[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 217 (Thursday, November 10, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-27894]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: November 10, 1994]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
[Docket No. N-94-3691; FR-3348-N-11]
State and Local Fair Housing Laws: Notice of Initial
Determination Concerning Substantial Equivalency of the Fair Housing
Laws of the States of Connecticut, Ohio, South Carolina, and the City
of Cambridge, Massachusetts
AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal
Opportunity, HUD.
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with 24 CFR 115.6(c), this notice announces the
Department's initial determination that the fair housing laws of the
States of Connecticut, Ohio and South Carolina, and the city of
Cambridge, Massachusetts, are substantially equivalent, on their face,
to the Fair Housing Act. This notice solicits comments from the public
on the initial determinations made with respect to these three States
and this locality. This notice also solicits comments on the
Department's proposed determinations that the present practices and
past performance of the agency enforcing the fair housing law of the
three States and the locality demonstrate that, in operation, the fair
housing laws of the States and the locality provide rights and remedies
that are substantially equivalent to those available under the Fair
Housing Act.
DATES: Comment Due Date: December 12, 1994.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding
this notice to the Office of General Counsel, Rules Docket Clerk, Room
10276, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street,
SW, Washington, DC 20410. Communications should refer to the above
docket number and title. A copy of each communication submitted will be
available for public inspection and copying on weekdays between 7:30
a.m. and 5:30 p.m. at the above address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marcella O. Brown, Chief, Fair Housing
Assistance Programs Division, Office of Fair Housing and Equal
Opportunity, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh
Street, SW, Room 5234, Washington, DC 20410, telephone (202) 708-0455
(voice/TDD). (This is not a toll-free number.)
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Under the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3600-3619), the Department is
authorized to investigate complaints alleging discrimination in
housing. (Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, as amended by the
Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988, is cited as the ``Fair Housing
Act.'') Section 810(f) of the Fair Housing Act requires the Department
to refer complaints to State and local agencies that have
``substantially equivalent'' fair housing standards, as determined and
certified by the Department.
Part 115 of the Department's regulations (24 CFR part 115) contains
the certification standards and the procedures for certifying State and
local fair housing laws that provide substantive rights and remedies
for alleged discriminatory housing practices that are substantially
equivalent to those provided in the Fair Housing Act.
Announcement of Initial Determinations and Solicitation of Comments
In accordance with 24 CFR 115.6(c)(1), this notice announces that
the fair housing laws of the States of Connecticut, Ohio, South
Carolina and the city of Cambridge, MA, have been determined by the
Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity to be
substantially equivalent, on their face, to the Fair Housing Act. The
Assistant Secretary has determined, after application of the criteria
set forth in 24 CFR 115.3 and 115.4, that the fair housing laws for
these three States and this locality provide, on their face,
substantive rights and remedies for alleged discriminatory housing
practices that are substantially equivalent to those provided in the
Fair Housing Act.
Following a review of performance standards and other materials
pertaining to the fair housing laws of these three States and this
locality, the Department expects to make final determinations that the
law of each of the three States and the locality, in operation,
provides rights and remedies that are substantially equivalent to those
available under the Fair Housing Act. The Department intends to execute
a Memorandum of Understanding with the agency charged with enforcement
of the fair housing law of each State and locality in accordance with
24 CFR 115.6(c).
In accordance with 24 CFR 115.6(b), the public is invited to submit
written comments on this notice. Specifically, the Department requests
written comments on the proposed determinations that the current
practices and past performance of the agencies charged with
administration and enforcement of the fair housing laws of the three
States and the locality demonstrate that, in operation, these laws
provide substantive rights and remedies that are substantially
equivalent to the Fair Housing Act. This notice also invites comments
from the public on the Department's determination that the fair housing
laws of these three States and the locality are, on their face,
substantially equivalent to the Fair Housing Act.
In commenting on this notice, the Department requests that
commenters clearly identify the State or the locality for which
comments are submitted.
Dated: September 15, 1994.
Roberta Achtenberg,
Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity.
[FR Doc. 94-27894 Filed 11-9-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-28-P