SECOND REGULAR SESSION
92ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVES SCHAAF (Sponsor), COOPER (155), THRELKELD, LAWSON,
ENGLER, HOLAND, PEARCE, SMITH (118), EMERY, KINGERY, BEAN, WILDBERGER, NIEVES,
WALLACE, CARNAHAN, ST. ONGE, ANGST, RICHARD, PAGE AND HANAWAY (Co-sponsors).
Read 1st time January 27, 2004, and copies ordered printed.
STEPHEN S. DAVIS, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
To amend chapter 28, RSMo, by adding thereto two new sections relating to the Missouri catalog of assistance programs.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapter 28, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto two new sections, to be known as sections 28.750 and 28.752, to read as follows:
28.750. 1. The secretary of state shall develop the "Missouri Catalog of Assistance Programs", which shall serve as the state's single repository of information for public assistance programs and shall be available in printed and electronic format for access over the Internet. The electronic catalog shall include an index and search function similar to the catalog of federal domestic assistance maintained by the federal government. The development of the catalog shall have the following purposes:
(1) Improve the effectiveness and performance of state programs;
(2) Simplify state assistance identification and reduce state government costs by eliminating the need for multiple state Internet web site and other information-dissemination programs;
(3) Improve the delivery of services to the public; and
(4) Facilitate greater coordination across state agencies responsible for delivering such services by coordinating funding announcements in a single notice of funding availability section of the catalog.
2. There is hereby established the "Catalog of State Assistance Programs Task Team" to be comprised of one person from each state agency, to be appointed by the director of the agency. The secretary of state, or the secretary's designee, will chair the task team. The team's mission shall be to:
(1) Facilitate information gathering for the development of the catalog; and
(2) Submit a report to the members of the general assembly, the governor, and the chief justice of the Missouri supreme court by January 1, 2005, that proposes a strategic plan to standardize the application of state assistance across all state agencies and allows for electronic submission of applications under one automated grant application system. Implementation of the strategic plan pursuant to this subdivision shall be subject to appropriations for such purposes.
All state agencies that provide assistance described in section 28.752 shall participate in the development and ongoing maintenance of the catalog.
3. The catalog shall include a notice of funding availability. All state agencies shall provide an electronic copy of their program request for proposal or funding application packets to the secretary of state to be electronically posted in the catalog. Beginning July 1, 2006, for projects that have specific funding periods, state agencies shall provide the secretary of state's office with electronic copies of their application packets no later than sixty days prior to any deadlines for application for assistance. The catalog of state assistance shall include such application packets under the notice of funding availability section of the catalog. Programs shall be listed in the notice of funding availability section of the catalog for at least forty-five days prior to application deadlines. Programs that continually take applications shall not be listed in such section of the catalog.
4. The catalog shall be developed and operational by June 30, 2005, with the notice of funding availability section of the catalog to be operational by June 30, 2006. By July 1, 2005, each state agency shall add an election link to their Internet web sites called "Grants & Assistance Programs" for transfers to the Missouri catalog of assistance programs web site created in this section.
5. For each program in the catalog, the following information shall be provided whenever possible:
(1) Agency administering assistance;
(2) Statutory or budgetary authorization for the program;
(3) Assistance programs goals and objectives;
(4) Types of assistance available;
(5) Uses and restrictions;
(6) Eligibility requirements;
(7) Summary of the application and award process;
(8) Assistance considerations such as:
(a) Project time limitations; and
(b) Matching funds required;
(9) Award requirements;
(10) Financial information on the program;
(11) Summary of program accomplishments;
(12) Informational contacts;
(13) Examples of funded projects; and
(14) Criteria for selection of proposals.
If the program is a federal program administered by a state agency, the Missouri catalog of assistance programs shall include an electronic link to the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance.
6. The secretary of state's office shall assign a unique identifying number to each program listed in the Missouri catalog of state assistance programs.
7. There is hereby established in the state treasury the "Missouri Catalog of State Assistance Programs Resources Fund", which shall be administered by the secretary of state's office. A cost allocation program shall be developed to charge the costs of the program in this section to the various state agencies that have programs in the catalog. Costs shall be assessed against an agency based upon the percentage of funds their agency represents in the catalog during each state fiscal year. Costs shall be based upon actual costs for staff and operational expenses of the catalog. Administrative transfers from state agencies shall be deposited in this fund at the beginning of each fiscal year, but shall not exceed one-quarter of one percent of any individual grant program. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 33.080, RSMo, to the contrary, moneys in the fund shall not revert to the credit of the general revenue fund at the end of the biennium.
28.752. For purposes of section 28.750, unless the context expressly indicates otherwise, the following types of state programs shall be included in the catalog, defined as follows:
(1) "Advisory services and counseling", programs that provide state specialists to consult, advise, or counsel communities or individuals to include conferences, workshops, or personal contacts, and may involve the use of published information, but only in a secondary capacity;
(2) "Direct loans", financial assistance provided through the lending of state moneys for a specific period of time with a reasonable expectation of repayment. Such loans may or may not require the payment of interest;
(3) "Direct payments for specified use", financial assistance from the state government provided directly to individuals, private firms, and other private institutions to encourage or subsidize a particular activity by conditioning the receipt of the assistance on a particular performance by the recipient, but does not include solicited contracts for the procurement of goods and services for the state government;
(4) "Direct payments with unrestricted use", financial assistance from the state government provided directly to beneficiaries who satisfy state eligibility requirements with no restrictions being imposed on the recipient as to how the money is spent and includes payments compensatory programs;
(5) "Dissemination of technical information", programs that provide for the publication and distribution of information or data of a specialized or technical nature frequently through the clearinghouse or libraries, and does not include conventional public information services designed for general public consumption;
(6) "Federal grants administered by state agencies", all federal grant programs that are administered by a state agency specifically for the purpose of allocating funds to other state agencies, local governments, not-for-profit and individual applicants, but does not include general grants received by state agencies from the federal government and only includes those grants for which the state agency is administering the application and award process;
(7) "Formula grants", allocations of money to governmental entities or their subdivisions in accordance with distribution formulas prescribed by law or administrative regulation for activities of a continuing nature not confined to a specific project;
(8) "Guaranteed or insured loans", programs in which the state government makes an arrangement to identify a lender against part or all of any defaults by those persons responsible for repayment of loans;
(9) "Insurance", financial assistance provided to assure reimbursement for losses sustained under specified conditions. Coverage may be provided directly by the state government or through private carriers and may or may not involve the payment of premiums;
(10) "Investigation of complaints", state administrative agency activities that are initiated in response to requests, either formal or informal, to examine or investigate claims of violations of state statutes, policies, or procedure. The origination of such claims must come from outside state government;
(11) "Project grants", the funding for fixed or known periods of specific projects. Project grants may include fellowships, scholarships, research grants, training grants, traineeships, experimental and demonstration grants, evaluation grants, planning grants, technical assistance grants, survey grants, and construction grants;
(12) "Provision of specialized services", programs that provide state personnel directly to perform certain tasks for the benefit of communities or individuals. Such services may be performed in conjunction with nonstate personnel, but they involve more than consultation, advice, or counseling;
(13) "Sale, exchange, or donation of property and goods", programs that provide for the sale, exchange, or donation of state real property, personal property, commodities, and other goods, including land, buildings, equipment, food, and drugs, but does not include the loan of, use of, or access to state facilities or property; and
(14) "Training", programs that provide instructional activities conducted directly by a state agency for individuals not employed by the state government.