A system and method for operating a user equipment (UE) for sidelink transmission of data in a wireless communications system includes the UE determining a candidate resource region for a transmission of data, the candidate resource region indicating candidate resource slots for the transmission of the data, monitoring sensing slots in sensing occasions to determine available resources from the candidate resource region, the sensing occasions being determined in accordance with the candidate resource region, a periodicity for sensing, and a maximum number of the sensing occasions, selecting, by the UE, a resource from the available resources, and transmitting, by the UE, data over the selected resource.