(a) Prerequisites
(1)
The Secretary shall, after adequate notice and an opportunity for a hearing conducted within the affected State, withhold funds from any State which does not use its allotment in accordance with the requirements of this part or the certification provided under section 300w–4 of this title. The Secretary shall withhold such funds until the Secretary finds that the reason for the withholding has been removed and there is reasonable assurance that it will not recur.
(2)
The Secretary may not institute proceedings to withhold funds under paragraph (1) unless the Secretary has conducted an investigation concerning whether the State has used its allotment in accordance with the requirements of this part or the certification provided under section 300w–4 of this title. Investigations required by this paragraph shall be conducted within the affected State by qualified investigators.
(3)
The Secretary shall respond in an expeditious manner to complaints of a substantial or serious nature that a State has failed to use funds in accordance with the requirements of this part or certifications provided under section 300w–4 of this title.
(4)
The Secretary may not withhold funds under paragraph (1) from a State for a minor failure to comply with the requirements of this part or certifications provided under section 300w–4 of this title.
(b) Investigations
(1)
The Secretary shall conduct in several States in each fiscal year investigations of the use of funds received by the States under this part in order to evaluate compliance with the requirements of this part and certifications provided under section 300w–4 of this title.
(2)
The Comptroller General of the United States may conduct investigations of the use of funds received under this part by a State in order to insure compliance with the requirements of this part and certifications provided under section 300w–4 of this title.
(c) Availability of books, documents, papers, and records
Each State, and each entity which has received funds from an allotment made to a State under this part, shall make appropriate books, documents, papers, and records available to the Secretary or the Comptroller General of the United States, or any of their duly authorized representatives, for examination, copying, or mechanical reproduction on or off the premises of the appropriate entity upon a reasonable request therefor.
(d) Information not readily available
(1)
In conducting any investigation in a State, the Secretary or the Comptroller General of the United States may not make a request for any information not readily available to such State or an entity which has received funds from an allotment made to the State under this part or make an unreasonable request for information to be compiled, collected, or transmitted in any form not readily available.
(July 1, 1944, ch. 373, title XIX, § 1907, as added Pub. L. 97–35, title IX, § 901, Aug. 13, 1981, 95 Stat. 541.)