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15 tions, including any actions it has taken to correct past errors or omissions. This means that once an airport becomes aware of a grievance it must timely respond to the concerns. Federal agencies, such as the FAA, are also subject to the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act, which requires them to implement controls to eliminate improper payments that should not be made for ineligible goods or services. This means that airports must maintain proper documentation of their compli- ance with procurement and eligibility requirements. The GAO ensures accountability by auditing federal agencies and can investigate how federal funds are spent, including investigations of improper procure- ment using federal funds. If improprieties are found, funding of the agency may be jeopardized. For example, failure to comply with ARRA requirements can result in the termination of federal funding, suspension or de- barment, an action for reclaiming the funds and possi- bly punitive actions, including civil and criminal penal- ties. See OMB Memorandum 10-17, dated May 4, 2010. The USDOT also has an Office of Inspector General (OIG) that can perform an audit of airport compliance with federal requirements. The OIG performs quality control reviews of airport audits and can investigate fraud by grantees and contractors. The most common fraud investigation involves compliance with DBE pro- gram requirements. The most recent reports include a May 2011 report recommending that the FAA strengthen its cost and price analysis on noncompetitive contracts and a December 2010 report identifying im- proper payments in the AIP Program. As a result, air- ports can expect increased scrutiny of eligibility of AIP payments and noncompetitive procurements. Airports can also expect increased scrutiny of com- pliance with Buy America provisions. In response to a November 2010 DHS OIG report recommending that the TSA implement more proactive measures to ensure Buy America compliance, the TSA stated that it in- tended to perform compliance audits of sample pro- grams. See OIG Report 11-07: Use of ARRA Funds by TSA for Electronic Baggage Screening Program. The USDOT and TSA can also impose civil penalties and other enforcement or corrective action for violations of the federal regulations regarding the disclosure of sen- sitive security information. In addition to the remedies available to the federal government for noncompliance, there are also conse- quences for violations of state law. Generally, when a contract is let in violation of the procurement statutes, the contract can be deemed void and unenforceable and the airport may be subject to legal action to recoup im- properly spent funds. See, e.g., Sault Ste. Marie City Comm. v. Sault Ste. Marie City Atty., 313 Mich. 644 (Mich. 1946); City of Bristol v. Dominion National Bank, 149 S.E. 632 (Va. 1929). In addition, in some states, the individuals involved may be criminally charged with a misdemeanor or felony for a violation of certain statutes, including public ethics laws and false claims acts. See, e.g., Fla. Stat. § 287.094 (false claim of minority status); § 287.0943 (failure to report change in minority status); § 287.055 (improper payments to se- cure a contract, e.g., bribes). VIII. CONCLUSION To summarize, the procurement requirements for any given airport planning or development project will be different, depending upon what services the project requires and how the project is funded. For every pro- ject, airports must understand their state and local re- quirements, and, for federally funded projects, airports must determine which federal requirements apply and whether any of those contradict (and thus supersede) the state and local requirements. Although sometimes standard forms can be developed, airports should care- fully analyze each step of the procurement from project conception through project completion.
