(h) Program narrative statement. (i) Certification or evidence of request by Indian tribe.

(j) Name and address of Bureau office to which application is submitted.

(k) Date application is submitted to Bureau.

(1) Additional information pertaining to grant applications for funds to be used as matching shares will be requested as prescribed in § 272.33. $272.15 Assistance in developing and completing grant applications.

(a) Technical assistance and support necessary to develop and complete grant applications under this Part shall be provided by the Superintendents, Area Directors and their designated representatives upon request of the applicant.

(b) Applicants may apply for initial planning grants to cover the costs of developing and completing larger grant applications. Such initial planning grants will be made from funds

which may be budgeted for grants under this part for tribal governing bodies. Applications for these initial planning grants shall be made as follows:

(1) An application for an initial planning grant may be accomplished by submission of a tribal request as prescribed in § 272.16, together with an accompanying letter from the tribal governing body requesting an initial planning grant in a specific amount. This letter shall include a brief description of the proposed initial planning project, its purpose or objective as related to development or completion of a larger grant application, and the initial planning project budget categories or items.

(2) This initial planning grant shall be no more than 10% of total grant funds which may be budgeted for grants under this part for the tribal governing body, up to a maximum of $20,000.

(3) An application for an initial planning grant shall be submitted directly to the appropriate officer having grant approval authority as prescribed in § 272.17(a) or (b) and shall be acted upon by that office within 30 days.

§ 272.16 Request from tribal governing body.

The Bureau shall not make a grant under this Part unless specifically and officially requested to do so by a tribal governing body. This request may be in the form of a tribal resolution, an endorsement included in the grant application or such other forms as the tribal constitution or current practice requires.

§ 272.17 Grant approval limitations.

(a) Area Office approval. Authority for approval of a grant application under this Part shall be with the Area Director when the intent, purpose and scope of the grant proposal pertains solely to an Indian tribe or tribes located within that Area Director's administrative jurisdiction.

(b) Central Office approval. Authority for approval of a grant application under this Part shall be with the Commissioner when the intent, purpose and scope of the grant proposal per

tains to Indian tribes representing different Area Office administrative jurisdictions but located within the Commissioner's overall administrative jurisdiction.

(c) Grant approvals under this section shall be subject to availability of funds. These funds will include those which are:

(1) Directly appropriated for implementation of this Act.

(2) Appropriated under other Acts for Bureau programs which are related to the purposes prescribed in § 272.12. However, this does not include funds appropriated for Indian Business Development Fund grants which are administered under Part 80 of this chapter.

§ 272.18 Submitting application to Agency Office.

An application for a grant under this Part shall be initially submitted to the appropriate Superintendent for review and recommendation as prescribed in § 272.19. This does not include applications for initial planning grants to develop and complete larger grant applications. Such initial planning grant applications are submitted and acted upon as prescribed in § 272.15(b).

§ 272.19 Agency Office review and recommendation.

(a) Recommendation for approval or disapproval of a grant under this Part shall be made by the Superintendent when the intent, purpose and scope of the grant proposal pertains to or involves an Indian tribe or tribes located within that Superintendent's administrative jurisdiction.

(b) Upon receipt of an application for a grant under this Part, the Superintendent shall:

(1) Acknowledge in writing receipt of the application within 10 days of its arrival at the Agency Office.

(2) Review the application for completeness of information and promptly request any additional information which may be required to make a recommendation.

(3) Assess the completed application for appropriateness of purpose as prescribed in § 272.12, and for overall feasibility.

(4) Inform the applicant, in writing and before any final recommendation, of any special problems or impediments which may result in a recommendation for disapproval; offer any available technical assistance required to overcome such problems or impediments; and solicit the applicant's written response.

(5) Recommend approval or disapproval following full assessment of the completed application and forward the application and recommendation to the Area Director for further action.

(6) Promptly notify the applicant in writing as to the final recommendation. If the recommendation is for disapproval, the Superintendent will include in the written notice to the applicant the specific reasons therefor.

(7) In instances where a joint appli. cation is made by tribes representing more than one Agency Office administrative jurisdiction, copies of the appii. cation shall be provided by the appli cants to each involved Superintendent for review and recommendation as prescribed in this section.

§ 272.20 Deadline for Agency Office action.

Within 30 days of receipt of an application for a grant under this Part, the Superintendent shall take action as prescribed in § 272.19. Extension of this deadline will require consultation with and written consent of the applicant.

§ 272.21 Area Office review and action.

(a) Upon receipt of an application for a grant requiring Area Office approval, the Area Director shall:

(1) Review the application following the applicable review procedure prescribed in § 272.19.

(2) Review the Superintendent's recommendation as pertains to the application.

(3) Approve or disapprove the application.

(b) In instances where a joint application is made by tribes representing more than one Area Office administrative jurisdiction, the Area Director shall add his recommendation for approval or disapproval to that of the Superintendent and shall forward the

§ 272.23 Central Office review and decisior.

Upon receipt of an application for a grant requiring Central Office approval, the Commissioner shall:

(a) Review the application following the applicable review procedures prescribed in § 272.19.

(b) Review Agency and Area Office recommendations as pertain to the application.

(c) Approve or disapprove the application.

(d) Promptly notify the applicant in writing as to the approval or disapproval of the application. If the application is disapproved, the Commissioner will include in the written notice the specific reasons therefor.

(b) Grants approved pursuant to § 272.17(b) shall be executed and administered at the Central Office level provided that the Commissioner may designate an Area Office to execute or administer such a grant.

§ 272.26 Subgrants and subcontracts.

The grantee may make subgrants or subcontracts under this part provided that such subgrants or subcontracts are for the purpose for which the grant was made and that the grantee retains administrative and financial responsibility over the activity and the funds.

