1. (a) The OAG will monitor grants throughout their existence. A grantee must make all grant-related records available to OAG representatives unless the information is sealed by law.

2. (b) The OAG will monitor both financial and program aspects of a grant project to evaluate progress and determine compliance. Monitoring will include both on-site and desk reviews and may involve any information that the OAG deems relevant to the project. The purpose of the monitoring is to ensure that a grantee is meeting performance goals and that grant funds are expended in compliance with applicable laws, rules, grant agreements and other contracts. On-site monitoring includes, but is not limited to the review of:

   1. (1) adequacy of the accounting systems, files, equipment and property management, and administration;
   2. (2) relationship of actual expenditures and match requirements compared to approved budgets;
   3. (3) accuracy of financial information, reasonableness of cost allocation plans, and expenditure documentation;
   4. (4) timeliness of submission of financial expenditure and progress reports;
   5. (5) need for, reasonableness of, and authorization for costs;
   6. (6) charges to cost pools used in calculating indirect cost rates;
   7. (7) adherence to federal, state, and OAG guidelines and program requirements;
   8. (8) accuracy of statistics on project activities and goal achievement indicators; and
   9. (9) documentation of and progress toward achieving the project's output and outcome goals.
3. (c) A grantee must maintain current files. The OAG may make unannounced visits at any time.
4. (d) The OAG reserves the right to conduct its own audit, or contract with another to audit any grant.
5. (e) A grantee must provide access to project records to all OAG representatives and properly designated monitors or auditors.
6. (f) A grantee must, within 30 business days of the date of an audit monitoring report, submit documentation to the OAG responding to findings and questioned costs contained in an audit or monitoring report. Documentation may be submitted to the OAG, at 300 W. 15th Street, William P. Clements Building, 15th Floor, Austin, Texas 78701 or by mail to the OAG, Grants Coordinator, Post Office Box 12548, Austin, Texas 78711-2548. The OAG will review the documentation for legal, financial, and program acceptability under state, federal and OAG rules.
7. (g) A grantee may request a review of a decision by the OAG after submission of responses to OAG findings, by writing to the OAG, Grants Coordinator. A review board will make recommendations to the First Assistant of the OAG for approval, disapproval, or approval with modifications of audit or monitoring exceptions. The OAG will send the written determination by the First Assistant of the OAG to the grantee within 30 calendar days of a decision. A grantee must, within 30 calendar days, refund all funds due after a final determination. Failure to comply with this provision will subject a grantee to the provisions of this plan relating to the conditions for withholding funds from a grantee. The determination of the First Assistant of the OAG is final and not subject to judicial review.

Source Note:The provisions of this §66.119 adopted to be effective June 24, 2001, 26 TexReg 4437.