Westchester committee hears NYSAC briefing on proposed OMB grant rule, urged delay

The Westchester County Intergovernmental Affairs Committee heard a detailed, nonpartisan briefing on a proposed Office of Management and Budget rewrite of the federal "uniform guidance" that governs how federal grants are applied for, administered and audited.

"We are very worried in Westchester County," Chair Emiliana Ullai said as she opened the meeting and framed the briefing as necessary to understand what the county should watch for. Alex Regan, legislative director at the New York State Association of Counties, told the committee: "This is an absolutely timely topic. It will impact every county across New York State and really across the country, of course, including Westchester County." Regan said the presentation would summarize what is on the table and where the proposed rule stands.

Regan summarized the rulemaking process: a 412-page proposed rewrite published May 29 with a compressed 45-day comment period and roughly 500,000 public comments. The presenters said the proposal would turn existing guidance into binding regulation, expand discretionary grounds for termination of awards, introduce undefined subjective standards, and create new compliance obligations for counties and subrecipients.

Presenters urged two immediate steps for Westchester: press congressional delegations to support language in a continuing resolution that would pause finalization through Dec. 11, and prepare administratively by inventorying federal awards, reviewing award terms, assessing E-Verify and payment-verification readiness, and strengthening documentation.

The committee spent substantial time in questions about how the proposed rule would interact with existing state law and how small towns and nonprofit subrecipients would comply. The committee voted to adjourn at the end of the session.