(a) It is the policy of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission that the department award and administer projects under this subchapter in accord with the provisions of this subchapter, with the intent to provide the greatest number of high-quality outdoor and indoor recreational opportunities for Texas, consistent with Parks and Wildlife Code, Chapter 24, and the priorities and policies articulated in the department's Land and Water Resources Conservation and Recreation Plan and the Texas Outdoor Recreation Plan (required for federal funding), as applicable.     
      (b) The department will not accept or evaluate a project proposal that is not submitted to the department via the department's on-line application process.     
      (c) The department will not score an application that is not administratively complete. An administratively complete application is an application that is in substantive compliance with the requirements of this subchapter, as determined by the department.     
      (d) If an applicant is in compliance with the conditions of existing or previous grant agreements with the department, the application will be scored and considered for funding. If the applicant is not in compliance with existing or previous grant agreements, the department may request the applicant to submit an action plan for addressing deficiencies or problematic issues. If the applicant is unable to provide, to the department's satisfaction, evidence that the deficiencies or problematic issues in question can or will be resolved, the department may choose not to score the application or consider it further.     
      (e) The department will evaluate prospective projects on a qualitative basis, awarding points within the specified range (from 0 (no points) to the maximum allowable for each criterion) according to the department's determination of how the applicant's treatment of any given component places along a continuum from poor to excellent. The department will not automatically award points for cursory, mechanical attempts to address as many criteria as possible in order to accrue points.     
      (f) Applications for grants under this subchapter shall be scored according to the provisions of this subchapter and shall be ranked in relation to the scores of other applications under consideration.     
      (g) Projects funded under this subchapter shall be pursued by the sponsor in accordance with the timelines established by the department for each project, unless the department determines that circumstances beyond the sponsor's control warrant timeline extension. Failure to meet timelines or timeline extensions shall be grounds for the department to initiate cancellation of the affected project.     
      (h) Grant awards are dependent on the availability of grant funds.     
     Source Note:        The provisions of this §61.133 adopted to be effective September 19, 2019, 44 TexReg 5053