CSHB 478(CRA): "An Act relating to the municipal harbor facility grant program; and providing for an effective date."
00 CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 478(CRA) 01 "An Act relating to the municipal harbor facility grant program; and providing for an 02 effective date." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. AS 29.60 is amended by adding new sections to read: 05 Article 10. Municipal Harbor Facility Grant Program. 06 Sec. 29.60.800. Municipal harbor facility grant fund. (a) There is 07 established the municipal harbor facility grant fund consisting of money appropriated 08 to the fund. Each fiscal year, the legislature may appropriate money to the fund from 09 the watercraft fuel tax account (AS 43.40.010(f)) and from the fisheries business tax 10 collected under AS 43.75.015 after payments to municipalities are made under 11 AS 43.75.130. The legislature may make other appropriations to the fund. The 12 legislature may appropriate to the fund income earned on money in the fund. 13 (b) Money appropriated to the municipal harbor facility grant fund may be 14 expended by the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities for municipal
01 harbor facility grants without further appropriation. Money in the fund does not lapse 02 and remains available for expenditure in successive fiscal years. 03 (c) Each fiscal year, the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities 04 shall use an amount equal to at least 50 percent of the balance of the municipal harbor 05 facility grant fund on June 30 of the preceding fiscal year for municipal harbor facility 06 grants. 07 Sec. 29.60.810. Grant applications. A municipality that owns a harbor facility 08 may submit to the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities an application 09 for a municipal harbor facility grant to be used for construction, expansion, major 10 repair, or major maintenance of a harbor facility. The application must include 11 information about the project requested by the department. For a proposed project to 12 be eligible for a grant, the municipality must provide evidence acceptable to the 13 department that the 14 (1) proposed project should be a capital improvement project and not 15 part of a preventive maintenance program or regular custodial care program; 16 (2) municipality will provide 50 percent of the total project cost as 17 matching funds for the state grant and that money received by the municipality from 18 the state will not be used for the matching funds; 19 (3) municipality has secured and will maintain adequate property loss 20 insurance for the replacement cost of the harbor facility or has an adequate program of 21 insurance; 22 (4) municipality has a preventive maintenance plan for the harbor 23 facility and will be adequately adhering to the preventive maintenance plan after 24 completion of the proposed project. 25 Sec. 29.60.820. Award of grants. (a) The Department of Transportation and 26 Public Facilities may award a municipal harbor facility grant during a fiscal year only 27 for a proposed project eligible under AS 29.60.810 based on a grant application filed 28 during the immediately preceding fiscal year before February 1. The total amount of 29 grant money made available to a municipality during a fiscal year may not exceed 30 $5,000,000. 31 (b) The Department of Transportation and Public Facilities shall award a grant
01 for every proposed project eligible under AS 29.60.810 that is for repair and major 02 maintenance of a harbor facility that was transferred by the state to a municipality 03 before grants may be made for other proposed harbor facility projects during a fiscal 04 year. However, after the department makes a grant for the repair and major 05 maintenance of a harbor facility under this subsection, no other grants for the repair 06 and major maintenance of that facility may be made during the same or any other 07 fiscal year. 08 (c) The Department of Transportation and Public Facilities shall establish 09 priorities for the award of grants for proposed municipal harbor facility projects under 10 (b) of this section and priorities for the award of grants for other proposed harbor 11 facility projects, with new construction projects having the lowest priority. The 12 department shall award grants in the order of priority established. In establishing 13 priorities, the department shall include at least the following, in the order listed: 14 (1) the extent to which the municipality can demonstrate that it will 15 have sufficient revenue to operate and maintain the harbor facility in the future 16 without state aid; 17 (2) public safety and emergency factors; 18 (3) the amount spent by the municipality on maintenance of the harbor 19 facility; 20 (4) other options that would reduce or eliminate the need for the 21 proposed project; and 22 (5) whether alternative harbor projects would better serve the public 23 interest. 24 (d) The Department of Transportation and Public Facilities may suggest 25 modifications to a project request to achieve cost savings or to better serve the public 26 interest and, if the municipality agrees, award the municipal harbor facility grant for 27 the proposed project as modified. 28 * Sec. 2. This Act takes effect July 1, 2006.