ARTICLE 4. Grant Program [5096.331. - 5096.345.]

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC 4.

in effect

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 5096.331. Section 5096.331.

The Legislature hereby recognizes that public financial resources are inadequate to meet all of the funding needs of local public park and recreation providers and that there is an urgent need for safe, open, and accessible local park and recreational facilities and for the increased recreational opportunities that provide positive alternatives to social problems. Accordingly, it is declared to be the policy of this state that the funds allocated pursuant to subdivisions (f) and (g) of Section 5096.310 to local agencies shall be appropriated primarily for projects that accomplish all of the following: (a) Rehabilitate facilities at existing local parks that will provide for more efficient management and reduced operational costs. This may include grants to local agencies for the renovation of recreational facilities conveyed to local agencies resulting from the downsizing and decommissioning of federal military installations. (b) Develop facilities that promote positive alternatives for youth and that promote cooperation between local park and recreation service providers and youth-serving nonprofit organizations. (c) Promote family oriented recreation, including art activities. (d) Provide for open, safe, and accessible local park lands, facilities, and botanical gardens.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 5096.332. Section 5096.332.

(a) Sixty percent of the total funds available for grants pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 5096.310 shall be allocated to cities and to districts other than a regional park district, regional park and open-space district, or regional open-space district. Each city’s and district’s allocation shall be in the same ratio as the city’s or district’s population is to the combined total of the state’s population that is included in incorporated areas and unincorporated areas within the district, except that each city or district shall be entitled to a minimum allocation of thirty thousand dollars ($30,000). In any instance in which the boundary of a city overlaps the boundary of such a district, the population in the area of overlapping jurisdictions shall be attributed to each jurisdiction in proportion to the extent to which each operates and manages parks and recreational areas and facilities for that population. In any instance in which the boundary of a city overlaps the boundary of such a district, and in the area of overlap the city does not operate and manage parks and recreational areas and facilities, all grant funds shall be allocated to the district. (b) Each city and each district subject to subdivision (a) whose boundaries overlap shall develop a specific plan for allocating the grant funds in accordance with the formula specified in subdivision (a). If, by April 1, 2001, the plan has not been agreed to by the city and district and submitted to the department, the director shall determine the allocation of the grant funds among the affected jurisdictions.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 5096.333. Section 5096.333.

(a) Forty percent of the total funds available for grants pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 5096.310 shall be allocated to counties and regional park districts, regional park and open-space districts, or regional open-space districts formed pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 5500) of Chapter 3. (b) Each county’s allocation under subdivision (a) shall be in the same ratio as the county’s population, except that each county shall be entitled to a minimum allocation of one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000). (c) In any county that embraces all or part of the territory of a regional park district, regional park and open-space district, or regional open-space district, whose board of directors is not the county board of supervisors, the amount allocated to the county shall be apportioned between that district and the county in proportion to the population of the county that is included within the territory of the district and the population of the county that is outside the territory of the district. (d) In any county that currently embraces all or a part of the territory of a regional open-space district and an authority formed pursuant to Division 26 (commencing with Section 35100), the allocation shall be distributed between the county and these entities as follows: (1) First, the funds shall be apportioned between the district and the county in proportion to the population of the county that is included within the territory of the district, and the proportion of the population of the county that is outside the district. The amounts resulting from this calculation shall be known as the district’s share, and the county’s first balance. The district’s share shall be allocated to the district. The county’s first balance shall be further apportioned as provided in paragraph (2). (2) The county’s first balance, as determined in accordance with paragraph (1), shall be further apportioned between the authority and the county in proportion to the population of the county that is included within the territory of the authority, and the proportion of the population of the county that is outside the authority. The amounts resulting from this calculation shall be known as the authority’s share, and the county’s second balance. (3) The authority’s share shall be divided equally between the county and the authority. The county shall receive all of the county’s second balance.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 5096.334. Section 5096.334.

