§ 272.12 Purposes of grants.

Grants are for the purpose of: (a) Strengthening and improving administration of tribal government. Examples in this specific regard are as follows:

(1) Developing the capability of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of tribal government in such areas as administration of planning, financial management, or merit personnel systems.

(2) Improvement of tribally funded programs or activities.

(3) Development, construction, improvement, maintenance, preservation, or operation of tribal facilities or re

sources.

(4) Training of tribal officials and employees in areas relating to the planning, conduct and administration of tribal programs.

(5) Design and implementation of new tribal government operations.

(6) Development of policy-making, legislative and judicial skills.

(b) Planning, training, evaluation or other activities designed to improve the capacity of an Indian tribe to enter into a contract or contracts pursuant to section 102 of the Act and the additional costs associated with the initial years of operation under such a contract or contracts. Examples of use of grants by Indian tribes, as indicated in this paragraph, are as follows:

(1) Evaluation of programs and services currently being provided directly by the Bureau in order to determine:

(i) Whether it is appropriate for the Indian tribe to enter into a contract pursuant to section 102 of the Act for a program or a portion of a program.

(ii) Whether the Indian tribe can improve the quality or quantity of the service now available.

(iii) Whether certain components should be redesigned but the program should continue to be operated by the Bureau.

(iv) Whether the program as currently administered by the Bureau is adequate to meet tribal needs and, therefore, the Indian tribal organization does not wish to contract or modify the program.

(2) Planning or redesigning a Bureau program before the Indian tribe con

tracts for it, and development of an operational plan for carrying out the anticipated contract in order to facilitate the transition of the program from Bureau to tribal operation.

(3) Training of tribal officials and employees in areas related to the conduct and administration of programs of the Bureau which the Indian tribe may wish to operate under contract.

(4) Costs associated with contracting to enable tribal contracting. Examples of such costs include curriculum development in support of tribal contracting of schools, in-service training programs to develop the skills of employees of the Indian tribe on a continuing basis, special on-the-job training activities in support of tribal members being prepared to assume program responsibilities.

(c) Acquisition of land in connection with paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section. Procedures for acquisition of land are prescribed in § 276.11 of this chapter.

(d) Planning, designing, monitoring, and evaluating Federal programs serving the Indian tribe. An example of this regard is assisting the tribal government to influence Federal programs presently offered or those that could be offered to the tribe to assure that they are responsive to the needs of Indian tribes. A tribal government may monitor and evaluate the operations of such programs which now serve tribal members and replan and redesign those programs to better respond to their needs. Bureau programs which are planned, replanned, designed or redesigned in accordance with this paragraph shall be implemented by the Bureau as prescribed in § 272.27.

(e) Funds made available for grants for the purposes described above may be applied as matching shares for other Federal or non-Federal grant programs as prescribed in § 272,33.

§ 272.13 Obtaining application tions and materials.

instruc

Application instructions and related application materials may be obtained from Superintendents, Area Directors, and the Commissioner.

§ 272.14 Content of application.

Application for a grant under this Part shall include:

(a) Name and address of Indian tribal governing body(s) applying for a grant.

(b) Descriptive name of project. (c) Federal funding needed.

(d) Population directly benefiting from the project.

(e) Length of project.

(f) Beginning date.

(g) Project budget categories or items.

(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 pertains 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 dis

§ 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 application and recommendations to the Commissioner for further action.

(c) Upon taking action as prescribed in paragraph (a) or (b) of this section, the Area Director shall promptly notify the applicant in writing as to the action taken. If the action taken is disapproval or recommendation for disapproval of the application, the Area Director will include in the written notice the specific reasons therefor.

§ 272.22 Deadline for Area Office action.

Within 30 days of receipt of an application for a grant under this Part, the Area Director shall take action as

operation of Bureau programs.

§ 272.23 Central Office review and decision.

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.

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 Indians.

(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 in

formation 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 fair and uniform provision by the grantee of services and assistance to all Indians included within or affected by the intent, purpose and scope of that grant.

§ 272.36 Penalties.

If any officer, director, agent, or employee of, or connected with, any recipient of a grant, subgrant, contract or subcontract under this Part, embezzles, willfully misapplies, steals, or obtains by fraud any of the money, funds, assets, or property which are the subject of such a grant, subgrant, contract, or subcontract, he shall be subject to the following penalties:

(a) If the amount involved does not exceed $100, he shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.

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

Subpart D-Grant Revision,
Cancellation, or Assumption

8 272.41 Revisions or amendments of grants.

(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 control 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: