WAIVER OF REGULATION REQUIREMENTS AND HANDBOOK PROVISIONS.

SEC. 106. WAIVER OF REGULATION REQUIREMENTS AND HANDBOOK PROVISIONS.Section 7 of the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: “(q) (1) Any waiver of regulations of the Department shall be in writing and shall specify the grounds for approving the waiver. “(2) The Secretary may delegate authority to approve a waiver of a regulation only to an individual of Assistant Secretary rank or equivalent rank, who is authorized to issue the regulation to be waived. “(3) The Secretary shall notify the public of all waivers of regulations approved by the Department. The notification shall be included in a notice in the Federal Register published not less than quarterly. Each notification shall cover the period beginning on the day after the last date covered by the prior notification, and shall— “(A) identify the project, activity, or undertaking involved; “(B) describe the nature of the requirement that has been waived and specify the provision involved; “(C) specify the name and title of the official who granted the waiver request; “(D) include a brief description of the grounds for approval of the waiver; and “(E) state how more information about the waiver and a copy of the request and the approval may be obtained. “(4) Any waiver of a provision of a handbook of the Department shall— “(A) be in writing; “(B) specify the grounds for approving the waiver; and “(C) be maintained in indexed form and made available for public inspection for not less than the 3-year period beginning on the date of the waiver.”.