Section 7000.80 Grantee Compliance Enforcement System; Illinois Stop Payment List

Section 7000.80  Grantee Compliance Enforcement System;

Illinois Stop Payment List

a)         GATA

established a Grantee Compliance Enforcement System (GCES) that outlines a

statewide framework for State agencies to manage occurrences of noncompliance

with grant requirements.

b)         Grantees

and applicants may not participate in State-issued award programs or activities

if they are debarred, suspended or otherwise deemed ineligible under the terms

of the GCES.

c)         GCES

is required for all grants that are subject to UR and GATA.  (All grants are

assumed to be subject to UR and GATA unless an exception or exemption was

authorized by GATU in accordance with Section 7000.60(f).)

d)         GATA

requires GOMB to maintain a list

that contains the names of those

individuals and entities that are ineligible, either temporarily or

permanently, to receive grant funds from the State

. [30 ILCS 708/60(a)(8)]  The

list, termed the Illinois Stop Payment List, is a component of GCES.

e)         The Illinois

Stop Payment List is a dynamic snapshot of awardees out of compliance with

select grant management requirements.  Entities on the Illinois Stop Payment

List are in Stop Payment Status. Utilizing a centralized list of awardees in

Stop Payment Status raises awareness of noncompliance to promote timely

resolution and safeguarding of State resources.

f)         Under

GCES, the severity of an entity's noncompliance issue determines whether the

entity is placed on temporary or permanent Stop Payment Status.  Permanent Stop

Payment Status requires a preponderance of the evidence as defined by 2 CFR

180.990.  A temporary Stop Payment Status can be remediated.

1)         Delinquent

Reporting Based on the Terms Specified in the Grant Agreement

A)        Agency

rules shall specify procedures for managing awardee submittal of required

financial and performance reports

or permanent Stop Payment Status.  Permanent Stop

Payment Status requires a preponderance of the evidence as defined by 2 CFR

180.990.  A temporary Stop Payment Status can be remediated.

1)         Delinquent

Reporting Based on the Terms Specified in the Grant Agreement

A)        Agency

rules shall specify procedures for managing awardee submittal of required

financial and performance reports. The protocol shall provide a due diligence

process for State agency-generated reminders to the awardee in advance of

reporting due dates.

B)        Agency

rules shall allow the State awarding agency to extend the reporting deadline due

to extenuating circumstances.  Reporting extensions must be justified in

writing by the State awarding agency. A report due date may only be extended

one time.

C)        The

State awarding agency shall withhold payments to the entity if a report is more

than 15 business days past the original or extended due date.  Agency rules shall

include awardee notification of the State agency contact for Stop Payment

Status inquiries.

D)        If the

report is not submitted within 30 business days after the original or extended due

date, the State awarding agency shall place the awardee in temporary Stop Payment

Status on the Illinois Stop Payment List. (See Section 7000.260.)

2)         Immediate

Placement on Stop Payment List in Temporary Status.  The following occurrences

of noncompliance will result in the awardee being immediately placed in

temporary Stop Payment Status on the Illinois Stop Payment List:

A)        Failure

to submit a required refund payment or missed payment from the payment plan

within 15 business days after the due date (including approved extensions);

B)        Failure

to clear fiscal or administrative monitoring issues;

C)        Failure

to submit an audit report within 15 business days after the due date (including

approved extensions);

D)        Failure

to respond to an outstanding audit report or onsite review correction action

for deficiencies a

payment plan

within 15 business days after the due date (including approved extensions);

B)        Failure

to clear fiscal or administrative monitoring issues;

C)        Failure

to submit an audit report within 15 business days after the due date (including

approved extensions);

D)        Failure

to respond to an outstanding audit report or onsite review correction action

for deficiencies and material weaknesses, including payment of questioned

costs;

E)        Fact-based

discretionary issues documented by the Agency Director, General Counsel, Agency's

Office of the Inspector General, Chief Financial Officer, Chief of Staff, or

Chief Operating Officer.  (See Section 7000.260.)

