(a) The Office of Emergency Services shall prepare and issue written program, fiscal, and administrative guidelines for the contracted programs that are consistent with this title, including guidelines for identifying recipient programs, agencies, organizations, and institutions, and organizing the coordinating teams. The Office of Emergency Services shall then issue a request for proposals. The responses to the request for proposals shall be rated according to the priorities set forth in subdivision (b) and additional criteria established by the guidelines. The highest rated responses shall be selected. The Office of Emergency Services shall do all of the following:

(1) Subject the proposed program and administrative guidelines to a 30-day period of broad public evaluation with public hearings commencing in May 1985, prior to adoption, including specific solicitation of input from culturally, geographically, socioeconomically, educationally, and ethnically diverse persons, programs, agencies, organizations, and institutions.

(2) Provide adequate public notice of the public evaluation around the state in major metropolitan and rural newspapers and related media outlets, and to local public, private, and nonprofit human service executives and advisory boards, and other appropriate persons and organizations.

(3) Establish a mechanism for obtaining, evaluating, and incorporating when appropriate and feasible, public input regarding the written program and administrative guidelines prior to adoption.

(b) Applicants for contracts under this title may be existing community-based public and nonprofit programs, agencies, organizations, and institutions, newly developed nonprofit corporations, or joint proposals from combinations of either or both of the above.

(Amended by Stats. 2013, Ch. 352, Sec. 468. (AB 1317) Effective September 26, 2013. Operative July 1, 2013, by Sec. 543 of Ch. 352.)