ACC Revisions Released
On November 8, HUD will issue a 30-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection on the Public Housing Annual Contributions Contract (ACC) for Capital and Operating Grant Funds in the Federal Register. HUD previously published a 60-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection for the ACC in December, 2018. NAHRO has noted to HUD that it does not believe revising the ACC through the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) is appropriate, as it is a unilateral approach. Although HUD is required to respond to comments through the PRA, there is no requirement to accept those comments or negotiate further with affected partners.
Although NAHRO believes that the ACC has been and continues to be a contract between a PHA and the federal government, HUD disagrees and views the ACC as a grant agreement. In light of this, HUD proposes changing the name of the Annual Contributions Contract to the Annual Contributions Terms and Conditions, while still referring to the document as the ACC.
HUD’s most recent version of the ACC removes numerous definitions and requirements that were included in the prior version of the ACC released last December. This includes deleting:
- Addition of the term “program receipts”;
- A requirement for PHAs to follow HUD-issued notices and HUD-required forms or agreements;
- A Prohibition on PHAs from releasing any information contained in HUD’s system of records (SORN) without prior HUD approval
HUD notes that these requirements are already defined and included in existing regulations, and as such do not need to be included in the ACC.
The 30-Day version also removes mixed-finance specific language from the ACC. Mixed-finance provisions will now be included as amendments to the ACC.
Lastly, the latest proposed ACC includes an additional section on remedies. The section notes that the agreement does not contemplate money damages as a remedy for a breach of the agreement by HUD.
In their response to comments from the 60- Day Notice of Proposed Comments, HUD provides additional clarification for what the ACC will not impact. This includes language clarifying that MTW Standard Agreements will not be impacted by changes to the ACC, PHAs may make requests to HUD to amend the ACC, and that changes to the ACC are not intended to address any future changes to Central Office Cost Centers (COCCs), including HUD’s proposal to re-federalize dollars within COCCs.