3)         Grantees

will be placed in permanent Stop Payment Status on the Illinois Stop Payment

List for the following infractions:

A)        Facts

documented by the applicable State agency, including but not limited to:

i)          Conviction

of, or civil judgment for, commission of fraud or a criminal offense, violation

of federal or state antitrust statutes, commission of embezzlement, theft,

forgery, bribery, falsification or destruction of records, tax evasion, or

commission of any other offense indicating a lack of business integrity or

business honesty that seriously and directly affects the grantee's present

responsibility.

ii)         Violation

of grant terms or a transaction so serious as to affect the integrity of the

program, such as a willful failure to perform in accordance with grant terms, a

history of failure to perform or of unsatisfactory performance, or a willful

violation of statutory or regulatory provisions or requirements applicable to a

grant.

iii)        Any

other cause so serious or compelling in nature that it affects present

responsibilities.

B)        Fraud

documented by the Office of the Executive Inspector General or another

governmental entity's investigation

a

history of failure to perform or of unsatisfactory performance, or a willful

violation of statutory or regulatory provisions or requirements applicable to a

grant.

iii)        Any

other cause so serious or compelling in nature that it affects present

responsibilities.

B)        Fraud

documented by the Office of the Executive Inspector General or another

governmental entity's investigation.

4)         In

accordance with the Illinois State Collection Act of 1986, all debts that

exceed $250 and are more than 90 days past due shall be placed on the

Comptroller's Offset System

unless (i) the State agency shall have entered

into a deferred payment plan or demonstrates to the Comptroller's satisfaction

that referral for offset is not cost effective; or (ii) the State agency is a

university that elects to place in the Comptroller's Offset System only debts

that exceed $1,000 and are more than 90 days past due.  All debt, and

maintenance of that debt, that is placed in the Comptroller's Offset System

must be submitted electronically to the Office of the Comptroller.  Any

exceptions to this requirement must be approved in writing by the Comptroller.

[30

ILCS 210/5].

g)         Procedure

1)         The

State awarding agency shall notify the grantee in writing of the non-compliance

issue. The communication must state that the grantee and its parent

organization, if applicable under subsection (h), will be placed on the

Illinois Stop Payment List if adequate action by the grantee, including raising

any objections, is not taken within 15 calendar days after receipt of the

notification.

2)         State

agencies shall have the discretion to determine the medium of written

correspondence, including e-mail distribution, certified mail, or post office

delivery. If applicable, the parent of the entity shall be copied on the

correspondence

if adequate action by the grantee, including raising

any objections, is not taken within 15 calendar days after receipt of the

notification.

2)         State

agencies shall have the discretion to determine the medium of written

correspondence, including e-mail distribution, certified mail, or post office

delivery. If applicable, the parent of the entity shall be copied on the

correspondence. The written correspondence must specify the following:

A)        Grantee name of record

and FEIN;

B)        Applicable grant award

name and CSFA number;

C)        Non-compliance

issues, with detailed facts to support each issue;

D)        How

the grantee can correct the non-compliance issue, if applicable;

E)        An

opportunity for dialogue or written objections regarding the non-compliance

issue;

F)         Contact

information for questions or coordination of corrective action; and

G)        A

statement that State agencies cannot execute or modify grants to entities on

the Illinois Stop Payment List and that payments to entities on the Illinois

Stop Payment List will be subject to additional authorization.

3)         If

the grantee takes no adequate action within 15 calendar days after it receives

the notice, the State agency shall place the grantee and the grantee's parent,

if applicable, on the Illinois Stop Payment List. A written notice in the form

of a final administrative determination shall be provided to the grantee and

the grantee's parent, if applicable, stating that the Stop Payment Status has

been invoked on that date or upon another date specified in the State agency's

grant rules.

4)         If

the State agency receives a written notice from the grantee within 15 calendar

days after the grantee receives the notice, the agency shall endeavor to review

the objection within 15 calendar days to determine whether the grantee has

complied with the requirements at issue

ent Status has

been invoked on that date or upon another date specified in the State agency's

grant rules.

4)         If

the State agency receives a written notice from the grantee within 15 calendar

days after the grantee receives the notice, the agency shall endeavor to review

the objection within 15 calendar days to determine whether the grantee has

complied with the requirements at issue.

A)        If the

agency decides in favor of the grantee, it shall notify the grantee that the

grantee is in compliance and will not be placed on the Illinois Stop Payment

List based on the non-compliance issue under discussion.

B)        If the

agency decides against the grantee, it shall notify the grantee that the

grantee is not in compliance and will be added to the Illinois Stop Payment

List. If the non-compliance issue is a delinquent report, then, following the

resolution of the grantee's unsuccessful objection, the grantee shall be added

to the Illinois Stop Payment List either 30 calendar days after the original

report's due date (or, if more than 30 calendar days have passed since the

report's due date, 10 calendar days after the agency's decision) or on a

different date specified by the State agency's grant rules.

h)         The following protocol

shall apply under a parent/child relationship:

1)         If

the parent or child is placed on temporary or permanent Stop Payment Status,

all children will be placed on the same Stop Payment Status.

