(a) Cooperative agreements shall be procured by means of a request for application or a request for proposal, whichever is applicable, as determined by the department.
(b) A procurement by a request for application is one where the department has funds, regardless of the source, that it seeks to distribute to those entities or organizations specified in Section 38072, that meet the criteria and standards stated in the request for application. A distinguishing feature of a request for application is that, unlike a request for proposal, a request for application is a request where multiple awards are to be made based on the information provided in the application and evaluated against the methodology and criteria specified in the request for application.
(c) All request for proposal cooperative agreement awards shall comply with the requirements of Section 10344 of the Public Contract Code.
(d) A cooperative agreement shall be for a period of up to three years.
(e) A cooperative agreement for a one-year period may provide for up to two annual extensions.
(f) A cooperative agreement may be procured without a request for application or a request for proposal under any of the following circumstances:
(1) If the amount of the cooperative agreement is less than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) annually. A nonprofit organization shall receive only one of these awards during each fiscal year.
(2) If the amount of the cooperative agreement is less than two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000) a year and from a program that awards five or fewer grants per year.
(3) If the department is awarding a cooperative agreement under the California Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) to an entity or organization that currently has an executed agreement with the specific WIC local agency. A cooperative agreement described in this paragraph may be awarded by means of subvention. Cooperative agreements for new or additional WIC local agencies shall be procured by means of a process that complies with applicable federal and state laws and the department’s state plan for operation of WIC.
(Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 143, Sec. 16. (AB 133) Effective July 27, 2021.)