OMB Proposed Revisions Call for ‘Periodic’ Updates

We here at Thompson Grants have been poring through the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) proposed revisions to Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations, including the uniform guidance (2 C.F.R. Part 200). Interested parties should be aware that they have until Dec. 4 to comment on the proposed revisions. One of these proposed revisions was made to perhaps the shortest provision within the guidance, yet it struck us as highly interesting.

This proposed revision of note was made to the review date provision at §200.109. Existing guidance in this provision requires OMB to review the uniform guidance "at least every five years as of Dec. 26, 2013." OMB now would state that this review would be conducted “periodically.” What makes this intriguing, if finalized, is that it would no longer holds OMB accountable for reviewing the guidance every five years; essentially it could review and revise it at any point it sees fit.

To go strictly by the language in this provision, OMB would have had to initially review the uniform guidance for revisions by Dec. 26, 2018. However, it did not propose such revisions to the uniform guidance until January 2020, and eventually made them final in August 2020 (with a Nov. 12, 2020, effective date). So technically, it could be determined that OMB missed its initial review date.

The revisions being made to the guidance this year received an impetus from the federal government's priority to promote plain language, make the guidance easier to understand and encourage more applicants to apply for awards, including those in underrepresented communities. It also sought to address changes within the grants community, including the Build America Buy America Act provisions and new capabilities at SAM.gov. Therefore, this year’s revisions fell in line with the five-year provisions at §200.109.

However, if these revisions go forth as proposed, there’s no telling when the next revision to the guidance may be. All we know is that it would be reviewed at some point (aka “periodically”). I’m sure this provision would be welcomed by the folks at OMB, especially after making the incredibly extensive proposed revisions to the guidance this year, which OMB hopes to finalize by the end of the year to make effective in 2024.

Regardless of this proposed change, Thompson Grants will continue to provide consistent (not “periodic”) grant- and audit-related news and information for our subscribers. Stay tuned!

Join us for our following Thompson Grants events:
Virtual Advanced Federal Grants Forum | Oct. 25-26, 2023 | Virtual Event
Thompson Grants Workshop: Procurement | Nov. 16, 2023 | Virtual Event