42 U.S.C. § 3545 - HUD accountability

• Cite as: 42 U.S.C. § 3545

(a) Notice regarding assistance

(1) Publication of notice of availability

The Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register notice of the availability of any assistance under any program or discretionary fund administered by the Secretary.

(2) Publication of application procedures

The Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register a description of the form and procedures by which application for the assistance may be made, and any deadlines relating to the award or allocation of the assistance. Such description shall be designed to help eligible applicants to apply for such assistance.

(3) Publication of selection criteria

Not less than 30 days before any deadline by which applications or requests for assistance under any program or discretionary fund administered by the Secretary must be submitted, the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register the criteria by which selection for the assistance will be made. Subject to section 1439 of this title, such criteria shall include any objective measures of housing need, project merit, or efficient use of resources that the Secretary determines are appropriate and consistent with the statute under which the assistance is made available.

(4) Documentation of decisions

(A) The Secretary shall award or allocate assistance only in response to a written application in a form approved in advance by the Secretary, except where other award or allocation procedures are specified in statute.

(B) The Secretary shall ensure that documentation and other information regarding each application for assistance is sufficient to indicate the basis on which any award or allocation was made or denied. The preceding sentence shall apply to-

(i) any application for an award or allocation of assistance made by the Secretary to a State, unit of general local government, or other recipient of assistance, and

(ii) any application for a subsequent award or allocation of such assistance by such State, unit of general local government or other recipient.

(C)

(i) The Secretary shall notify the public of all funding decisions made by the Department. The Secretary shall require any State or unit of general local government to notify the public of the award or allocation of such funding to subsequent recipients. The notification shall include the following elements for each funding decision:

(I) the name and address of each funding recipient;

(II) the name or other means of identifying the project, activity, or undertaking for each funding recipient;

(III) the dollar amount of the funding for each project, activity, or undertaking;

(IV) the citation to the statutory, regulatory, or other criteria under which the funding decision was made; and

(V) such additional information as the Secretary deems appropriate for a clear and full understanding of the funding decision.

(ii) The notification referred to in clause (i) of this subsection shall be published as a Notice in the Federal Register at least quarterly.

(iii) For purposes of this subparagraph, the term "funding decision" means the decision of the Secretary to make available grants, loans, or any other form of financial assistance to an individual or to an entity, including (but not limited to) a State or local government or agency thereof (including a public housing agency), an Indian tribe, or a nonprofit organization, under any program administered by the Department that provides, by statute, regulation, or otherwise, for the competitive distribution of financial assistance.

(D) The Secretary shall publish a notice in the Federal Register at least annually informing the public of the allocation of assistance under section 1439(d)(1)(A) of this title.