7 USC 344 – Ascertainment of entitlement of State to funds; time and manner of payment; State reporting requirements; plans of work
(a) Ascertainment of entitlement
On or about the first day of October in each year after June 26, 1953, the Secretary of Agriculture shall ascertain as to each State whether it is entitled to receive its share of the annual appropriation for cooperative agricultural extension work under this subchapter and the amount which it is entitled to receive. Before the funds herein provided shall become available to any college for any fiscal year, plans for the work to be carried on under this subchapter shall be submitted by the proper officials of each college and approved by the Secretary of Agriculture. The Secretary shall ensure that each college seeking to receive funds under this subchapter has in place appropriate guidelines, as determined by the Secretary, to minimize actual or potential conflicts of interest among employees of such college whose salaries are funded in whole or in part with such funds.
(b) Time and manner of payment; related reports
Terms Used In 7 USC 344
- Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- officer: includes any person authorized by law to perform the duties of the office. See 1 USC 1
- State: means a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any other territory or possession of the United States. See 1 USC 7
The amount to which a State is entitled shall be paid in equal quarterly payments in or about July, October, January, and April of each year to the treasurer or other officer of the State duly authorized by the laws of the State to receive the same, and such officer shall be required to report to the Secretary of Agriculture on or about the first day of April of each year, a detailed statement of the amount so received during the previous fiscal year and its disbursement, on forms prescribed by the Secretary of Agriculture.
(c) Requirements related to plan of work
Each extension plan of work for a State required under subsection (a) shall contain descriptions of the following:
(1) A summary of planned projects or programs in the State using formula funds.
(2) A description of the manner in which the State will meet the requirements of section 343(h) of this title.
(3) A description of the manner in which the State will meet the requirements of section 361c(i)(2) of this title.
(4) A description of matching funds provided by the State with respect to the previous fiscal year.
(d) Extension protocols
(1) Development
The Secretary of Agriculture shall develop protocols to be used to evaluate the success of multistate, multi-institutional, and multidisciplinary extension activities and joint research and extension activities in addressing critical agricultural issues identified in the plans of work submitted under subsection (a).
(2) Consultation
The Secretary of Agriculture shall develop the protocols in consultation with the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board established under section 3123 of this title and land-grant colleges and universities.
(e) Treatment of plans of work for other purposes
To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary shall consider a plan of work submitted under subsection (a) to satisfy other appropriate Federal reporting requirements.