Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
a) Payments to states are governed by the
Cash Management Improvement Act and the Treasury-State Agreement (TSA) default
procedures codified at 31
CFR 205.
1)
State agencies must have implemented, written policies and procedures that
comply with the TSA and 2 CFR
200.305.
2) The policies and procedures must be
approved by State agency staff responsible for cash drawdowns, federal
reporting, and the TSA interest calculation. The policies and procedures must
ensure:
A) Awardee grant payments conform to
the TSA and this Section.
B)
Awardee grant payments conform to requirements in
2 CFR
200.305.
C) Awardees have policies and procedures that
enable them to conform to the TSA and
2 CFR
200.305.
b) Payments to awardee entities must use
grant payment methods that minimize the time elapsing between the transfer of
funds from the Illinois Office of the Comptroller and the pass-through entity.
The disbursement by the awardee may be made by electronic funds transfer,
issuance or redemption of checks, warrants, or payment by other means. (See UR
section 200.302(b)(6)
(Financial management).)
1) Advance Payments.
A) The awardee entity must be paid in
advance, provided it maintains or demonstrates the willingness to maintain
both:
i) written procedures that minimize the
time elapsing between the transfer of funds and disbursement by the awardee;
and
ii) financial management
systems that meet the standards for fund control and accountability as
established in UR section 200.302.
B) Advance payments must be limited to the
minimum amounts needed and be timed to be in accordance with the actual,
immediate cash requirements of the awardee in carrying out the purpose of the
approved program or project. The timing and amount of advance payments must be
as close as is administratively feasible to the actual disbursements by the
awardee for direct program or project costs and the proportionate share of any
allowable indirect costs. The awardee entity must make timely payment to
contractors in accordance with the contract provisions.
C) State agencies must implement written
policies and procedures documenting their assessment ensuring awardee's written
procedures and their financial management systems meet the standards for fund
control and requirements in UR section 200.302.
D) State awarding agencies must document the
determination that the awardee meets the requirements of advance payments in
this subsection (b)(1).
2) Reimbursement. Reimbursement is the
preferred method if the awardee does not meet the requirements in subsection
(b)(1). Reimbursement must be used when the requirements in subsection (b)(1)
cannot be met, when the State awarding agency sets a specific condition per UR
section 200.208 (Specific conditions),
or when the awardee requests payment by reimbursement. Reimbursement may be
used on any grant award for construction, or if the major portion of the
construction project is accomplished through private market financing or
federal or State loans and the grant award constitutes a minor portion of the
project. When the reimbursement method is used, the State awarding agency or
pass-through entity must pay within 30 calendar days after receipt of the
billing unless the State awarding agency or pass-through entity reasonably
believes the request to be improper.
3) Working Capital Advances. If the awardee
entity cannot meet the criteria for advance payments as stated in subsection
(b)(1) and the State awarding agency or pass-through entity has determined that
reimbursement is not feasible because the awardee lacks sufficient working
capital, the State awarding agency or pass-through entity may provide cash on a
working capital advance basis. Under a working capital advance, the State
awarding agency or pass-through entity must advance cash payments to the
awardee to cover its estimated disbursement needs for an initial period,
generally geared to the awardee's disbursing cycle. This would include initial
start-up cost and normal monthly grant expenses, not to exceed two months of
monthly grant expenses. After that, the State awarding agency or pass-through
entity must reimburse the awardee for its actual cash disbursements.
A) A working capital advance requires the
State awarding agency or pass-through entity to provide timely advance payments
to awardees to meet the awardee's actual cash disbursements.
B) A working capital advance must not be used
if the reason for the working capital advance is the unwillingness or inability
of the State awarding agency or pass-through entity to provide timely advance
payments to the awardee to meet the awardee's actual cash
disbursements.
c) State agencies must implement written
policies and procedures for each grant payment method used by the agency:
advance payments, reimbursements and working capital advances. The policies and
procedures must be approved by State agency staff responsible for federal and
State cash drawdowns and reporting.
d) Standards governing the use of banks and
other institutions as depositories of advance payments under awards are as
follows:
1) The State awarding agency and
pass-through entity must not require separate depository accounts for funds
provided to an awardee or establish any eligibility requirements for
depositories for funds provided to the awardee. However, the awardee must be
able to account for the receipt, obligation and expenditure of funds.
2) Advance payments of federal funds must be
deposited and maintained in insured accounts whenever possible.
3) The awardee must maintain advance payments
of federal awards in interest-bearing accounts, unless the following apply:
A) The awardee receives less than $250,000 in
federal awards per year.
B) The
best reasonably available interest-bearing account would not be expected to
earn interest in excess of $500 per year.
e) Parameters Regarding Interest Earned
1) Interest earned by the awardee up to $500
per year may be retained by the awardee for administrative expense.
2) Interest earned by the awardee in excess
of $500 per year on federal advance payments deposited in interest-bearing
accounts must be returned to the State awarding agency in accordance with UR
section 200.305(9).
3) Payment Withholding
A) Unless otherwise required by State
statute, payments for allowable costs shall not be withheld at any time during
the period of performance unless the conditions of Section
7000.80 apply, the awardee is
determined to be "not qualified" in accordance with Section
7000.320, or one or more of the
following conditions exists:
i) The awardee
has failed to comply with the project objectives, State statutes or
regulations, or the Grant Agreement; or
ii) The awardee is delinquent in a debt to
the State of Illinois (see the Illinois State Collection Act of 1986). Under
these conditions, the agency may, upon reasonable notice, inform the awardee
that the awardee shall not pay for obligations incurred after a specified date
until the delinquency is corrected or the indebtedness to the State is
liquidated.
B) If the
grant is suspended and payment is withheld because the awardee failed to comply
with the Grant Agreement, payment must be released to the awardee upon
subsequent compliance. Refer to Section
7000.80 for the Grantee
Compliance Enforcement System and the Illinois Stop Payment List.
C) A payment must not be made to an awardee
for amounts to be paid to contractors that the awardee retains to assure
satisfactory completion of work. The payment shall be made when the awardee
actually disburses the withheld funds to the contractors or to escrow accounts
established to assure satisfactory completion of work.