(1) The department provides grant funding on a first-come, first-served basis, in accordance with the date of receipt of an application for funding by the department.

(2) The department shall review the expenditures of the incumbent worker training program throughout the fiscal year. When funds are depleted before the end of the fiscal year, the department may suspend the grant program until the beginning of the next fiscal year.

(3) The department shall accept only those grant applications and approval recommendations for incumbent worker training submitted to the department by a recommending entity. Only those grant applications that have been recommended to receive grant funding by a recommending entity are eligible for funding.

(4) The department shall verify the completeness of applications and ensure that each recommending entity has meaningfully evaluated each application in accordance with the incumbent worker training program grant award criteria, provided by 53-2-1218, MCA.

(5) The department shall enter into funding agreements for incumbent worker training with the employers upon grant application approval. Funding agreements must contain the following:

(a) the terms of the grant;

(b) a schedule for direct payment to the eligible training provider, when applicable;

(c) a schedule for reimbursement of approved costs to the employer, when applicable; and

(d) the grant reporting requirements of the employer.

(6) Grant funding may be made at a ratio of no more than four grant dollars for each one dollar of eligible matching share paid by the employer.

(7) Matching share paid by the employer may include:

(a) cost of tuition, fees for certified education, or skills-based training;

(b) employee wages for the time of actual training and travel time to and from training;

(c) direct employee benefits for actual training and travel time, excluding mandatory payroll taxes, premiums for workers compensation, and unemployment insurance;

(d) cost of educational materials, training supplies, or lab fees required for training; and

(e) transportation and lodging costs required for training, calculated at the current state of Montana rate. A minimum of 50 percent of out-of-state travel costs, if any, must be paid by the employer as matching share.

(8) Incumbent worker training grant funds may pay for:

(a) certified education or skills-based training for permanent employees;

(b) educational materials, training supplies, or lab fees required for training; and

(c) transportation and lodging costs required for training, calculated at the current state of Montana reimbursement rate for state employees. Grant funds may pay for no more than 50 percent of out-of-state travel costs.