SPOC Clearinghouse
USER MANUAL FOR
STATE SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT (SPOC) PROCEDURES
IN ARIZONA
Coordination of Applications for Grant Funds as established by Presidential Executive Order 12372 and Arizona Executive Order 2013-09
State of Arizona
Governor’s Office of Strategic Planning and Budgeting (OSPB) Grants & Federal Resources Team (GFRT)
Updated December 23, 2020
PREFACE
This manual is issued to inform applicants for federal and non-federal grant assistance of the procedures that must be followed to comply with Presidential Executive Order (E.O.) 12372 signed by President Reagan on July 24,1982 and State Executive Order 2013-09 signed by Governor Brewer on October 28, 2013.
The procedures set forth in this manual supersede all procedures previously issued. These procedures are effective March 1, 2015. As of April 2020, the Grants & Federal Resources Team (GFRT) will continue to carry out provisions of State Executive Order 2013-09.
If you have questions, please email the Grants & Federal Resources Team, at OSPB, at [email protected].
BACKGROUND
In October 1968, the United States Congress passed the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act in an attempt to improve relationships between the federal agencies and state, local and regional government entities along with private agencies by requiring the coordination of planning and programming efforts. The intent of the Act was to reduce duplication of effort and avoid conflicting effort within a state while facilitating orderly growth and development consistent with state, local and regional objectives.
The Office of Management and Budget issued Circular A-95 in July 1969, later revised, to implement:
- The provisions of Section 201 and Title IV of the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act by calling for the establishment of state, regional and metropolitan clearinghouses to aid in the coordination of projects involving federal grant dollars, providing for gubernatorial review and comment on federally required State plans, and establishing the project notification and review system which allows the Clearinghouse to review and comment on applications being made for federal dollars;
- Section 204 of the Demonstration Cities and Metropolitan Development Act of 1966 which calls for the review of federal loan or grant requests for assistance in carrying out open- space land projects or for the planning of construction of hospitals, airports, libraries, water supply and distribution facilities along with water development and land conservation projects within a metropolitan area; and
- Section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and regulations of the Council on Environmental Policy which call for the review and comment of certain federal or federally-assisted projects by state and local agencies responsible for environmental standards.
Through its years of implementation, the Circular A-95 review process was found to be cumbersome, ineffective and, in general, ignored by the federal agencies. President Reagan implemented his philosophy of "New Federalism" whereby reliance on states making their own decisions according to their particular needs was emphasized. One of the results of "New Federalism" was a complete rethinking of Circular A-95 review process. On July 14, 1982, President Reagan instituted the Intergovernmental Review Process of Federal Programs by signing E. O. 12372. The Circular A-95 rules remained in effect until federal agencies issued new rules under the Executive Order.
On June 24, 1983, federal agencies published final rules implementing E. O. 12372 and listed which programs were covered under the Executive Order. The rules no longer referred to the State Clearinghouse but rather to a Single Point of Contact (SPOC) for each state.
On October 28, 2013, Governor Brewer signed E. O. 2013-09 instituting the Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs in Arizona in compliance with E. O. 12372.
I. General
The Intergovernmental Review should be completed before an application or a request for funds is submitted to the grantor agency. However, our office realizes that this cannot always be done; therefore, we will accept simultaneous submissions.
The procedures are different whether the requests for grant funds originate from a state agency, an institution of higher education, private or local government entity.
· State Agencies
All state agencies must go through the Intergovernmental Review process regardless of whether the grant program is covered under the Presidential Executive Order.
The E. O. shall be interpreted as including all types of assistance (federal and non-federal grants, cooperative agreements, contracts, reimbursable agreements, etc.), whether formulaic or competitive, whether a formal application is required or not, and whether there is a mandatory or optional state match (in-kind or cash).
· Institutions of Higher Education, Private or Local Government Entities
Institutions of higher education, private or local government entities are required to go through the Intergovernmental Review process only for those programs covered by the Presidential Executive Order. Requests for proposals are usually published in the Federal Register where E. O. 12372 requirements are specified and it provides information regarding the SPOC.
At this point, higher education, private or local government entities are only covered under the E. O. when their applications for federal assistance impact directly or indirectly the state budget. Additionally, the rule applies whether the match (in-kind or cash) is optional or mandatory. If this E.O. is still applicable to your entity, please email the Grants & Federal Resources Team, at OSPB, at [email protected].
II. Purpose
The general purpose of the Intergovernmental Review process is to:
- avoid duplication of effort in the application for and use of federal funds;
- ensure compliance with federal and state statutes, and state and local plans; and
- determine impact on current and future state budgets.
III. Submission
No applicant shall forward an application to a federal agency without securing a State Application Identifier (SAI) which is an 8-digit number issued by GFRT. Additionally, on OMB Standard Form (SF) 424, Item 19, an applicant shall answer in the affirmative to the question “Is Application Subject to Review By State Under Executive Order 12372 Process?” Assignment of an SAI does not signify approval of your grant application, project or program by the SPOC.
Effective March 1, 2015, utilizing the eCivis system will be the only means of obtaining the SAI for a grant application. The SAI will be requested automatically within the eCivis system when the funding opportunity status is “Application Preparation” or higher.
Within the eCivis system, the completed OMB SF-424 and Program Narrative from the grant application (or equivalent documents if not federal assistance) should be uploaded when the user marks the funding opportunity as under “Application Preparation” or higher status. This action will generate a new task for GFR titled “Obtain State Application Identifier (SAI) Numbering Letter from the Grants & Federal Resources Team (GFRT).” Once the task has been completed by GFRT, the SAI numbering letter will be saved to the “Documents” tab associated with the project within the eCivis system and the task will move from the “Pending Tasks” tab to the “Completed Tasks” one.
For those grants, projects, or programs requiring a pre-application, the applicant shall request the SAI prior to submitting the pre-application. The SPOC will assign an SAI to the pre-application. When the grantor agency has approved the pre-application and an application is submitted, the applicant shall keep and use the same SAI assigned to the pre-application. The applicant shall upload it to eCivis for a final review/comment.
If the application process requires a Letter of Intent (LOI) or Notification of Intent (NOI), a copy of that document must be transmitted to the SPOC directly or uploaded to eCivis for informational purposes.
Revisions or amendments to an application must be uploaded to eCivis as they are transmitted to the grantor agency. This is important, especially, if the changes are made prior to the SPOC review.
All communications and documents sent to the SPOC after an SAI has been assigned should reference the SAI.
