(a) Rural Development will deal only with authorized representatives designated by the HPG applicant.

(b) The State Director will designate either the State Office and/or the District Office as the processing office and/or the servicing office for the HPG program. The State Director's selection may be based on staffing, total program size, number of preapplications anticipated, type of applicants, or similar criteria. The State Director must publish this designation each year at the time the Federal Register is published informing the public of the open period for acceptance of preapplications as outlined in §1944.678 of this subpart.