Committee hears testimony on H.233 to standardize indirect rates and speed state grant contracts and payments

On March 27 the Government Operations & Military Affairs Committee heard testimony on H.233, a bill that would require a uniform method for calculating nonprofit indirect cost rates, set 30‑day deadlines for executing state‑funded grant agreements and for paying valid reimbursement requests, require public reporting of late grants, and create a working group to study state grant processes.

The bill’s sponsors and counsel told the committee the measure is largely session law directing administrative practice rather than rewriting broad statutes. Rick Segal, counsel in the Office of Legislative Counsel, described the principal provisions: Section 1 would direct the Secretary of Administration to develop, by July 1, 2025, “a uniform formula and approval process” for allowing nonprofit grantees an indirect rate higher than the federal de minimis rate; Section 2 would require state agencies to execute grant agreements within 30 days of appropriation or notice of award and to pay grantees within 30 days of a valid written payment request, with a requirement that agencies notify the Agency of Administration (AOA) in writing if they cannot meet those deadlines; and Section 3 would create a working group to assess grant procedures and report back to the committee by Sept. 1 of the following year.

Why it matters: nonprofit witnesses told the committee that delayed contracts and reimbursements strain…