Notwithstanding Section 5096.331, of the funds allocated on the basis of population pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 5096.310 within counties with a population of five million persons or more, not less than 75 percent of the total amount shall be available as follows: (a) Not less than 20 percent for land acquisition, construction, development, and rehabilitation of at-risk youth recreation facilities. As used in this section, “at-risk youth” means persons who have not attained the age of 21 years and are at high risk of being involved in, or are involved in, one or more of the following: gangs, juvenile delinquency, criminal activity, substance abuse, adolescent pregnancy, or school failure or dropout. (b) Not less than 40 percent for projects within the most economically disadvantaged areas, which may include projects along river parkways, conservation corridors, and parkways along corridors of economic significance. (c) Not less than 10 percent for urban reforestation projects. (d) Not more than 5 percent for projects that convert publicly owned land to a neighborhood park providing open-space, recreational, cultural, and festival opportunities, if the bond proceeds do not exceed 25 percent of the total project cost and there is a 75 percent funding match.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 5096.335. Section 5096.335.

Funds authorized pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 5096.310 shall be administered by the State Office of Historic Preservation and shall be available as grants, on a competitive basis, to cities, counties, districts, local agencies formed for park purposes pursuant to a joint powers agreement between two or more local entities, and nonprofit organizations for the acquisition, development, rehabilitation, restoration, and interpretation of historical resources.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 5096.336. Section 5096.336.

(a) Of the funds authorized pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 5096.310, three hundred thirty-eight million dollars ($338,000,000) shall be available for grants to cities, counties, and districts on the basis of their populations, as determined by the department in cooperation with the Department of Finance, on the basis of the most recent verifiable census data and other population data that the department may require to be furnished by the applicant city, county, or district. (b) Of the funds authorized pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 5096.310, fifty million dollars ($50,000,000) available for grants pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 5096.310 shall be allocated to cities and districts in urbanized counties providing park and recreation services within jurisdictions of 200,000 or less in population. For purposes of this subdivision, “urbanized counties” means a county with a population of 200,000 or greater.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 5096.337. Section 5096.337.

(a) Funds authorized pursuant to subdivisions (h), (i), and (z) of Section 5096.310 shall be available as grants, on a competitive basis, to cities, counties, districts, local agencies formed for park purposes pursuant to a joint powers agreement as defined in subdivision (b), and other districts, as defined in subdivision (c). (b) For purposes of this section, “local agency” means any local agency formed for park purposes pursuant to a joint powers agreement between two or more local entities, excluding school districts. (c) For purposes of this section, “other districts” include any district authorized to provide park, recreational, or open-space services, or a combination of those services, except a school district.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 5096.338. Section 5096.338.

The funds allocated pursuant to subdivision (j) of Section 5096.310 shall, upon appropriation in the annual Budget Act, be available for existing or new entities or programs designated by statute for grants to public agencies and nonprofit organizations, and for related administrative costs. At least 50 percent of the funds shall be available for grants to local public agencies and districts.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 5096.339. Section 5096.339.