§ 272.27 Acceptance of tribal plans for the operation of Bureau programs.

Any Bureau program, excluding any trust resources program, which is planned, replanned, designed or redesigned by a tribe under a grant provided under this part, or from any other resource, shall be implemented by the Bureau if requested by the tribe through resolution. However, before implementation the program shall meet the following requirments:

(a) Funding, staffing and other resources are available to implement the plan.

(b) The implementation of the plan would not cause a reduction in the quality or quantity of services to Indi

ans.

(c) The plan meets the administrative planning requirements of the Bureau. However, the plan need not meet the planning requirements for the particular program.

(d) The plan provides a basis for the delivery of satisfactory services to Indian people, unless it can be demonstrated by the Bureau by substantial evidence that the plan will yield results which will be deleterious to the welfare of the Indian people to be served.

(e) The Commissioner may waive any regulatory requirements given elsewhere in this chapter or any other requirements not inconsistent with law. Inconsistencies between tribal plans and Bureau manual, guidelines, or other non-regulatory procedures are not constraints on the tribal plans.

Subpart C-General Grant Requirements

§ 272.31 Applicability.

The general requirements for grant administration in this Subpart are applicable to all Bureau grants provided to tribal governing bodies under this Part, except to the extent inconsistent with an applicable Federal statute or regulation.

§ 272.32 Reports and availability of information to Indians.

Any tribal governing body receiving a grant under this Part shall make information and reports concerning that grant available to the Indian people which it serves or represents. Access to these data shall be requested in writing and shall be made available by the tribe within 10 days of receipt of that request, subject to any exceptions provided for in the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552), as amended by the Act of November 21, 1974 (P.L. 93502; 88 Stat. 1561).

§ 272.33 Matching share.

(a) Specific Federal laws notwithstanding, grant funds provided to tribal governing bodies under this Part may be used as matching shares for any other Federal or non-Federal grant programs which contribute to the purposes specified in § 272.12.

(b) Superintendents, Area Directors, and their designated representatives will, upon tribal request, assist tribes in obtaining information concerning other Federal grantor agencies with matching fund programs and will, upon tribal request, provide technical assistance to tribes in developing applications for submission to those Federal grantor agencies.

§ 272.34 Performing personal services.

Any grant provided under this Part may include provisions for the performance of personal services which would otherwise be performed by Federal employees.

§ 272.35 Fair and uniform services.

Any grant provided under this Part shall include provisions to assure the

If any officer, director, agent, or ployee of, or connected with, any cipient of a grant, subgrant, contr or subcontract under this Part, emb zles, willfully misapplies, steals, or tains by fraud any of the mon funds, assets, or property which a the subject of such a grant, subgra contract, or subcontract, he shall subject to the following penalties:

(a) If the amount involved does n exceed $100, he shall be fined n more than $1,000 or imprisoned n more than one year, or both.

(b) If the amount involved exceed $100, he shall be fined not more tha $10,000 or imprisoned for not mor than two years, or both.

(a) Requests for budget revisions or amendments to grants awarded under this Part shall be made as provided in § 276.14 of this chapter.

(b) Requests for revisions or amendments to grants provided under this Part, other than budget revisions referred to in paragraph (a) of this section, shall be made to the Bureau officer responsible for approving the grant in its original form. Upon receipt of a request for revisions or amendments to grants, the responsible Bureau officer shall follow precisely the same review procedures and time specified in § 272.19.

§ 272.42 Assumption.

(a) When the Bureau cancels a grant for cause as specified in § 276.15 of this chapter, the Bureau may assume control or operation of the grant program, activity or service. However, the Bureau shall not assume a grant program, activity or service that it did not administer before tribal grantee con

trol unless the tribal grantee and the Bureau agree to the assumption.

(b) When the Bureau assumes control or operation of a grant program cancelled for cause, the Bureau may decline to enter into a new grant agreement until satisfied that the cause for cancellation has been corrected.

Subpart E-Hearings and Appeals

§ 272.51 Hearings.

Hearings referred to in § 276.15 of this chapter shall be conducted as follows:

(a) The grantee and the Indian tribe(s) affected shall be notified, in writing, at least 10 days before the hearing. The notice should give the date, time, place, and purpose of the hearing.

(b) A written record of the hearing shall be made. The record shall include written statements submitted at the hearing or within 5 days following the hearing.

(c) The hearing will be conducted on as informal a basis as possible.

§ 272.52 Appeals from decision or action by Superintendent.

(a) A grantee may appeal any decision made or action taken by a Superintendent under this Part. Such appeal shall be made to the Area Director as provided in Part 2 of this chapter.

(b) The appellant shall provide its own attorney or other advocates to represent it during the appeal process.

§ 272.53 Appeals from decision or action by Area Director.

(a) A grantee may appeal any decision made or action taken by an Area Director under this Part. Such appeal shall be made to the Commissioner as provided in Part 2 of this chapter.

(b) The appellant shall provide its own attorney or other advocates to represent it during the appeal process.

§ 272.54 Appeals from decision or action by Commissioner.

(a) A grantee may appeal any decision made or action taken by the Com

missioner under this Part only as provided in Part 2 of this chapter.

(b) The appellant shall provide its own attorney or other advocates to represent it during the appeal process.

§ 272.55 Failure of Agency or Area Office to act.

Whenever a Superintendent or Area Director fails to take action on a grant application within the time limits established in this Part, the applicant may at its option, request action by the next higher Bureau official who has grant approval authority as prescribed in this Part. In such instances, the Superintendent or Area Director who failed to act shall immediately forward the application and all related materials to that next higher Bureau official.