§ 143C-6-23.  State grant funds: administration; oversight and reporting requirements.

(a) Definitions. - The following definitions apply in this section:

(1) Grant or grant funds. - State funds disbursed as a grant by a State agency; however, the terms do not include any payment made by the Medicaid program, the State Health Plan for Teachers and State Employees, or other similar medical programs.

(2) Grantee. - A non-State entity that receives State funds as a grant from a State agency but does not include any non-State entity subject to the audit and other reporting requirements of the Local Government Commission.

(3) Encumbrance. - A financial obligation created by a purchase order, contract, salary commitment, unearned or prepaid collections for services provided, or other legally binding agreement. A financial obligation is not an encumbrance for purposes of this section unless it (i) is in writing and has been signed by a person or entity who has authority to legally bind the grantee or subgrantee to spend the funds or (ii) was created by the provision of goods or services to the grantee or subgrantee by a third party under circumstances that create a legally binding obligation to pay for the goods or services.

(4) Subgrantee. - A non-State entity that receives State funds as a grant from a grantee or from another subgrantee but does not include any non-State entity subject to the audit and other reporting requirements of the Local Government Commission.

(b) Conflict of Interest Policy. - Every grantee shall file with the State agency disbursing funds to the grantee a copy of that grantee's policy addressing conflicts of interest that may arise involving the grantee's management employees and the members of its board of directors or other governing body. The policy shall address situations in which any of these individuals may directly or indirectly benefit, except as the grantee's employees or members of its board or other governing body, from the grantee's disbursing of State funds, and shall include actions to be taken by the grantee or the individual, or both, to avoid conflicts of interest and the appearance of impropriety. The policy shall be filed before the disbursing State agency may disburse the grant funds.

(c) No Overdue Tax Debts. - Every grantee shall file with the State agency or department disbursing funds to the grantee a written statement completed by that grantee's board of directors or other governing body stating that the grantee does not have any overdue tax debts, as defined by G.S. 105-243.1, at the federal, State, or local level. The written statement shall be made under oath and shall be filed before the disbursing State agency or department may disburse the grant funds. A person who makes a false statement in violation of this subsection is guilty of a criminal offense punishable as provided by G.S. 143C-10-1.

(d) Office of State Budget Rules Must Require Uniform Administration of State Grants. - The Office of State Budget and Management shall adopt rules to ensure the uniform administration of State grants by all grantor State agencies and grantees or subgrantees. The Office of State Budget and Management shall consult with the Office of the State Auditor and the Attorney General in establishing the rules required by this subsection. The rules shall establish policies and procedures for disbursements of State grants and for State agency oversight, monitoring, and evaluation of grantees and subgrantees. The policies and procedures shall:

(1) Ensure that the purpose and reporting requirements of each grant are specified to the grantee.

(2) Ensure that grantees specify the purpose and reporting requirements for grants made to subgrantees.

(3) Ensure that State funds are spent in accordance with the purposes for which they were granted.

(4) Hold the grantees and subgrantees accountable for the legal and appropriate expenditure of grant funds.

(5) Provide for adequate oversight and monitoring to prevent the misuse of grant funds. These policies shall require each grantee and subgrantee to ensure that, for accounting purposes, State funds and interest earned on those funds remain separate and apart from other funds in the possession or control of the grantee or subgrantee.

(6) Establish mandatory periodic reporting requirements for grantees and subgrantees, including methods of reporting, to provide financial and program performance information.

(7) Require grantees and subgrantees to maintain reports, records, and other information to properly account for the expenditure of all grant funds and to make such reports, records, and other information available to the grantor State agency for oversight, monitoring, and evaluation purposes.

(8) Repealed by Session Laws 2022-75, s. 5, effective July 12, 2022.

(9) Require grantees to be responsible for managing and monitoring each project, program, or activity supported by grant funds and each subgrantee project, program, or activity supported by grant funds.

(10) Provide procedures for the suspension of further disbursements or use of grant funds for noncompliance with these rules or other inappropriate use of the funds.

(11) Provide procedures for use in appropriate circumstances for reinstatement of disbursements that have been suspended for noncompliance with these rules or other inappropriate use of grant funds.

(12) Provide procedures for the recovery and return to the grantor State agency of unexpended grant funds from a grantee or subgrantee (i) in accordance with subsection (f1) of this section or (ii) in the event that the grantee or subgrantee is unable to fulfill the purposes of the grant for a reason not set forth in that subsection.

