ARC 9020C

ARC 9020C

Proposing rulemaking related to criteria for awards or grants
and providing an opportunity for public comment

This proposed rulemaking eliminates language that is overly restrictive and obsolete and shortens the chapter.

A Regulatory Analysis for this rulemaking was published in the Iowa Administrative Bulletin on January 22, 2025. A public hearing was held on the following date(s):

●February 11, 2025

Any persons who intend to attend a public hearing and have special requirements, such as those related to hearing or mobility impairments, should contact the Department and advise of specific needs.

ITEM 1.Rescind 605—Chapter 8 and adopt the following new chapter in lieu thereof:

CHAPTER 8

CRITERIA FOR AWARDS OR GRANTS

605—8.1(29C,17A) Purpose. The department of homeland security and emergency management receives and distributes funds to a variety of entities throughout the state for support of emergency management planning, training, and other initiatives. Unless otherwise prohibited by state or federal law, rule or regulation, the director may make such funds subject to competition. Where such funds are designated by the director to be competitive, the department shall ensure equal access, objective evaluation of applications for these funds, and that grant application material contains, at a minimum, specific content.

605—8.2(29C,17A) Definitions.

“Competitive grant” means the competitive grant application process to determine the grant award for a specified project period.

“Department” means the same as defined in Iowa Code section 29C.2.

“Director” means the same as defined in Iowa Code section 29C.2.

“Project” means the activity(ies) or program(s) funded by the department.

“Project period” means the period of time for which the department intends to support the project without requiring the recompetition of funds.

“Service delivery area” means the defined geographic area for delivery of project services.

605—8.3(29C,17A) Exceptions. The department considers funds subject to competition except in those cases where:

1.State or federal law, rule or regulation prohibits such competition.

2.The state, federal or private funding source specifies a sole source for the receipt of funds.

3.There is mutual agreement among the department and contract organizations.

4.The director designates such funds to be noncompetitive.

605—8.4(29C,17A) Public notice of available competitive grants. When making funds available through a competitive grant application process, the department will, at least 60 days prior to the application due date, issue a public notice that identifies the availability of funds and states how interested parties may apply.

8.4(1) If the receipt of a grantor’s official notice of award to the department precludes a full 60-day notice, the department will issue the public notice at the earliest publication date.

8.4(2) In the event the publication date would not allow at least 30 days for interested parties to request and submit an application packet, the department will notify current contractors and other interested parties of the availability of funds through press releases and other announcements.

605—8.5(29C,17A) Requirements. Where funds are designated as competitive, the following will be included in all grant application materials made available by the department:

1.Funding source;

2.Project period;

3.Services to be delivered;

4.Service delivery area;

5.Funding purpose;

6.Funding restrictions;

7.Funding formula (if any);

8.Rules regarding match (if any);

9.Reporting requirements;

10.Performance criteria;

11.Description of eligible applicants;

12.Need for letters of support or other materials (if applicable);

13.Application due date;

14.Anticipated date of award;

15.Eligibility guidelines for those receiving the service or product and the source of those guidelines, including fees or sliding fee scales (if applicable);

16.Target population to be served (if applicable); and

17.Appeal process in the event an application is denied.

605—8.6(29C,17A) Review process (competitive applications only). The review process to be followed in determining the amount of funds to be approved for award of a contract will be described in the application material. The review criteria and point allocation for each element will also be described in the grant application material.

8.6(1) The competitive grant application review committee will be determined by the division administrator administering the grant or award, with oversight from the director. The review committee members will apply points according to the established review criteria in conducting the review.

8.6(2) In the event competitive applications for a project receive an equal number of points, a second review will be conducted by the director and the division administrator administering the grant or award.

605—8.7(29C,17A) Opportunity for review and comment. Program advisory committees or related task forces of the program may be provided with an opportunity to review and comment on the criteria and point allocation prior to implementation. Exceptions may occur when the funding source to the department has already included such criteria and point allocation within the award or the time frame allowed is insufficient for such review and comment.

605—8.8(29C,17A) Awards. Once applications have been scored and ranked, the department will award all available funds to eligible applicants based on the ranking of their applications. Should there be more eligible applications than funds available, those remaining eligible applications will be kept on file by the department.

In those cases in which applicants have received an award but actual project costs are less than anticipated or established in the application, remaining funds shall become deobligated funds. The department shall award deobligated funds in accordance with the awarding authority’s grant guidance.

These rules are intended to implement Iowa Code chapter 17A and section 29C.13.