Removing Criminal Conviction Restrictions for Testers in FHIP- and FHAP-Funded Testing Programs

Document 2023-23678 is a Proposed Rule published by the Department of Housing and Urban Development in the Federal Register on October 31, 2023. Through this proposed rule, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) seeks to eliminate the tester restrictions for Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) grantees and for Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP) agencies that forbid FHIP and FHAP recipients from using fair housing testers with prior felony convictions or convictions of crimes involving fraud or perjury. This proposed rule would make HUD's programs as inclusive as possible for people with criminal records, consistent with Secretary Marcia Fudge's April 12, 2022 Memorandum, "Eliminating Barriers That May Unnecessarily Prevent Individuals with Criminal Histories from Participating in HUD Program," and ensure that FHIP and FHAP funded entities are able to fully investigate criminal background screening policies that are potentially discriminatory under federal civil rights laws by using testers with actual criminal backgrounds. View the original at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/10/31/2023-23678/removing-criminal-conviction-restrictions-for-testers-in-fhip--and-fhap-funded-testing-programs.

No. Document 2023-23678 is not classified as economically significant under Executive Order 12866. Economically significant rules require OIRA review and are estimated to have impacts of $100 million or more per year.