44287. (a) The state board shall establish or update grant criteria and guidelines consistent with this chapter for covered vehicle and infrastructure projects as soon as practicable, but not later than July 1, 2017. The adoption of guidelines is exempt from the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code). The state board shall solicit input and comment from the districts during the development of the criteria and guidelines and shall make every effort to develop criteria and guidelines that are compatible with existing district programs that are also consistent with this chapter. Guidelines shall include protocols to calculate project cost-effectiveness. The grant criteria and guidelines shall include safeguards to ensure that the project generates surplus emissions reductions. Guidelines shall enable and encourage districts to cofund projects that provide emissions reductions in more than one district. The state board shall make draft criteria and guidelines available to the public 45 days before final adoption, and shall hold at least one public meeting to consider public comments before final adoption. The state board may develop separate guidelines and criteria for the different types of eligible projects described in subdivision (a) of Section 44281.
(b) The state board, in consultation with the participating districts, may propose revisions to the criteria and guidelines established pursuant to subdivision (a) as necessary to improve the ability of the program to achieve its goals. A proposed revision shall be made available to the public 45 days before final adoption of the revision and the state board shall hold at least one public meeting to consider public comments before final adoption of the revision.
(c) The state board shall reserve funds for, and disburse funds to, districts from the fund for administration pursuant to this section and Section 44299.1.
(d) The state board shall develop guidelines for a district to follow in applying for the reservation of funds, in accordance with this chapter. It is the intent of the Legislature that district administration of any reserved funds be in accordance with the project selection criteria specified in Sections 44281, 44282, and 44283 and all other provisions of this chapter. The guidelines shall be established and published by the state board as soon as practicable, but not later than January 1, 2006.
(e) Funds shall be reserved by the state board for administration by a district that adopts an eligible program pursuant to this chapter and offers matching funds at a ratio of one dollar ($1) of matching funds committed by the district or the Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee for every two dollars ($2) committed from the fund. Funds available to the Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee may be counted as matching funds for projects in the South Coast Air Basin only if the committee approves the use of these funds for matching purposes. Matching funds may be any funds under the district’s budget authority that are committed to be expended in accordance with the program. Funds committed by a port authority or a local government, in cooperation with a district, to be expended in accordance with the program may also be counted as district matching funds. Matching funds provided by a port authority or a local government shall not exceed 30 percent of the total required matching funds in any district that applies for more than three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000) of the state board funds. Only a district, or a port authority or a local government teamed with a district, may provide matching funds.
(f) The state board may adjust the ratio of matching funds described in subdivision (e), if it determines that an adjustment is necessary in order to maximize the use of, or the air quality benefits provided by, the program, based on a consideration of the financial resources of the district.
(g) Notwithstanding subdivision (e), a district need not provide matching funds for state board funds allocated to the district for program outreach activities pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 44299.1.
(h) A district may include within its matching funds a reasonable estimate of direct or in-kind costs for assistance in providing program outreach and application evaluation. In-kind and direct matching funds shall not exceed 15 percent of the total matching funds offered by a district. A district may also include within its matching funds any money spent on or after February 25, 1999, that would have qualified as matching funds but were not previously claimed as matching funds.
(i) A district desiring a reservation of funds shall apply to the state board following the application guidelines established pursuant to this section. The state board shall approve or disapprove a district application not later than 60 days after receipt. Upon approval of any district application, the state board shall simultaneously approve a reservation of funding for that district to administer. Reserved funds shall be disbursed to the district so that funding of a district-approved project is not impeded.
(j) Any funds reserved for a district by the state board pursuant to this section are available for disbursement to the district for a period of not more than two years from the time of reservation. Funds not liquidated by a district by June 30 of the fourth calendar year following the date of the reservation shall be returned to the state board within 90 days for future allocation pursuant to this chapter. Each reservation of funds shall be accounted for separately, and unused funds from each application shall revert back to the state board for use pursuant to this chapter as specified in this subdivision.
(k) The state board shall specify a date each year when district applications are due. If the eligible applications received in any year oversubscribe the available funds, the state board shall reserve funds on an allocation basis, pursuant to Section 44299.2. The state board may accept a district application after the due date for a period of months specified by the state board. Funds may be reserved in response to those applications, in accordance with this chapter, out of funds remaining after the original reservation of funds for the year.
(l) Guidelines for a district application shall require information from an applicant district to the extent necessary to meet the requirements of this chapter, but shall otherwise minimize the information required of a district.
(m) A district application shall be reviewed by the state board immediately upon receipt. If the state board determines that an application is incomplete, the applicant shall be notified within 10 working days with an explanation of what is missing from the application. A completed application fulfilling the criteria shall be approved as soon as practicable, but not later than 60 working days after receipt.
(n) The commission, in consultation with the districts, shall establish project approval criteria and guidelines for infrastructure projects consistent with Section 44284 as soon as practicable, but not later than February 15, 2000. The commission shall make draft criteria and guidelines available to the public 45 days before final adoption, and shall hold at least one public meeting to consider public comments before final adoption.
(o) The commission, in consultation with the participating districts, may propose revisions to the criteria and guidelines established pursuant to subdivision (n) as necessary to improve the ability of the program to achieve its goals. A revision may be proposed at any time, or may be proposed in response to a finding made in the annual report on the program published by the state board pursuant to Section 44295. A proposed revision shall be made available to the public 45 days before final adoption of the revision and the commission shall hold at least one public meeting to consider public comments before final adoption of the revision.
(p) Unclaimed funds will be allocated by the state board in accordance with Section 44299.2.
(q) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2034, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2034, deletes or extends that date.
(Amended (as amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 610, Sec. 12) by Stats. 2022, Ch. 355, Sec. 19. (AB 2836) Effective January 1, 2023. Repealed as of January 1, 2034, by its own provisions. See later operative version, as amended by Sec. 18 of Stats. 2022, Ch. 355.)