SECTION 210.31. Electronic Grant System Applicability, Purpose and Agency Responsibilities

(a) Unless granted an exemption by the department based on the requirements in §210.33 of this chapter, each state agency, other than institutions of higher education and those state agencies defined in §531.001(4), Government Code, shall develop and electronically announce synopses of all funding opportunities under financial assistance programs that award discretionary grants, loans, and cooperative agreements using a standard format and a set of common data elements established statewide and posted on the State Electronic Internet Portal. The standard format and common data elements shall provide potential applicants with:

(1) Enough information about the funding opportunity to decide whether they are interested in viewing the full announcement;

(2) One or more ways to get the full announcement with the detailed information; and

(3) The capability to search for state grant opportunities by using one or more of the following: key word(s), date, funding opportunity number, specific agency or name of agency.

(b) The state agency head or his or her designated representative(s) shall:

(1) Issue any needed direction to offices that award discretionary grants and cooperative agreements on the requirement to post a synopsis on the department's website, including the standard data elements and format;

(2) Require that synopses follow the format to ensure all required data elements are included;

(3) Ensure the synopsis posted on the State Electronic Internet Portal will have full instructions regarding where to obtain the full announcement for the funding opportunity; and

(4) Announce the funding opportunity in the Texas Register if necessary to further satisfy statutory, regulatory, or the agency's policy requirements.

Source Note: The provisions of this §210.31 adopted to be effective November 17, 2011, 36 TexReg 7661; amended to be effective March 16, 2017, 42 TexReg 1117