EDGAR Part 79 (Intergovernmental Review of Dept of Ed Programs and Activities)
TITLE 34--EDUCATION
PART 79_INTERGOVERNMENTAL REVIEW OF DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES
Sec.
79.1 What is the purpose of these regulations?
79.2 What definitions apply to these regulations?
79.3 What programs and activities of the Department are subject to these
regulations?
79.4 What are the Secretary's general responsibilities under the Order?
79.5 What is the Secretary's obligation with respect to Federal
interagency coordinations?
79.6 What procedures apply to the selection of programs and activities
under these regulations?
79.7 How does the Secretary communicate with State and local officials
concerning the Department's programs and activities?
79.8 How does the Secretary provide States an opportunity to comment on
proposed Federal financial assistance?
79.9 How does the Secretary receive and respond to comments?
79.10 How does the Secretary make efforts to accommodate
intergovernmental concerns?
79.11 What are the Secretary's obligations in interstate situations?
79.12 How may a State simplify, consolidate, or substitute federally
required State plans?
79.13 [Reserved]
Authority: 31 U.S.C. 6506; 42 U.S.C. 3334; and E.O. 12372, unless
otherwise noted.
Source: 48 FR 29166, June 24, 1983, unless otherwise noted.
Sec. 79.1 What is the purpose of these regulations?
(a) The regulations in this part implement Executive Order 12372,
``Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs,'' issued July 14, 1982
and amended on April 8, 1983. These regulations also implement
applicable provisions of Section 401 of the Intergovernmental
Cooperation Act of 1968 and Section 204 of the Demonstration Cities and
Metropolitan Development Act of 1966.
(b) These regulations are intended to foster an intergovernmental
partnership and a strengthened Federalism by relying on state processes
and on state, areawide, regional, and local coordination for review of
proposed federal financial assistance.
(c) These regulations are intended to aid the internal management of
the Department, and are not intended to create any right or benefit
enforceable at law by a party against the Department or its officers.
(Authority: E.O. 12372)
Sec. 79.2 What definitions apply to these regulations?
Department means the U.S. Department of Education.
Order means Executive Order 12372, issued July 14, 1982, amended
April 8, 1983, and titled ``Intergovernmental Review of Federal
Programs.''
Secretary means the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education or
an official or employee of the Department acting for the Secretary under
a delegation of authority.
State means any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, or the Trust
Territory of the Pacific Islands.
(Authority: E.O. 12372)
Sec. 79.3 What programs and activities of the Department are subject
to these regulations?
(a) The Secretary publishes in the Federal Register a list of the
Department's programs and activities that are subject to these
regulations and identifies which of these are subject to the
requirements of section 204 of the Demonstration Cities and Metropolitan
Development Act.
(b) If a program or activity of the Department that provides Federal
financial assistance does not have implementing regulations, the
regulations in this part apply to that program or activity.
(c) The following programs and activities are excluded from coverage
under this part:
(1) Proposed legislation.
(2) Regulation and budget formulation.
(3) National security matters.
(4) Procurement.
(5) Direct payments to individuals.
(6) Financial transfers for which the Department has no funding
discretion or direct authority to approve specific sites or projects
(e.g., block grants under Chapter 2 of the Education Consolidation and
Improvement Act of 1981).
(7) Research and development national in scope.
(8) Assistance to federally recognized Indian tribes.
(d) In addition to the programs and activities excluded in paragraph
(c) of this section, the Secretary may only exclude a Federal financial
assistance program or activity from coverage under this part if the
program or activity does not directly affect State or local governments.
(Authority: E.O. 12372)
[48 FR 29166, June 24, 1983, as amended at 51 FR 20824, June 9, 1986]
Sec. 79.4 What are the Secretary's general responsibilities under the
Order?
(a) The Secretary provides opportunities for consultation by elected
officials of those state and local governments that would provide the
nonfederal funds for, or that would be directly affected by, proposed
federal financial assistance from the Department.
