Sec. 34.04.04.08. Grant Application Review and Approval Procedures

A. Review. The Trust staff shall accept for review all grant applications from eligible applicants postmarked or received by the due date. The Trust staff shall review and analyze all applications, determine whether proposed activities are eligible, and transmit applications together with staff comments to the review panel.

B. State Archivist's Review. All eligible applications that relate in whole or in part to the care or preservation of, or access to, archival material shall be transmitted to the State Archivist for review and comment. The State Archivist shall transmit comments to the review panel within 10 working days.

C. Review Panel Review and Recommendation. The review panel shall review all eligible applications and staff comments and shall evaluate, rank, and make recommendations on funding for eligible applications. The review panel shall transmit eligible application summaries, rankings, and funding recommendations to the Board of Trustees.

D. Trustees' Review. The Trustees shall review the review panel's recommendations and approve, disapprove, defer, or modify these recommendations. The Trustees shall transmit eligible application summaries, rankings, and the review panel's recommendations, together with the Trustees' recommendations, to the Secretary.

E. Secretary's Approval. The Secretary shall approve, disapprove, defer, or modify the Board of Trustees' recommendations. The Trust shall issue to each applicant a written notice of the Secretary's decision. The Secretary's decision is final and not a contested case within the meaning of State Government Article, §10-201 et seq., Annotated Code of Maryland.