(a) The department may also make loans to public agencies for the acquisition of interest in lands that are necessary for the construction, operation, or maintenance of a project.
(b) Loans granted pursuant to this section shall be subject to all of the following conditions:
(1) The loan may be made for all or any part of the costs of acquiring interests in lands for a project that has been identified as the preferred alternative in an environmental impact report or an environmental impact statement, and the lands may become unavailable to the public agency for the purposes of developing that project.
(2) The loans shall not exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000) for each acquisition under this section.
(3) Each loan granted pursuant to this section is subject to subdivision (c) of Section 78680.12.
(Added by Stats. 1996, Ch. 135, Sec. 1. Approved in Proposition 204 at the November 5, 1996, election.)