00HOUSE BILL NO. 104                                                                                                      
01 "An Act allowing the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities to make                                         
02 grants to municipalities and public and private nonprofit organizations for local                                       
03 air quality education and enhancement projects."                                                                        
04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                                
05    * Section 1.  AS 44.42 is amended by adding a new section to read:                                                   
06  Sec. 44.42.090.  GRANTS TO MUNICIPALITIES AND NONPROFIT                                                               
07 ORGANIZATIONS.  (a)  The department may make grants to municipalities and                                               
08 public and private nonprofit organizations for the purpose of planning and                                              
09 implementing local air quality education and enhancement projects that improve the                                      
10 overall quality of life by improving air quality.  Projects may be educational,                                         
11 operational, or programmatic, including public information campaigns, trip reduction                                    
12 programs, environmental education, subsidies for transit operations, air quality                                        
13 monitoring, and analysis of conversion of public vehicles and facilities to alternate                                   
14 fuels.                                                                                                                  

01  (b)  An application for a grant under this section must include a detailed                                            
02 description of the proposed project and how it will contribute to improving the quality                                 
03 of the local air environment, a detailed annual budget of how the grant will be                                         
04 expended, and a method for evaluating the effect of the project on the quality of the                                   
05 local air environment.  The method of evaluating the effect of the project shall be                                     
06 considered a necessary part of the total project for purposes of evaluating and funding                                 
07 the project.                                                                                                            
08  (c)  The department may not consider a grant that has not been previously                                             
09 considered and approved by the                                                                                          
10   (1)  governing body of the municipality within which the project is                                                  
11 proposed; and                                                                                                           
12   (2)  the local school board if the project is proposed for use in the                                                
13 public schools or their facilities.                                                                                     
14  (d)  The department shall adopt regulations to implement this section.                                                
15  (e)  The legislature may appropriate for grants under this section from funds                                         
16 received from the federal government for congestion and air pollution mitigation.