§ 15403. Condition for receipt of funds
(a)
In general
A State is eligible to receive a requirements payment for a fiscal year if the chief executive officer of the State, or designee, in consultation and coordination with the chief State election official, has filed with the Commission a statement certifying that the State is in compliance with the requirements referred to in subsection (b) of this section. A State may meet the requirement of the previous sentence by filing with the Commission a statement which reads as follows: “XXXXXX hereby certifies that it is in compliance with the requirements referred to in section 253(b) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002.” (with the blank to be filled in with the name of the State involved).
(b)
State plan requirement; certification of compliance with applicable laws and requirements
The requirements referred to in this subsection are as follows:
(1)
The State has filed with the Commission a State plan covering the fiscal year which the State certifies—
(A)
contains each of the elements described in section
15404
(a) of this title (or, for purposes of determining the eligibility of a State to receive a requirements payment appropriated pursuant to the authorization provided under section
15407
(a)(4) of this title, contains the element described in paragraph (14) of such section) with respect to the fiscal year;
(2)
(A)
Subject to subparagraph (B), the State has filed with the Commission a plan for the implementation of the uniform, nondiscriminatory administrative complaint procedures required under section
15512 of this title (or has included such a plan in the State plan filed under paragraph (1)), and has such procedures in place for purposes of meeting the requirements of such section. If the State does not include such an implementation plan in the State plan filed under paragraph (1), the requirements of sections
15405
(b) and
15406 of this title shall apply to the implementation plan in the same manner as such requirements apply to the State plan.
(3)
The State is in compliance with each of the laws described in section
15545 of this title, as such laws apply with respect to this chapter.
(4)
To the extent that any portion of the requirements payment is used for activities other than meeting the requirements of subchapter III of this chapter—
(5)
(A)
Subject to subparagraph (B), the State has appropriated funds for carrying out the activities for which the requirements payment is made in an amount equal to 5 percent of the total amount to be spent for such activities (taking into account the requirements payment and the amount spent by the State) and, in the case of a State that uses a requirements payment as a reimbursement under section
15401
(c)(2) of this title, an additional amount equal to the amount of such reimbursement.
(B)
Subparagraph (A) shall not apply for purposes of determining the eligibility of a State to receive a requirements payment appropriated pursuant to the authorization provided under section
15407
(a)(4) of this title for fiscal year 2010, except that if the State does not appropriate funds in accordance with subparagraph (A) prior to the last day of fiscal year 2011, the State shall repay to the Commission the requirements payment which is appropriated pursuant to such authorization.
(c)
Methods of compliance left to discretion of State
The specific choices on the methods of complying with the elements of a State plan shall be left to the discretion of the State.
(d)
Timing for filing of certification
A State may not file a statement of certification under subsection (a) of this section until the expiration of the 45-day period (or, in the case of a fiscal year other than the first fiscal year for which a requirements payment is made to the State under this part, the 30-day period) which begins on the date the State plan under this part is published in the Federal Register pursuant to section
15405
(b) of this title.