[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 251 (Tuesday, December 31, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79943-79944]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-33041]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-4572-D-23]


Delegation of Authority to the General Counsel Regarding Civil 
Money Penalty Actions for Certain Violations in Specified Multifamily 
Housing Programs

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing 
Commissioner, HUD.

ACTION: Notice of delegation of authority.

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SUMMARY: In this notice, the Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal 
Housing Commissioner is delegating authority to the General Counsel of 
HUD to take civil money penalty actions against multifamily mortgagors 
and Section 202 mortgagors for certain violations, along with the power 
to redelegate that authority. Elsewhere in today's Federal Register is 
a notice of a redelegation from the General Counsel that will enable 
the Director of the HUD Departmental Enforcement Center (DEC), and 
concurrently the Directors of the five DEC Satellite Offices, to take 
these actions as well.

EFFECTIVE DATE: September 12, 2002.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Herbert L. Goldblatt, Deputy Chief 
Counsel, Program Enforcement Branch, Departmental Enforcement Center, 
Department of Housing and Urban Development, Portals Building, 1250 
Maryland Avenue, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20024, (202) 708-3856. This 
is not a toll free number. For the hearing-speech-impaired, the number 
may be accessed via TTY by calling the Federal Information Relay 
Service at 1-800-877-8399.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: HUD regulations at 24 CFR 30.45 authorize 
the Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner, or 
the Assistant Secretary's designee, to take a civil money penalty 
action against any mortgagor of a multifamily property with a mortgage 
insured, co-insured or held by the Secretary pursuant to Title

[[Page 79944]]

II of the National Housing Act, or against any mortgagor of a property 
with a mortgage held by the Secretary pursuant to Section 202 of the 
Housing Act of 1959. Section 30.45 refers to the statutory provisions 
enumerating the violations for which the Assistant Secretary for 
Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner may impose a penalty upon those 
mortgagors. (See 12 U.S.C. 1701q-1(b) and (c), and 12 U.S.C. 1735f-
15(b) and (c).)
    On September 20, 2000, the Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal 
Housing Commissioner retained and delegated to the Director of the DEC 
the authority to take civil money penalty actions with regard to a 
mortgagor's failure to timely file an annual financial statement, one 
of the statutorily enumerated violations. The delegation was published 
at 65 FR 64981 on October 31, 2000. On January 16, 2001, the Assistant 
Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner retained and 
delegated to the Director of the DEC the authority to take civil money 
penalty actions with regard to the remaining statutorily enumerated 
violations. This delegation has not yet been published in the Federal 
Register. Neither the September 20, 2000, delegation, nor the January 
16, 2001, delegation permitted the Director of the DEC to further 
redelegate the authority.
    Today's notice announces the decision to expand upon the 
delegations of authority executed on September 20, 2000, and January 
16, 2001. The DEC is responsible for carrying out a wide range of HUD 
enforcement activities. Because the DEC has been recently placed under 
the Office of the General Counsel, the Assistant Secretary for Housing-
Federal Housing Commissioner is delegating the enforcement authority in 
24 CFR 30.45 to the General Counsel of HUD along with the power to 
redelegate that authority. The General Counsel is, in turn, 
redelegating that authority to the Director of the DEC, and 
concurrently to the Directors of the five DEC Satellite Offices. The 
redelegation from the General Counsel to the Director of the DEC and 
the Directors of the five DEC Satellite Office Directors also appears 
in today's Federal Register.
    In concert with these actions, the delegations of authority issued 
on September 20, 2000, and January 16, 2001, are revoked.
    Finally, the delegation of authority, noticed today, does not 
affect the authority of the Mortgagee Review Board, described in 24 CFR 
30.35, or the Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing 
Commissioner to initiate civil money penalty actions.
    Accordingly, the Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing 
Commissioner hereby (1) revokes and (2) retains and delegates authority 
as follows:
    Section A. Authority Delegated: The General Counsel is hereby 
delegated the authority to take all actions permitted under 24 CFR 
30.45. The authority delegated does not include authority to waive any 
regulations issued under the authority of the Assistant Secretary for 
Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner.
    Section B. Authority to Redelegate: The General Counsel is 
authorized to redelegate the authority described in Section A.
    Section C. Revocation of Authority: The delegations of authority to 
the Director of the DEC, issued on September 20, 2000 (65 FR 64981, 
October 31, 2000), and on January 16, 2001, are hereby revoked.
    The Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner 
may revoke the authority authorized herein, in whole or part, at any 
time.

    Authority: Section 30.45 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations.

    Dated: September 12, 2002.
John C. Weicher,
Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner.
[FR Doc. 02-33041 Filed 12-30-02; 8:45 am]
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