(a) The Department will accept Applications on an ongoing basis during the Application acceptance period as specified in the NOFA or notification of an offer of a continuing award, as applicable. Applications will be reviewed for threshold criteria and selection criteria, if applicable, administrative deficiencies, and competitive Applications will be ranked based upon the score of the Application as determined by the Department upon completion of the review.
(b) The administrative deficiency process allows the Applicant to provide additional information with regard to an Application after the Application acceptance period has ended, but only if it is requested in writing by Department staff. Staff may request that an Applicant provide clarification, correction, or non-material missing information to resolve inconsistencies in the original Application or to assist staff in evaluating the Application. Staff will request such information via a deficiency notice. Staff will send the deficiency notice via email and responses must be in kind unless otherwise defined in the notice. A review of the Applicant's response may reveal that additional administrative deficiencies are exposed or that issues initially identified as an administrative deficiency are actually determined to be beyond the scope of an administrative deficiency process, meaning that they are in fact matters of a material nature not susceptible to be resolved. For example, a response to an administrative deficiency that causes a new inconsistency which cannot be resolved without reversing or eliminating the need for the first deficiency response would be an example of an issue that is beyond the scope of an administrative deficiency. Department staff will make a good faith effort to provide an Applicant confirmation that an administrative deficiency response has been received and/or that such response is satisfactory. Communication from staff that the response was satisfactory does not establish any entitlement to points, eligibility status, or to any presumption of a final determination that the Applicant has fulfilled any other requirements as such is the sole determination of the Department's Board.
(c) An Applicant may not change or supplement any part of an Application in any manner after submission to the Department, except in response to a direct written request from the Department to remedy an administrative deficiency or by amendment of an Application after the Board approval of an ESG award. An administrative deficiency may not be cured if it would, in the Department's determination, substantially change an Application including score, or if the Applicant provides any new unrequested information to cure the deficiency.
(d) The time period for responding to a deficiency notice commences on the first day following the deficiency notice date.
  (1) If an administrative deficiency is not resolved to the satisfaction of the Department by 5:00 p.m. on the seventh calendar day following the date of the deficiency notice, then one point shall be deducted from the selection criteria score for each additional day the deficiency remains unresolved. If administrative deficiencies are not resolved by 5:00 p.m. on the fourteenth calendar day following the date of the deficiency notice for an Application in response to a NOFA, then the Application shall be terminated
  (2) If an administrative deficiency is not resolved to the satisfaction of the Department by 5:00 p.m. on the seventh calendar day following the date of the deficiency notice for an Application in response to a continuing award offer, then the Application shall be terminated.

Source Note: The provisions of this §7.37 adopted to be effective February 27, 2024, 49 TexReg 1052