(b) If a state adopts a process under the Order to review and
coordinate proposed federal financial assistance, the Secretary, to the
extent permitted by law:
(1) Uses the state process to determine official views of state and
local elected officials;
(2) Communicates with state and local elected officials as early in
a program planning cycle as is reasonably feasible to explain specific
plans and actions;
(3) Makes efforts to accommodate state and local elected official's
concerns with proposed federal financial assistance that are
communicated through the state process;
(4) Allows the states to simplify and consolidate existing federally
required state plan submissions;
(5) Where state planning and budgeting systems are sufficient and
where permitted by law, encourages the substitution of state plans for
federally required state plans;
(6) Seeks the coordination of views of affected state and local
elected officials in one state with those of another state when proposed
federal financial assistance has an impact on interstate metropolitan
urban centers or other interstate areas; and
(7) Supports state and local governments by discouraging the
reauthorization or creation of any planning organization which is
federally funded, which has a limited purpose, and which is not
adequately representative of, or accountable to, state or local elected
officials.
(Authority: E.O. 12372, Sec. 2)
Sec. 79.5 What is the Secretary's obligation with respect to Federal
interagency coordination?
The Secretary, to the maximum extent practicable, consults with and
seeks advice from all other substantially affected federal departments
and agencies in an effort to assure full coordination between such
agencies and the Department regarding programs and activities covered
under these regulations.
(Authority: E.O. 12372)
Sec. 79.6 What procedures apply to the selection of programs and
activities under these regulations?
(a) A state may select any program or activity published in the
Federal Register in accordance with Sec. 79.3 for intergovernmental
review under these regulations. Each state, before selecting programs
and activities, shall consult with local elected officials.
(b) Each state that adopts a process shall notify the Secretary of
the Department's programs and activities selected for that process.
(c) A state may notify the Secretary of changes in its selections at
any time. For each change, the state shall submit to the Secretary an
assurance that the state has consulted with local elected officials
regarding the change. The Department may establish deadlines by which
states are required to inform the Secretary of changes in their program
selections.
(d) The Secretary uses a state's process as soon as feasible,
depending on individual programs and activities, after the Secretary is
notified of its selections.
(Authority: E.O. 12372, sec. 2)
Sec. 79.7 How does the Secretary communicate with State and local
officials concerning the Department's programs and activities?
(a) [Reserved]
(b)(1) The Secretary provides notice to directly affected state,
areawide, regional, and local entities in a state of proposed federal
financial assistance if:
(i) The state has not adopted a process under the Order; or
(ii) The assistance involves a program or activity not selected for
the state process.
(2) This notice may be made by publication in the Federal Register
or other means which the Secretary determine appropriate.
(Authority: E.O. 12372, Sec. 2)
Sec. 79.8 How does the Secretary provide States an opportunity to
comment on proposed Federal financial assistance?
(a) Except in unusual circumstances, the Secretary gives State
processes or directly affected State, areawide, regional, and local
officials and entities--
(1) At least 30 days to comment on proposed Federal financial
assistance in the form of noncompeting continuation awards; and
(2) At least 60 days to comment on proposed Federal financial
assistance other than noncompeting continuation awards.
(b) The Secretary establishes a date for mailing or hand-delivering
comments under paragraph (a) of this section using one of the following
two procedures:
(1) If the comments relate to continuation award applications, the
Secretary notifies each applicant and each State Single Point of Contact
(SPOC) of the date by which SPOC comments should be submitted.
(2) If the comments relate to applications for new grants, the
Secretary establishes the date in a notice published in the Federal
Register.
(c) This section also applies to comments in cases in which the
review, coordination, and communication with the Department have been
delegated.
(d) Applicants for programs and activities subject to Section 204 of
the Demonstration Cities and Metropolitan Act shall allow areawide
agencies a 60-day opportunity for review and comment.
(Authority: E.O. 12372, Sec. 2)
[48 FR 29166, June 24, 1983, as amended at 51 FR 20825, June 9, 1986]
Sec. 79.9 How does the Secretary receive and respond to comments?
(a) The Secretary follows the procedure in Sec. 79.10 if:
(1) A state office or official is designated to act as a single
point of contact between a state process and all federal agencies, and
(2) That office or official transmits a State process
recommendation, and identifies it as such, for a program selected under
Sec. 79.6.