2)         If

the child is placed on temporary Stop Payment Status, the parent will be placed

on temporary Stop Payment Status as well, because the parent is accountable for

compliance oversight of the child.

3)         If

the child is placed on permanent Stop Payment Status as the result of the

actions of an individual, the parent will be notified and will also be placed

on permanent Stop Payment Status, because the parent is accountable for

compliance oversight of the child

placed

on temporary Stop Payment Status as well, because the parent is accountable for

compliance oversight of the child.

3)         If

the child is placed on permanent Stop Payment Status as the result of the

actions of an individual, the parent will be notified and will also be placed

on permanent Stop Payment Status, because the parent is accountable for

compliance oversight of the child. A parent may be pardoned from the

non-compliance issue and removed from permanent Stop Payment Status. To do so,

the parent must provide evidence to the State agency that imposed the Stop

Payment Status that adequate internal controls have been implemented and are

functioning to guard against a recurrence of the non-compliance issue. The

State agency shall then remove the parent's permanent Stop Payment Status, but

may impose additional specific conditions for grant oversight.

4)         The

State awarding agency may impose oversight requirements to enforce

accountability in other parent/child relationships.

i)          State

agencies may not execute or modify a grant to increase funding or extend the

grant term of an entity on the Illinois Stop Payment List, regardless of

temporary or permanent designation,

unless

extenuating circumstances (e.g., court order, consent decree) dictate or the

grant modification only extends the grant term, is approved by the agency, and

would allow the grantee to become compliant

.  State agencies shall refer

to the State Staff Inquiry Screen or the Illinois Stop Payment List to verify

Stop Payment Status.

1)         GOMB

will initiate a nightly data inquiry to compare awardee FEIN numbers on the

Illinois Stop Payment List to the Illinois Comptroller's Data Warehouse to

determine if any transactions have occurred after the Stop Pay Date

the grantee to become compliant

.  State agencies shall refer

to the State Staff Inquiry Screen or the Illinois Stop Payment List to verify

Stop Payment Status.

1)         GOMB

will initiate a nightly data inquiry to compare awardee FEIN numbers on the

Illinois Stop Payment List to the Illinois Comptroller's Data Warehouse to

determine if any transactions have occurred after the Stop Pay Date.

2)         If a

payment transaction has been initiated to an entity on the Illinois Stop

Payment list:

A)        The

State agency that initiated the transaction will be notified via email of the

Stop Pay Status and provided a link to the awardee's Illinois Stop Payment

record.

B)        The

State agency shall review the Illinois Stop Payment record and determine if the

recent payment initiated by the State agency should be withheld.  It is

recommended that the Stop Payment Status be enforced; however, extenuating

circumstances (e.g., court order, consent decree, or federally-mandated funding

or matching requirements) may require the payment.

C)        If

applicable, the State agency shall explain why the Stop Payment Status is being

overridden using the Payment Justification field in the Illinois Stop Payment

List.  All decisions to override the Stop Payment Status must be justified in

the List.  The override can be valid for one payment or a period of time.  Each

override cannot exceed the duration of the current fiscal year (including the

lapse period).

j)          Only

the State agency that placed an awardee on the Illinois Stop Payment List can

remove the Stop Pay Status.

1)         The

State agency that issued the Stop Pay Status is responsible for follow-up to

resolve noncompliance.

2)         When

the noncompliance issues are resolved, the State agency that issued the Stop

Pay Status shall remove the awardee from the Illinois Stop Payment List.

3)         Refer

to Section 7000.260(d) (Maintenance and Use of the Illinois Stop Payment List)

e Stop Pay Status.

1)         The

State agency that issued the Stop Pay Status is responsible for follow-up to

resolve noncompliance.

2)         When

the noncompliance issues are resolved, the State agency that issued the Stop

Pay Status shall remove the awardee from the Illinois Stop Payment List.

3)         Refer

to Section 7000.260(d) (Maintenance and Use of the Illinois Stop Payment List).

k)         The

Illinois Stop Payment List will archive all Stop Pay Statuses to document

historic prior grant compliance issues.  State agencies are encouraged to

consider all Stop Pay Status occurrences as part of the awarding or modifying

process.