CSSB 119(FIN): "An Act relating to grant programs to support libraries."
00 CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 119(FIN) 01 "An Act relating to grant programs to support libraries." 02 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 03 * Section 1. AS 14.56 is amended by adding new sections to article 5 to read: 04 Sec. 14.56.355. Library construction and major expansion matching grant 05 program. (a) There is established in the Department of Commerce, Community, and 06 Economic Development a matching grant program for library construction and major 07 expansion. 08 (b) A person in charge of construction or major expansion of an eligible 09 library may apply to the department for a matching grant under regulations adopted by 10 the department. 11 (c) Subject to appropriation, the department shall award not more than 50 12 percent of the total proposed grant project costs to an eligible applicant. 13 (d) In this section, 14 (1) "department" means the Department of Commerce, Community, 15 and Economic Development;
01 (2) "major expansion" means an expansion of an existing library to 02 increase the square footage of the structure by not less than 30 percent. 03 Sec. 14.56.356. Eligibility. (a) A library eligible for a grant under 04 AS 14.56.355 must 05 (1) be publicly owned and operated; and 06 (2) be located in a community with a population of less than 10,000 07 persons. 08 (b) An applicant for a grant under AS 14.56.355 must provide matching funds 09 from 10 (1) the local government entity in an amount not less than 20 percent 11 of the total proposed grant project costs; and 12 (2) private donors in an amount not less than the amount remaining of 13 the total proposed grant project costs after the state and local contributions are made 14 toward the project. 15 * Sec. 2. AS 14.56 is amended by adding new sections to read: 16 Article 5A. Public School Library Collection Development Grants. 17 Sec. 14.56.360. Public school library collection development grants. (a) 18 There is established in the department a public school library collection development 19 grant program. 20 (b) The person or division in charge of the state library shall award and 21 administer grants of not more than $3,000 for a fiscal year for use by a public school 22 library eligible under AS 14.56.365 to expand and improve the library collection to 23 include relevant and current reading materials. 24 (c) If money appropriated for the program is insufficient to fund all eligible 25 grant requests submitted under AS 14.56.365, the available funding shall be awarded 26 to the highest ranked applicants, according to criteria established by the department in 27 regulation. 28 Sec. 14.56.365. Eligibility. (a) A library eligible for a grant under 29 AS 14.56.360 must be a public school library established and supported by a school 30 district that 31 (1) provides physical space or, if a correspondence school operated by
01 a school district, resources for use as a library; 02 (2) provides regularly scheduled library hours for all students enrolled 03 in the school; 04 (3) provides designated library personnel to staff the library; 05 (4) provides acceptable evidence of the promotion of library and 06 information literacy standards; 07 (5) maintains an annual library budget that includes library staffing and 08 materials; and 09 (6) contributes, from the school district's budget, an amount that is not 10 less than the grant award that is paid for library collection materials or contributes in- 11 kind value of services. 12 (b) The department may establish by regulation an application and review 13 procedure, including requirements for submission of adequate documentation to prove 14 eligibility under this section. Documentation must include submission of library class 15 schedules, job descriptions for library staff, and a copy of an annual budget for the 16 library. 17 Sec. 14.56.370. Eligible expenditures. (a) A library collection development 18 grant may be used only to purchase library collection materials by a public school or 19 by a school district if the district operates a correspondence program with an eligible 20 school library. In this subsection, "library collection materials" means books, 21 magazines, reference and audio-visual materials, and electronic subscriptions that 22 support school curriculum and student reading activities. 23 (b) A library collection development grant may not be used to supplant school 24 district expenditures for the library or to purchase classroom materials, textbooks, 25 testing software, library automation software, computer hardware, operating software, 26 or technology support. 27 Sec. 14.56.375. Report. A recipient of a grant awarded under AS 14.56.360 28 shall prepare a brief annual report to the department describing the effects of the grant 29 and whether all conditions of the grant were met or exceeded. 30 * Sec. 3. AS 14.56.300, 14.56.310, 14.56.320, 14.56.330, and 14.56.340 are repealed.