(a) Annual grants shall be made to cities, counties, and districts for recreational purposes, open-space purposes, or both, on the basis of population and need, as specified in this chapter. The director shall, by regulation, specify the procedures to be followed in applying for grant funds. The director shall propose criteria for determining priority of need, conduct public hearings on those proposed criteria, and, following the hearings, shall submit the proposed criteria to the Legislature for its approval by statute within 60 days of submission of the criteria. A new, revised, or amended criterion or a criterion to be deleted shall be submitted to the Legislature for its approval by statute. Following legislative approval, the director shall establish the criteria and publish them in the California Code of Regulations. The criteria, and a change thereof, shall be distributed in a convenient form to potential applicants.
(b) The director shall, by regulation, require the recipient of a grant under this chapter to submit periodic reports to the department with respect to its use of the grant, but the reports shall not be required to be submitted more frequently than annually.
(c) All projects and programs for which a grant is received shall be subject to state audit.
(Amended by Stats. 2006, Ch. 68, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 2007.)