Short-Term Relief for COVID-19 Administrative Requirements Guidance

Thank you for your patience as we work to maintain service delivery during this time.

The federal Office of Management and Budget is allowing flexibilities in administrative requirements for services necessary to for emergency response or loss of operations, as specified. See chart below.

The State has adopted Federal Uniform Regulation Requirements 2 CFR 200, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements to be applied to State grant Awards. Relief is time limited and will be reassessed.  Documentation and records must be submitted and maintained of relief exceptions and how much was spent on each relief item. Updates will be provided as additional communication is distributed.

Relief Exemptions

Link to website of Federal Agencies responding to Coronavirus:

https://www.usa.gov/government-coronavirus-response

Federal OMB memo

M-20-11

Flexibility to grant recipients performing essential research and services necessary to carry out emergency response.

Federal OMB memo

M-20-17 expanded guidance to include:

Administrative relief expanded scope of recipients affected by the loss of operational capacity and increased cost.

1. Flexibility with SAM registration/recertification
   • 60-day automatic extension

1. Flexibility with application deadlines.

1. Waiver of Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFO) Publication
   • Publish emergency awards for less than 30 days without separately justifying shortening timeframe

1. Allow necessary pre-award costs incurred from 1/20/20 through effective date of Federal award.

1. No-cost extensions on expiring awards
   • Extend active awards as of 3/31/20 that are scheduled to expire before 12/31/20
   • Financial & performance reports will be due 90 day following the extension end date

1. Abbreviated Continuation Request
   
   1. For non-competitive continuation request scheduled to come in from 4/1/20 to 12/31/2020
   2. Brief statement from grantee organization to verify activity

1. Expenditures of award funds for salaries and other activities
   • Allow recipients to continue to charge salaries & benefits
   • Allow other cost to be charged
   • Consistent with organization’s written polity under unexpected or extraordinary circumstances

1. Allowability of cost not normally chargeable to awards
   
   1. Travel and event cancellation cost

1. Waiver of prior approval requirements as necessary to effectively address emergency response

1. Exemption of certain procurement requirements such as:
   
   1. Geographical preferences
   2. Small & minority businesses, women’s business enterprises and labor surplus area firms

1. 90-day extension of financial and other reporting from the date the report is due.

1. Extension of currently approved indirect cost rates

1. Extension of closeout reports up to 1-year

1. Extension of Singe Audit submission