(a) Not less than 11 percent of the funds authorized in paragraph (1) of subdivision ( l ) of Section 5096.310 shall be available as grants administered by the department to cities, counties, and nonprofit organizations for the development, rehabilitation, or restoration of facilities accredited by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA) and operated by cities, counties, and nonprofit organizations, and to cities, counties, and nonprofit organizations for the development, rehabilitation, or restoration of zoos and aquariums operated by cities, counties, and nonprofit organizations, but not yet accredited by the AZA. This program shall be known, and may be cited, as the Dr. Paul Chaffee Zoological Program. Allocation in awarding grants pursuant to this section shall be in accordance with the following schedule: (1) Individual grants of up to one million dollars ($1,000,000), or an amount to be determined by dividing 95 percent of the total zoo and aquarium funds available pursuant to this subdivision by the number of AZA accredited institutions at the time of enactment of this section, shall be made available to zoos and aquariums that are AZA accredited. (2) Not less than 20 percent or two million dollars ($2,000,000), whichever is greater, of the funds available pursuant to this subdivision shall be reserved for institutions with annual operating budgets of less than one million dollars ($1,000,000). (3) Not more than 5 percent of the total funds available pursuant to this subdivision, shall be made available as grants to zoos and aquariums that have initiated the AZA accreditation process but are not yet accredited at the time of the enactment of this section. Grants awarded under this subdivision shall be dedicated to projects that will enhance the institution’s ability to meet standards of AZA accreditation. (4) Not more than 5 percent of the total funds available pursuant to this subdivision shall be granted for publicly owned or nonprofit zoos and wildlife centers that may not be accredited, but that care for animals that have been injured or abandoned and that cannot be returned to the wild. To be eligible for this portion of those funds, applicants shall demonstrate that they serve a regional area, foster the environmental relationships of animals within that region, and operate outreach and onsite programs communicating those objectives to the public. (b) At least ten million dollars ($10,000,000) of the funds allocated pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision ( l ) of Section 5096.310 shall be provided to the California Science Center for implementation of the Exposition Master Plan. Three million dollars ($3,000,000) of this amount shall be made available to the California African American Museum for completion of its education and visitor facility in Exposition Park and seven million dollars ($7,000,000) of this amount shall be made available for the California Science Center School. (c) Not less than five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) of the funds allocated pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision ( l ) of Section 5096.310 shall be available as grants for facilities for education programs focused on the National Marine Sanctuaries along California’s coast. (d) Not less than forty-four million seven hundred fifty thousand dollars ($44,750,000) of the funds allocated pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision ( l ) of Section 5096.310 shall be made available for the following purposes: (1) At least ten million dollars ($10,000,000) shall be provided to the Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana for capital improvement. (2) At least ten million dollars ($10,000,000) shall be provided to the California Academy of the Sciences for capital improvement projects. (3) At least two million dollars ($2,000,000) shall be provided toward the creation of the Delta Science Center to carry out significant marine and delta aquatic education and interpretive programs. (4) At least fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000) shall be provided to the Alliance of Redding Museums for capital improvements for the Turtle Bay-Museums and the Arboretum on the River. (5) An individual grant of four million two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($4,250,000) shall be made to the Department of Food and Agriculture for capital outlay to assist with an approved contract entered into on or before January 1, 2000, for an exposition or state fair relocation in any county with a population greater than 5,000,000. (6) The sum of three million five hundred thousand dollars ($3,500,000) to enhance the two-acre historical exhibit at the Kern County Museum.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 5096.340. Section 5096.340.

(a) Not less than 11 percent of the funds authorized in paragraph (1) of subdivision ( l ) of Section 5096.310 shall be available as grants on a competitive basis to cities, counties, and nonprofit organizations for the development or rehabilitation of real property consisting of urban recreational and cultural centers, museums, and facilities for wildlife education or environmental education. (b) To be eligible for funding, a project shall initially be nominated by a Member of the Legislature for study by the department. (c) In establishing priorities of projects, the department shall consider any favorable project characteristics, including, but not limited to, all of the following: (1) The project will interpret one or more important California historical, cultural, economic, or resource themes or an important historical, cultural, economic, technological, or resource theme in a major region of California. Higher priority shall be assigned to projects whose themes are not interpreted in any existing museum or have demonstrable deficiencies in their presentation in an existing museum. (2) The project is proposed to be operated on lands that are already in public ownership or on lands that will be acquired and used for the project in conjunction with adjoining public lands. (3) Projects that are closely related geographically to the resources, activity, structure, place, or collection of objects to be interpreted, and are close to population centers and access routes. (4) Projects that are in, or close to, population centers or are adjacent to, or readily served by, a state highway or other mode of public transportation. (5) Projects for which there are commitments, or the serious likelihood of commitments, of funds or the donation of land or other property suitable for the project. (d) The department shall annually forward a list of the highest priority projects to the Department of Finance for inclusion in the Budget Bill. (e) An application for a grant for a cooperative museum project shall be submitted jointly by the city, county, or other public agency, an institute of higher learning, or a nonprofit organization that cooperatively is operating, or will operate, the project.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 5096.341. Section 5096.341.

