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HUD Announces Issuance of the ESG Notice for Additional Public Comment on the Interim Rule
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HUD is announcing the issuance of the ESG Notice for additional public comment on the interim rule, entitled: “Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) Program; Solicitation of Comment on Specific Issues.”
This is the second time HUD is opening the ESG interim rule for public comment, before issuing the final rule. The first comment period for the interim rule ended on February 3, 2012. HUD has carefully reviewed all comments received in response to the interim rule through the first comment period. However, because recipients and subrecipients have now had more experience implementing the interim rule, HUD recognizes that they may have additional input and comments for HUD to consider in its development of the ESG final rule. HUD greatly appreciates and values the feedback that commenters provide—and especially seeks feedback that draws on their experience with the interim rule. Therefore, HUD is issuing this Notice to re-open the public comment period for an additional 60 days. The comment period will close on Monday, August 3, 2015.
HUD requests that commenters not resubmit any comments already submitted in the first public comment period unless they provide new information or insights based on research or experience with the program as HUD will consider comments from both comment periods when drafting the Final Rule.
The instructions for submitting comments are outlined in the beginning of the Notice. Please review this section carefully; note that all comments must be submitted in the manner outlined in the Notice in order for HUD to consider the comment. Do not submit questions or comments about the Notice to the Ask A Question help desk on HUD Exchange (AAQ) as the AAQ cannot answer questions about the Notice. If a requirement in the Notice is unclear, please submit that as a comment.
In this Notice, HUD is seeking additional feedback and comment on certain, limited provisions of the ESG interim rule. In many instances, HUD proposes specific language for comment. Many of the specific areas on which HUD has identified for additional comment are based on feedback HUD has received via the AAQ, at conferences, and in discussions with recipients, subrecipients, and other stakeholders. HUD has published an outline of the Notice, to provide an at-a-glance overview of the content to readers. Readers can use the outline to help them follow along and as a tool to organize the final comments that they will submit.
In general, as you are reading the Notice and considering comments to submit to HUD, HUD asks you to think about the following questions for each of the changes being considered:
- How will it affect individuals and families who are homeless and at risk of homelessness, who this program is designed to serve?
- Will it assist with ease of administering the program?
- Will it help improve compliance with the regulation?
- What effects could it have in your community - both positive and negative?
Finally, please note: this Notice does not establish any new requirements. The ESG interim rule is in effect until the ESG final rule is published. All of the proposed language and topics are presented only for consideration at this time.
HUD greatly appreciates your time and attention to providing helpful and constructive comments to improve the ESG program for the final rule.
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