(d1) Required Grant Terms. - The terms of each grant shall include all of the following, which shall be deemed a part of the grant:

(1) The limitation contained in G.S. 143C-6-8 concerning the availability of appropriated funds.

(2) The relevant provisions of any legislation authorizing or governing the administration of the grant.

(3) The terms of this section.

(e) Rules Are Subject to the Administrative Procedure Act. - Notwithstanding the provisions of G.S. 150B-2(8a)b. rules adopted pursuant to subsection (d) of this section are subject to the provisions of Chapter 150B of the General Statutes.

(f) Suspension and Recovery of Funds to Grant Recipients for Noncompliance. - The Office of State Budget and Management, after consultation with the administering State agency, shall have the power to suspend disbursement of grant funds to grantees or subgrantees, to prevent further use of grant funds already disbursed, and to recover grant funds already disbursed for noncompliance with rules adopted pursuant to subsection (d) of this section. If the grant funds are a pass-through of funds granted by an agency of the United States, then the Office of State Budget and Management must consult with the granting agency of the United States and the State agency that is the recipient of the pass-through funds prior to taking the actions authorized by this subsection.

(f1) Return of Grant Funds. - Except as otherwise required by federal law, a grantee or subgrantee shall return to the State all affected grant funds and interest earned on those funds if any of the following occurs:

(1) The funds are in the possession or control of a grantee and are not expended, made subject to an encumbrance, or disbursed to a subgrantee by August 31 immediately following the fiscal year in which the funds are appropriated by the General Assembly, or a different period set forth in the terms of the applicable appropriation or federal grant.

(2) The funds remain unexpended at the time that the grantee or subgrantee dissolves, ceases operations, or otherwise indicates that it does not intend to spend the funds.

(3) The Office of State Budget and Management seeks to recover the funds pursuant to subsection (f) of this section.

(f2) Use of Returned Grant Funds. - Encumbered funds returned to the State pursuant to subsection (f1) of this section by a grantee or subgrantee shall upon appropriation by the General Assembly be spent in accordance with the terms of the encumbrance. All other funds returned to the State by a grantee or subgrantee pursuant to subsection (f1) of this section shall be credited to the fund from which they were appropriated and shall remain unexpended and unencumbered until appropriated by the General Assembly. Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize an expenditure pursuant to an unlawful encumbrance or in a manner that would violate the terms of the appropriation of the grant funds at issue.

(g) Audit Oversight. - The State Auditor has audit oversight, with respect to grant funds received by the grantee or subgrantee, pursuant to Article 5A of Chapter 147 of the General Statutes, of every grantee or subgrantee that receives, uses, or expends grant funds. A grantee or subgrantee shall, upon request, furnish to the State Auditor for audit all books, records, and other information necessary for the State Auditor to account fully for the use and expenditure of grant funds received by the grantee or subgrantee. The grantee or subgrantee shall furnish any additional financial or budgetary information requested by the State Auditor, including audit work papers in the possession of any auditor of a grantee or subgrantee directly related to the use and expenditure of grant funds. The grantee or subgrantee shall post conspicuously in its office the State Auditor's hotline telephone number, as described in G.S. 147-64.6B(a).

(h) Report on Grant Recipients That Failed to Comply. - The Office of State Budget and Management shall post online at regular intervals a list of all grantees or subgrantees that failed to comply with this section with respect to grant funds received in the prior fiscal year.

(i) Repealed by Session Laws 2022-75, s. 5, effective July 12, 2022.

(j) Use of Interest Earned on Grant Funds. - Except as otherwise required by federal law or the terms of a federal grant, interest earned on grant funds after receipt of the funds by a grantee or subgrantee shall be credited to the grantee or subgrantee and shall be used for the same purposes for which the grant or subgrant was made.

(k) Reporting by Grantees and Subgrantees That Cease Operations. - A grantee or subgrantee that intends to dissolve or cease operations shall report that decision in writing to the Office of State Budget and Management and to the Fiscal Research Division at least 30 days prior to taking that action. (2006-203, s. 3; 2007-323, s. 28.22A(o); 2007-345, s. 12; 2014-100, s. 6.5(a); 2015-264, s. 21; 2019-19, s. 1(a); 2021-180, s. 37.5(c); 2022-75, s. 5.)