(a) For funds appropriated from the Transit System Safety, Security, and Disaster Response Account for allocation to transit agencies eligible to receive funds pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 8879.57, the Office of Emergency Services shall administer a grant application and award program for those transit agencies.
(b) Funds awarded to transit agencies pursuant to this section shall be for eligible capital expenditures as described in subdivision (b) of Section 8879.57.
(c) Prior to allocating funds to projects pursuant to this section, the office shall adopt guidelines to establish the criteria and process for the distribution of funds described in this section. Prior to adopting the guidelines, the office shall hold a public hearing on the proposed guidelines.
(d) For each fiscal year in which funds are appropriated for the purposes of this section, the office shall issue a notice of funding availability no later than October 1.
(e) No later than December 1 of each fiscal year in which the notice in subdivision (d) is issued, eligible transit agencies may submit project nominations for funding to the office for its review and consideration. Project nominations shall include all of the following:
(1) A description of the project, which shall illustrate the physical components of the project and the security or emergency response benefit to be achieved by the completion of the project.
(2) Identification of all nonbond sources of funding committed to the project.
(3) An estimate of the project’s full cost and the proposed schedule for the project’s completion.
(f) For a fiscal year in which the number of projects submitted for funding under this section exceeds available funds, the office shall prioritize projects so that projects addressing the greatest risks to the public and that demonstrate the ability and intent to expend a significant percentage of project funds within six months have the highest priority.
(g) No later than February 1, the office shall select eligible projects to receive grants under this section and shall provide the Controller with a list of the projects and the sponsoring agencies eligible to receive an allocation from the account. Upon receipt of this information, the Controller’s office shall commence any necessary actions to allocate funds to those agencies, including, but not limited to, seeking the issuance of bonds for that purpose. Grants awarded to eligible transit agencies pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 8879.57 shall be for eligible capital expenditures, as described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of that section.
(h) During each fiscal year that a transit agency receives funds pursuant to this section, the office may monitor the project expenditures to ensure project funds are expended in compliance with the submitted project nomination.
(Amended (as amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 32, Sec. 9) by Stats. 2013, Ch. 352, Sec. 229. (AB 1317) Effective September 26, 2013. Operative July 1, 2013, by Sec. 543 of Ch. 352.)