act authorizes the
Secretary of the Treasury to disburse $21.55 billion of Emergency
Rental Assistance (ERA2) to States, the District of Columbia, U.S.
Territories, and certain local governments with more than 200,000
residents (collectively, ``grantees'') to provide financial assistance
and housing stability services to eligible households. Beginning on
October 1, 2022, eligible ERA2 grantees that have obligated 75% of the
ERA2 funds allocated to them may also use their remaining unobligated
funds on other affordable rental housing and eviction prevention
activities, as defined by the Secretary, serving very low-income
families.
The Act requires Treasury to reallocate funds initially allocated,
but not yet paid, to eligible grantees, according to a procedure
established by Treasury. Pursuant to the reallocation procedure
Treasury has established, Treasury identifies funds subject to
reallocation on a quarterly basis and refers to them as ``excess
funds.'' To identify the eligible grantees interested in receiving
reallocated funds, Treasury solicits Request for Reallocation forms
through its ERA2 program portal, which capture the amount of each
grantee's request as well as information confirming that a requesting
grantee meets certain eligibility requirements, including the statutory
requirement that a grantee obligate at least 50% of its initial ERA2
allocation before receiving reallocated funds.
In addition to confirming grantees' eligibility to receive
reallocated funds, the reallocation forms on Treasury's ERA2 portal
allow Treasury to collect information needed to determine which
grantees to prioritize in the distribution of reallocated funds.
Treasury's prioritization calculation considers: whether potential
recipient grantees are located in the same state as transferor
grantees; potential recipient grantees' rate of expenditure; and
potential recipient grantees' jurisdictional needs. Pursuant to
Treasury's ERA2 program guidance, starting with reallocation based on
data as of June 30, 2022 (known as the Quarter 2 Assessment), Treasury
will also prioritize, among eligible grantees, those grantees that have
expended non-ERA funds, including State and Local Fiscal Recovery
Funds, for rental or utility assistance substantially similar to
eligible uses under ERA1 \1\ or ERA2 since the enactment of the ERA1
statute on December 27, 2020, in an amount exceeding 20% of their
initial ERA2 allocation. To receive this prioritization, a grantee must
submit to Treasury a certification of, among other things, the amount
of non-ERA funding expended on rental or utility assistance
substantially similar to eligible uses under ERA1 or ERA2, the sources
of these expenditures, and the number of households served. To
implement this prioritization system for the Quarter 2 Assessment and
subsequent reallocation
[[Page 65648]]
cycles, Treasury has developed a form for its reallocation portal to
collect information needed to confirm that a requesting eligible
grantee is entitled to prioritization based on its non-ERA
expenditures.
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\1\ ``ERA1'' refers to the Emergency Rental Assistance program
authorized by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, Pub. L.
116-260, section 501, 134 Stat. 2069 (Dec. 27, 2020).
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In addition to the above-described reallocation process, some
grantees choose to voluntarily reallocate a portion of their ERA2
allocations to one or more eligible grantees. To that end, Treasury has
also developed, within its reallocation portal, a standard form that
grantees use to initiate voluntary reallocation. In accordance with
statutory requirements, a grantee may transfer up to 60% of its initial
ERA2 allocation.
OMB approved the usage of these various reallocation forms on June
16, 2022. Since then, Treasury has made de minimis changes accounting
for the passage of time and other program developments, none of which
substantively alter the forms.
Accordingly, the collection of the above-described information is
crucial to the reallocation process, which is a central component of
the ERA2 program.
Forms: Request for Voluntary Reallocation; Request for Reallocated
Funds; Request for Reallocated Funds--Voluntary; Non-ERA Expenditures
Report.
Affected Public: States, Territories and local governments who
received ERA2 awards.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 482.
Frequency of Response: Once.
Estimated Total Number of Annual Responses: 982.
Estimated Time per Response: Varies from 10-60 minutes.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 524.4 hours.
Request for Comments: Comments submitted in response to this notice
will be summarized and included in the request for Office of Management
and Budget approval. All comments will become a matter of public
record. Comments are invited on: (a) whether the collection of
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the
collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility,
and clarity of the information to be collected; (d) ways to minimize
the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including
through the use of technology; and (e) estimates of capital or start-up
costs and costs of operation, maintenance, and purchase of services
required to provide information.
Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.
Melody Braswell,
Treasury PRA Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2022-23564 Filed 10-28-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-AK-P
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