Section 990.5 - Audit of State or Tribal plan complianceThe Secretary may conduct an audit to determine a State or Indian Tribe's compliance with their approved plan.
(a)Frequency of audits. Compliance audits may be scheduled, no more frequently than every three years, based on available resources. Audits may include an onsite-visit, a desk-audit, or both. The USDA may adjust the frequency of audits if deemed appropriate based on program performance, compliance issues, or other relevant factors identified and provided to the State or Tribal governments by USDA.(b)Scope of audit review. The audit may include, but is not limited to, a review of the following: (1) The resources and personnel employed to administer and oversee its approved plan;(2) The process for licensing and systematic compliance review of hemp producers;(3) Sampling methods and laboratory testing requirements and components;(4) Disposal and/or remediation of non-compliant hemp plants or hemp plant material practices, to ensure that correct reporting to the USDA has occurred;(5) Results of and methodology used for the annual inspections of producers; and(6) Information collection procedures and information accuracy (i.e., geospatial location, contact information reported to the USDA, legal description of land).(c)Audit reports.(1) Audit reports will be issued to the State or Tribal government no later than 60 days after the audit concludes. If the audit reveals that the State or Tribal government is not in compliance with its USDA approved plan, USDA will advise the State or Indian Tribe of non-compliances and the corrective measures that must be completed to come into compliance with the Act and regulations in this part. The USDA will require the State or Indian Tribe to develop a corrective action plan, which must be reviewed and approved by the USDA. The corrective action plan must include a reasonable date by which the State or Indian Tribe will correct make corrections. USDA will approve or deny the corrective action plan within 60 days of its receipt. USDA will conduct a second audit to determine if the State or Indian Tribe is in compliance with the corrective action plan and has corrected the non-compliances.(2) If the USDA determines that the State or Indian Tribe is not in compliance after the second audit, the USDA may revoke its approval of the State or Tribal plan for one year or until the State or Indian Tribe becomes compliant whichever occurs later. USDA will not approve a State or Indian Tribe's plan until the State or Indian Tribe demonstrates upon inspection that it is in compliance with all regulations in this part. 84 FR 58554, 10/31/2019; 86 FR 5680, 1/19/2021