(b)(1) The single point of contact is not obligated to transmit
comments from state, areawide, regional, or local officials and entities
if there is no state process recommendation.
(2) If a state process recommendation is transmitted by a single
point of contact, all comments from state, areawide, regional, and local
officials and entities that differ from it must also be transmitted.
(c) If a state has not established a process, or is unable to submit
a state process recommendation, state, areawide, regional, and local
officials and entities may submit comments to the Department.
(d) If a program or activity is not selected for a state process,
state, areawide, regional, and local officials and entities may submit
comments to the Department. In addition, if a state process
recommendation for a nonselected program or activity is transmitted to
the Department by the single point of contact, the Secretary follows the
procedures of Sec. 79.10.
(e) The Secretary considers comments which do not constitute a state
process recommendation submitted under these regulations and for which
the Secretary is not required to apply the procedures of Sec. 79.10 of
this part, if those comments are provided by a single point of contact,
or directly to the Department by a commenting party.
(Authority: E.O. 12372, Sec. 2)
[48 FR 29166, June 24, 1983, as amended at 51 FR 20825, June 9, 1986]
Sec. 79.10 How does the Secretary make efforts to accommodate
intergovernmental concerns?
(a) If a state process provides a state process recommendation to
the Department through its single point of contact, the Secretary
either:
(1) Accepts the recommendation;
(2) Reaches a mutually agreeable solution with the state process; or
(3) Provides the single point of contact with a written explanation
of the decision in such form as the Secretary deems appropriate. The
Secretary may also supplement the written explanation by providing the
explanation to the single point of contact by telephone, other
telecommunication, or other means.
(b) In any explanation under paragraph (a)(3) of this section, the
Secretary informs the single point of contact that:
(1) The Department will not implement its decision for at least ten
days after the single point of contact receives the explanation; or
(2) The Secretary has reviewed the decision and determined that,
because of unusual circumstances, the waiting period of at least ten
days is not feasible.
(c) For purposes of computing the waiting period under paragraph
(b)(1) of this section, a single point of contact is presumed to have
received written notification 5 days after the date of mailing of the
notification.
(Authority: E.O. 12372, Sec. 2)
Sec. 79.11 What are the Secretary's obligations in interstate
situations?
(a) The Secretary is responsible for:
(1) Identifying proposed federal financial assistance that has an
impact on interstate areas;
(2) Notifying appropriate officials and entities in states which
have adopted a process and which select the Department's program or
activity.
(3) Making efforts to identify and notify the affected state,
areawide, regional, and local officials and entities in those states
that have not adopted a process under the Order or do not select the
Department's program or activity;
(4) Responding under Sec. 79.10 if the Secretary receives a
recommendation from a designated areawide agency transmitted by a single
point of contact, in cases in which the review, coordination, and
communication with the Department have been delegated.
(b) In an interstate situation subject to this section, the
Secretary uses the procedures in Sec. 79.10 if a state process provides
a state process recommendation to the Department through a single point
of contact.
(Authority: E.O. 12372, Sec. 2(e))
Sec. 79.12 How may a State simplify, consolidate, or substitute
federally required State plans?
(a) As used in this section:
(1) Simplify means that a state may develop its own format, choose
its own submission date, and select the planning period for a state
plan.
(2) Consolidate means that a state may meet statutory and regulatory
requirements by combining two or more plans into one document and that
the state can select the format, submission date, and planning period
for the consolidated plan.
(3) Substitute means that a state may use a plan or other document
that it has developed for its own purposes to meet Federal requirements.
(b) If not inconsistent with law, a state may decide to try to
simplify, consolidate, or substitute federally required state plans
without prior approval by the Secretary.
(c) The Secretary reviews each state plan that a state has
simplified, consolidated, or substituted and accepts the plan only if
its contents meet federal requirements.
(Authority: E.O. 12372, sec. 2)
Sec. 79.13 [Reserved]
EDGAR version June 23, 2005
