§ 60305 — Evaluations By Inspector General And Administrative Remedies

(1) As soon as practicable after the end of the first fiscal year for which a State receives funds under a grant made under this chapter, the Inspector General of the Department of Justice (in this section referred to as the “Inspector General”) shall— (A) submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate a report evaluating the compliance by the State with the terms and conditions of the grant; and (B) if the Inspector General concludes that the State is not in compliance with the terms and conditions of the grant, specify any deficiencies and make recommendations to the Attorney General for corrective action. (2) In conducting evaluations under this subsection, the Inspector General shall give priority to States that the Inspector General determines, based on information submitted by the State and other comments provided by any other person, to be at the highest risk of noncompliance. (3) For each State that employs a statutory procedure described in section 60301(e)(1)(C) of this title, the Inspector General shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate, not later than the end of the first fiscal year for which such State receives funds, a determination as to whether the State is in substantial compliance with the requirements of the applicable State statute. (4) The Inspector General shall receive and consider comments from any member of the public regarding any State’s compliance with the terms and conditions of a grant made under this chapter. To facilitate the receipt of such comments, the Inspector General shall maintain on its website a form that any member of the public may submit, either electronically or otherwise, providing comments. The Inspector General shall give appropriate consideration to all such public comments in reviewing reports submitted under section 60304 of this title or in establishing the priority for conducting evaluations under this section. (1) Upon the submission of a report under subsection (a)(1) or a determination under subsection (a)(3), the Attorney General shall provide the State with an opportunity to comment regarding the findings and conclusions of the report or the determination. (2) If the Attorney General, after reviewing a report under subsection (a)(1) or a determination under subsection (a)(3), determines that a State is not in compliance with the terms and conditions of the grant, the Attorney General shall consult with the appropriate State authorities to enter into a plan for corrective action. If the State does not agree to a plan for corrective action that has been approved by the Attorney General within 90 days after the submission of the report under subsection (a)(1) or the determination under subsection (a)(3), the Attorney General shall, within 30 days, issue guidance to the State regarding corrective action to bring the State into compliance. (3) Not later than 90 days after the earlier of the implementation of a corrective action plan or the issuance of guidance under paragraph (2), the Attorney General shall submit a report to the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate as to whether the State has taken corrective action and is in compliance with the terms and conditions of the grant. (c) If the State fails to take the prescribed corrective action under subsection (b) and is not in compliance with the terms and conditions of the grant, the Attorney General shall discontinue all further funding under sections 60301 and 60302 of this title and require the State to return the funds granted under such sections for that fiscal year. Nothing in this paragraph shall prevent a State which has been subject to penalties for noncompliance from reapplying for a grant under this chapter in another fiscal year. (d) During the grant period, the Inspector General shall periodically review the compliance of each State with the terms and conditions of the grant. (e) Not less than 2.5 percent of the funds appropriated to carry out this chapter for each of fiscal years 2005 through 2009 shall be made available to the Inspector General for purposes of carrying out this section. Such sums shall remain available until expended. (1) In the case of a State that employs a statutory procedure described in section 60301(e)(1)(C) of this title, if the Inspector General submits a determination under subsection (a)(3) that the State is not in substantial compliance with the requirements of the applicable State statute, then for the period beginning with the date on which that determination was submitted and ending on the date on which the Inspector General determines that the State is in substantial compliance with the requirements of that statute, the funds awarded under this chapter shall be allocated solely for the uses described in section 60301 of this title. (2) The requirements of this subsection apply in addition to, and not instead of, the other requirements of this section.