(a) The director shall prepare and adopt criteria and procedures for evaluating applications for grants allocated pursuant to subdivisions (f), (g), (h), (i), and ( l ) of Section 5096.310. Individual applications for funds shall be submitted to the department for approval as to their conformity with the requirements of this chapter. The application shall be accompanied by certification from the planning agency of the applicant that the project for which the grant is requested is consistent with the park and recreation element of the applicable city or county general plan or the district park and recreation plan, as the case may be, and will satisfy a high priority need. To utilize available grant funds as effectively as possible, overlapping or adjoining jurisdictions are encouraged to combine projects and submit a joint application. (b) Any applicant may allocate all or a portion of its per capita share for a regional or state project. (c) The director shall annually forward a statement of the total amount to be appropriated in each fiscal year for projects approved for grants pursuant to subdivisions (f), (g), (h), (i), and ( l ) of Section 5096.310 to the Director of Finance for inclusion in the Budget Bill. A list of eligible jurisdictions and the amount of grant funds to be allocated to each shall also be made available by the department. (d) (1) Funds appropriated for grants pursuant to subdivisions (f), (g), (h), (i), and ( l ) of Section 5096.310 shall be encumbered by the recipient within three years from the date that the appropriation became effective. Regardless of the date of encumbrance of the granted funds, the recipient is expected to complete all funded projects within eight years of the effective date of the appropriation. (2) Commencing with the Budget Bill for the 2009–10 fiscal year, any grant funds appropriated pursuant to subdivisions (f), (g), (h), (i), and ( l ) of Section 5096.310 that have not been expended by the grantee shall revert to the fund and be available for appropriation by the Legislature for one or more of the categories specified in Section 5096.310 that the Legislature determines to be of the highest priority statewide.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 5096.342. Section 5096.342.

(a) Grant funds appropriated pursuant to subdivisions (f), (g), (h), (i), and ( l ) of Section 5096.310 may be expended by the grantee only for projects on lands owned by, or subject to a lease or other interest held by, the grantee. (b) If a grant applicant does not have fee title to the lands, the applicant shall demonstrate to the satisfaction of the department that the proposed project will provide public benefits that are commensurate with the type and duration of the interest in land that is held by the applicant.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 5096.343. Section 5096.343.

(a) Except as provided in subdivision (c), no grant funds authorized pursuant to subdivisions (f), (g), (h), (i), and ( l ) of Section 5096.310 may be disbursed unless the applicant has agreed, in writing, to both of the following: (1) To maintain and operate the property funded pursuant to this chapter for a period that is commensurate with the type of project and the proportion of state funds and local matching funds or property allocated to the capital costs of the project. With the approval of the department, the grantee, or the grantee’s successor in interest in the property, may transfer the responsibility to maintain and operate the property in accordance with this section. (2) To use the property only for the purposes for which the grant was made and to make no other use or sale or other disposition of the property, except as authorized by specific act of the Legislature. (b) The agreements specified in subdivision (a) shall not prevent the transfer of the property from the applicant to a public agency, if the successor public agency assumes the obligations imposed by those agreements. (c) If the use of the property is changed to a use that is not permitted by the category from which the grant funds were appropriated, or if the property is sold or otherwise disposed of, an amount equal to (1) the amount of the grant, (2) the fair market value of the real property, or (3) the proceeds from the sale or other disposition, whichever is greater, shall be used by the grantee for a purpose authorized by that category, pursuant to agreement with the department as specified in subdivision (a), or shall be reimbursed to the fund and be available for appropriation by the Legislature only for a purpose authorized by that category. If the property sold or otherwise disposed of is less than the entire interest in the property funded with the grant, an amount equal to either the proceeds from the sale or other disposition of the interest or the fair market value of the interest sold or otherwise disposed of, whichever is greater, shall be used by the grantee for a purpose authorized by the category from which the funds were appropriated, pursuant to agreement with the department as specified in subdivision (a), or shall be reimbursed to the fund and be available for appropriation by the Legislature only for a use authorized by that category.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 5096.344. Section 5096.344.

All grants, gifts, devises, or bequests to the state, that are conditioned upon being used for park, conservation, recreational, agricultural, or other such purposes, may be accepted and received on behalf of the state by the appropriate departmental director, with the approval of the Director of Finance, and those grants, gifts, devises, or bequests may be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for expenditure for the purposes specified in Section 5096.310.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 5096.345. Section 5096.345.

Except for funds continuously appropriated by this chapter, all appropriations of funds pursuant to Section 5096.310 for purposes of the program shall be included in the Budget Bill for the 2001–02 fiscal year, and each succeeding fiscal year, for consideration by the Legislature, and shall bear the label “Safe Neighborhood Parks, Clean Water, Clean Air, and Coastal Protection (Villaraigosa-Keeley Act) Fund.” The Budget Bill section shall contain separate items for each project, each class of project, or each element of the program for which an appropriation is made.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026