| (a) The grant application review process shall consist
of three steps:
(1) initial screening;
(2) peer review; and
(3) council review and approval.
(b) Initial screening.
(1) Program staff members shall review each grant application
to determine whether the grant application complies with the requirements
contained in this subchapter and the relevant NOFA published by the
council. Grant applications that do not meet these requirements will
not be eligible for review under this section.
(2) A program staff member shall submit each grant
application that meets the requirements described in subsection (b)(1)
of this section to the peer review panel for review.
(c) Peer review.
(1) Peer review panel members shall review each grant
application that is submitted for review by program staff as described
in subsection (b)(2) of this section.
(2) Peer review panel members shall assign a score
for the application based on the application's merit and accounting
for the criteria in the relevant NOFA published by the council, and
shall submit this information to a program staff member.
(3) If a peer review panel member recommends changes
to the grant funds amount requested by the grant applicant or to the
goals and objectives or timeline for the proposed grant project, the
recommended changes and explanation shall be submitted to a program
staff member.
(4) The peer review panel's scores, rankings and other
information submitted for the council's consideration are recommendations
and are advisory only.
(d) Council review and approval.
(1) After receipt of the peer review scores and recommendations
described in subsection (c) of this section, program staff members
shall compile a list of grant applications reviewed by the peer review
panel ranked in order by the final overall evaluation score. The final
evaluation score is determined by averaging together the scores assigned
by the peer review panel members under subsection (c)(2) of this section.
(2) For each application, a program staff member shall
submit to council members:
(A) the grant application's final overall peer review
evaluation score;
(B) the grant application's peer review ranking;
(C) a summary of the grant application;
(D) other information submitted by the peer review
panel for the council's consideration; and
(E) any other information required for the council's
consideration of the grant application.
(3) In making grant award decisions, the council:
(A) shall ensure that grant funds are allocated fairly
and spent to remediate the opioid crisis in this state by using efficient
and cost-effective methods in accordance with the opioid strategies
approved by the council under Government Code, §403.509(a)(1)
and §16.201 of this subchapter, and the grant issuance plan adopted
by the council under §16.202 of this subchapter; and
(B) may consider factors including:
(i) a grant applicant's experience;
(ii) a grant project's estimated timeline;
(iii) matching funds or sustainability plan, if any;
(iv) cost effectiveness, efficacy and overall impact
of the grant project;
(v) geographic location of the grant project;
(vi) community partnerships; and
(vii) any additional factors listed in the relevant
NOFA published by the council.
(4) The council shall vote on each grant application
in accordance with Government Code, §403.509(c). The council
may vote on multiple grant applications at one time.
(5) If the council approves a grant award, the council
shall specify the total amount of money approved to fund the grant
project.
(6) All grant funding decisions are final and are not
subject to appeal.
(7) The approval of a grant award shall not obligate
the council to make any additional, supplemental, or other grant award.
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