Bill: Draft Grant Guideline Act

[Incarnation__]

CONGRESS OF THE
COMMONWEALTH OF REDMONT
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A BILL TO

Create Laws and Guidelines to Improve Transparency and Enforceability of Government Grants




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The people of the Commonwealth of Redmont, through their elected Representatives in the Congress and the force of law ordained to that Congress by the people through the constitution, do hereby enact the following provisions into law:


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PART I — PRELIMINARIES

1. Short Title and Enactment

(1) This Act may be cited as the ‘Grant Guideline Act’

(2) This Act shall be enacted immediately upon its signage.

(3) This Act has been authored by Rep Incarnation__ and Nullapoene.

(4) This Act has been co-sponsored by [Co-Sponsor Name].

(5) This Act amends the following acts:

(a) Criminal Code Act

2. Reasons and Intent

(1) Grants have had their funding cut recently, and part of that reason might be due to the rampant misuse and lack of tangible results with grant money.

(2) Formally adding a Grant Fraud punishment to the CCA can make it clearer what the punishment is for not using grants properly, and what recourse the DoC has.

(3) Currently, while accepting grants, DoC doesn't always clarify why the grant has been accepted or what the DoC wants the grant to be used for. This can make it difficult to claim damages if the grant's use is not clarified, particularly when only part of the requested sum is granted.

(4) This act is intended to solidify guidelines, penalties, and requirements for grants, so that grants that are misused can be recovered by the government.

(5) By better regulating grants, they will hopefully be used as intended more often, and would in turn allow the government to justify increasing spending on grants.

3. Definitions

(1) For the purposes of this Act, the following definitions shall apply:

(a) DoC. Department of Commerce.

(b) Grant Embezzlement. Using grant funds in a way that directly enriches oneself.

PART II — GRANTS

1. Grant Guidelines

(1) Players must request grants by:
(a) Stating which grant pool they are applying under.
(b) Stating the requested funding.
(c) Stating what they intend to spend said funding on.
(d) Stating the deadline by which the funds will have been spent.

(2) The DoC may only accept grants by:
(a) Stating the total grant amount granted.
(b) Stating how the grant amount should be spent.
(i) The DoC may also specify how the grant is not permitted to be used.
(c) The DoC may regulate a maximum period for grant spending.
(i) This must be higher than 30 days.

(3) Players must provide evidence of accepted grants being used for their intended purpose by:
(a) Submitting Evidence within 7 days of the end of the deadline for fund spending.

(4) The DoC may reclaim the grant amount by:
(a) Requesting the money back, if evidence was not provided according to Section 1 (3) (a).

(5) Players may return any sum of grants that they are unable to spend or no longer require without penalty if:
(a) It is within 7 days of the end of the spending deadline

PART II — AMENDMENTS

1. Amendments to the Criminal Code Act

(1) Part VII of the Criminal Code Act shall be amended as follows:

8 - Grant Fraud
Offence Type: Indictable
Penalty: Up to 200% of grant amount converted to penalty units; Up to an indefinite suspension from receiving grants.
A person commits an offence if the person:
(a) A person either:
(i) Obtains grant funding under false pretenses; or
(ii) Uses grant funding for purposes other than what was stated in the grant application; or
(iii) Uses grant funding in a way that directly financially benefits oneself.
Relevant Law:
(a) Grant Guidelines Act