Responsibilities of the Subgrantee

The responsibilities of the subgrantee are included below to encourage potential STEP subgrantees to become familiar with the requirements that they will be held responsible for once a grant is awarded. Familiarity with these requirements will also assist potential subgrantees in submitting successful proposals. The responsibilities of the subgrantee for a STEP program are to:
  • Carry out all performance measures established in the grant, including fulfilling the law enforcement objectives by implementing the Operational Plan contained in the Grant Agreement.
  • Submit all required reports to TxDOT fully completed with the most current information and within the required time frames as defined in Article 3 and Article 7 of the
    Grant Agreement General Terms and Conditions
    . This includes reporting to TxDOT on progress, achievements, and problems in monthly performance reports and attaching necessary source documentation to support all costs claimed in Requests for Reimbursement (RFRs).
  • Attend TxDOT-approved training.
  • Attend meetings according to the following:
    • The Department will arrange for meetings with the subgrantee to present the status of activities and to discuss problems and the schedule for the following quarter’s work.
    • The Project Director or other appropriate qualified persons will be available to represent the subgrantee at meetings requested by the Department, including on-site monitoring visits when required.
For out-of-state travel expenses to be reimbursable, the subgrantee must have obtained the approval of TxDOT, through eGrants, prior to the beginning of the trip. Grant approval does not satisfy this requirement. Please see “Travel for Subgrantees” in Chapter 5, Section 10, for information on obtaining out-of-state travel approvals.
  • Maintain verification that all expenses, including wages or salaries for which reimbursement is requested, is for work exclusively related to the project.
  • Ensure that the grant will in no way supplant (replace) funds from other sources. Supplanting refers to the use of federal funds to support personnel or any activity already supported by local or state funds.
  • Ensure that each officer working on the STEP project will complete an officer’s daily activity report form. The form should include at a minimum: name, date, badge or identification number, type of grant worked, grant site number, mileage (including starting and ending mileage), hours worked, type of citations issued or arrests made, and officer and supervisor signatures. See “STEP Tool Box” section on the
    eGrants Help Page
    for samples of officers’ daily activity reports.
  • Ensure that the following language be added to officers’ activity reports immediately above the signature lines of the officer and supervisor:
“I understand that this information is being submitted to support a claim against a federally-funded grant program. False statements on this form may be prosecutable under 18 U.S.C. §1001. The information on this form is true, correct, and complete to the best of my knowledge and ability.”
  • Ensure that no officer above the rank of lieutenant (or equivalent title) will be reimbursed for enforcement duty, unless the subgrantee received specific written authorization from TxDOT, through eGrants system messaging, prior to incurring costs. See “Step Rank Authorization Form” later in this section.
In addition to the requirements outlined above, subgrantees must also adhere to the provisions presented below.
  • If an officer makes a STEP-related arrest during the shift, but does not complete the arrest before the shift is scheduled to end, the officer can continue working under the grant to complete that arrest. However, if the arrest is not due to a STEP element, the officer only has up to two hours to complete the arrest under the STEP grant.
  • The subgrantee should have a safety belt use policy. If the subgrantee does not have a safety belt use policy in place, a policy should be implemented, and a copy maintained for verification during the grant year.
  • Officers working DWI enforcement must be trained in National Highway Traffic Safety Administration/International Association of Chiefs of Police Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (SFST). In the case of a first-year subgrantee, the officers must be trained, or scheduled to be SFST trained, by the end of the grant year. For second or subsequent year grants, all officers working DWI enforcement must be SFST trained.
  • The subgrantee should have a procedure in place for contacting and using drug recognition experts (DREs) when necessary.
  • The subgrantee is encouraged to use the Law Enforcement Advanced DUI/DWI Reporting System (LEADRS) available through the Buckle Up Texas website at
    BuckleUpTexas.com.