BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1348
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Date of Hearing: January 21, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
1348 (Irwin) - As Amended January 14, 2016
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|Policy |Jobs, Economic Development, |Vote:|9 - 0 |
|Committee: |and the Economy | | |
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill creates the "federal grant administrator" within the
State Clearinghouse, under the Governor's Office of Planning and
Research (OPR), to serve as the state's primary point of contact
for information on federal grants related to community, economic
and local development. Specifically, this bill:
1)Authorizes the grant administrator to do the following:
a) Work with state and local governments, nonprofits,
foundations, institutions of higher education, and other
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interested parties on applying for and managing federal
grants.
b) Support the establishment of a statewide network of
individuals who serve as point-of-contact for federal grant
opportunities.
c) Provide, or facilitate the provision of, in-person and
online training to encourage and improve their ability to
pursue and manage federal grants.
d) Develop and maintain information on OPR's Internet Web
site related to new federal grant opportunities, grant
management best practices, and other resources to support
the state and local governments and nonprofit entities to
apply and manage federal grants.
2)Requires the grant administrator, starting on or before
January 1, 2018, to annually prepare a summary of federal
grant funding that tracks the following: grants awarded to the
state in prior and current years, as specified; the number of
applications submitted for grant funding; total federal
dollars received by the state, school districts and local
governments each year; and training event information.
FISCAL EFFECT:
General Fund (GF) administrative costs of approximately $200,000
for FY 2017-18, and ongoing GF costs of approximately $180,000,
to support the federal grant administrator position and
associated duties. Higher costs in the first year are
attributed to necessary website updates.
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COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, this bill provides the
coordinating functions necessary to manage and maximize
federal grants opportunities for the state and local
governments in California. Several states, such as Arizona,
Massachusetts, Maryland, Nevada, and Rhode Island have created
a Federal Grant Office to maximize their state's federal grant
opportunities. According to the author, even small
improvements in the cumbersome process of identifying,
tracking, applying and competing, and spending federal grant
dollars can mean large returns for Californians.
2)Background. The Office of Planning and Research (OPR) assists
the Governor and the Administration in planning, research,
policy development, and legislative analysis. OPR formulates
long-range state goals and policies to address land use,
climate change, population growth and distribution, urban
expansion, infrastructure development, groundwater
sustainability and drought response, and resource protection.
With regard to federal grant funding, OPR serves as the "State
Single Point of Contact" for coordinating state and local
review of applications for federal grants or loans under
select state programs. In this capacity, OPR coordinates
reviews of federal financial assistance applications,
federally required state plans, direct federal development
activities, and federal environmental documents.
Analysis Prepared by:Misty Feusahrens / APPR. / (916)
319-2081
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