20-21-503. Cooperative agreements.

20-21-503. Cooperative agreements. (a)(1) Before the award of a grant to a county for the purposes described in this subchapter, the Department of Health shall draw up a proposal for a cooperative agreement between the State of Arkansas and the eligible counties in this state. (2) The proposal shall set forth the activities to be conducted by the county under its radiological response plan as a prerequisite for receipt of grant payments. (3) The proposed cooperative agreement shall include: (A) The responsibilities of the county as prescribed in the county's radiological response plan and the state emergency operations plan, as amended; (B) The means by which the county will demonstrate that it can meet its designated responsibilities, as defined in subdivision (a)(3)(A) of this section, including, but not limited to, program audits, test exercises, or operational readiness evaluations; (C) The methods of distribution of grant funds to local governments and their agencies to provide a fair opportunity for all political subdivisions within the county to benefit from grant funds; (D) The intended use of grant funds as reflected in an annual budget to correspond with the state fiscal year; and (E) Any other information determined by the department to be necessary to ensure compliance with state rules or federal regulations and to ensure that all expenditures of grant funds are in direct support of radiological emergency planning or response. (b)(1) The department shall submit a proposal for a cooperative agreement to the chief executive officer of each county sixty (60) days before the beginning of the state fiscal year. (2) The fully executed cooperative agreement shall be in effect by August 1 of the state fiscal year. (3) A cooperative agreement is fully executed when it is duly signed by the Director of the Division of Radiation Control and Emergency Management of the Department of Health, as the representative of the department, and the county judge as the chief executive officer of the county. (c) Variances from any portion of the cooperative agreement shall be approved in writing by the director before implementation of the variance. (d)(1) Failure to perform shall result in either suspension of funds for a specified period or complete revocation of the agreement. The specific penalty shall be determined following an assessment of the degree of seriousness imposed by the breach of agreement. (2) The reinstatement of eligibility for a county so penalized shall occur only after satisfactory demonstration that the conditions or situations resulting in the penalty have been corrected. (3) Written notice shall be given to the chief executive officer by the director citing the reason for the penalty and the steps necessary to regain agreement eligibility.