§50.3. Guidelines for the enforcement of title VI, Civil Rights Act of 1964. — Inbound Citations

(1) Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. 2000d-d4 (49 CFR part 21; the standard DOT Title VI assurances signed by each State pursuant to DOT Order 1050.2; Executive Order 11764; 28 CFR 50.3);

(d) HUD has not deferred application processing by HUD under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Attorney General's Guidelines (28 CFR 50.3) and HUD's Title VI regulations (24 CFR 1.8) and procedures (HUD Handbook 8040.1) [HAs only] or under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and HUD regulations (24 CFR 8.57) [HAs and IHAs];

The purpose of this subpart is to insure that federal agencies which extend financial assistance properly enforce title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and similar provisions in federal grant statutes. Enforcement of the latter statutes is covered by this subpart to the extent that they relate to prohibiting discrimination on the ground of race, color or national origin in programs receiving federal financial assistance of the type subject to title VI. Responsibility for enforcing title VI rests with the federal agencies which extend financial assistance. In accord with the authority granted the Attorney General under Executive Order 12250, this subpart shall govern the respective obligations of federal agencies regarding enforcement of title VI. This subpart is to be used in conjunction with the 1965 Attorney General Guidelines for Enforcement of title VI, 28 CFR 50.3.

(a) Effective enforcement of title VI requires that agencies take prompt action to achieve voluntary compliance in all instances in which noncompliance is found. Where such efforts have not been successful within a reasonable period of time, the agency shall initiate appropriate enforcement procedures as set forth in the 1965 Attorney General Guidelines, 28 CFR 50.3. Each agency shall establish internal controls to avoid unnecessary delay in resolving noncompliance, and shall promptly notify the Assistant Attorney General of any case in which negotiations have continued for more than sixty days after the making of the determination of probable noncompliance and shall state the reasons for the length of the negotiations.

(b) Consistent with this subpart and the 1965 Attorney General Guidelines, 28 CFR 50.3, the Assistant Attorney General may issue such directives and take such other action as he deems necessary to insure that federal agencies carry out their responsibilities under title VI. In addition, the Assistant Attorney General will routinely provide to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget copies of all inter-agency survey reports and related materials prepared by the Civil Rights Division that evaluate the effectiveness of an agency's title VI compliance efforts. Where cases or matters are referred to the Assistant Attorney General for investigation, litigation or other appropriate action, the federal agencies shall, upon request, provide appropriate resources to the Assistant Attorney General to assist in carrying out such action.

(b) Pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section, in conjunction with new applications for federal assistance (see 28 CFR 50.3(c) II A) and in any applications for approval of specific projects or significant changes in applications for continuation or renewal of assistance (see 28 CFR 50.3(c) II B), and at other times as appropriate, federal agencies shall require applicants and recipients to provide relevant and current title VI information. Examples of data and information which, to the extent necessary and appropriate for determining compliance with title VI, should be required by agency guidelines are as follows:

(1) The manner in which services are or will be provided by the program in question, and related data necessary for determining whether any persons are or will be denied such services on the basis of prohibited discrimination;

(2) The population eligible to be served by race, color and national origin;

(3) Data regarding covered employment, including use or planned use of bilingual public-contact employees serving beneficiaries of the program where necessary to permit effective participation by beneficiaries unable to speak or understand English;

(4) The location of existing or proposed facilities connected with the program, and related information adequate for determining whether the location has or will have the effect of unnecessarily denying access to any persons on the basis of prohibited discrimination;

(5) The present or proposed membership, by race, color and national origin, in any planning or advisory body which is an integral part of the program;

(6) Where relocation is involved, the requirements and steps used or proposed to guard against unnecessary impact on persons on the basis of race, color or national origin.

(b) Prior to approval of federal financial assistance, the federal agency shall make written determination as to whether the applicant is in compliance with title VI (see 28 CFR 50.3(c) II A). The basis for such a determination under “the agency's own investigation” provision (see 28 CFR 50.3(c) II A(2)), shall be submission of an assurance of compliance and a review of the data submitted by the applicant. Where a determination cannot be made from this data, the agency shall require the submission of necessary additional information and shall take other steps necessary for making the determination. Such other steps may include, for example, communicating with local government officials or minority group organizations and field reviews. Where the requested assistance is for construction, a pre-approval review should determine whether the location and design of the project will provide service on a nondiscriminatory basis and whether persons will be displaced or relocated on a nondiscriminatory basis.