(a)
Subject to the availability of funds and any limitations imposed by this division, the department may provide grants to resource conservation districts for the purpose of assisting the districts in carrying out any work that they are authorized to undertake, including, but not limited to, grants for watershed projects.
(b)
(1)
To qualify for a grant under subdivision (a), a resource conservation district shall do all of the following:
(A)
Prepare an annual and a long-range work plan pursuant to Section 9413. The long-range work plan shall reflect input from local agencies and organizations regarding land use and resource conservation goals.
(B)
Convene regular meetings in accordance with the open meeting requirements of Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 54950) of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code and the requirements of this division.
(C)
Secure sources of local support funding, which may include funding from in-kind contributions and services.
(2)
A resource conservation district seeking a grant pursuant to this section shall submit to the department a grant proposal that includes, but is not limited to, all of the following information:
(A)
A description of the work for which the grant is sought.
(B)
An explanation of the public or private need for the work, including, but not limited to, any relevant
information demonstrating the urgency of the project.
(C)
An itemized summary of the projected cost of the work.
(D)
An estimate of the amount of the projected costs of the work that will be covered by local support funding, including funding from in-kind contributions or services.
(3)
(A)
Except as provided in subparagraph (B), to qualify for a grant awarded pursuant to this section, a resource conservation district shall be required to provide at least a 25 percent local match of funding, of which 40 percent of that amount shall be provided in cash.
(B)
The department may waive the local match of funding described in subparagraph (A) if the resource conservation district meets either of the following conditions:
(i)
The resource conservation district serves either an under-resourced community, as defined in subdivision (g) of Section 71130, or a vulnerable community, as that term was adopted by the Integrated Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Program Technical Advisory Council at the council’s April 2, 2018, meeting and recorded in “Defining Vulnerable Communities in the Context of Climate Adaptation” by the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research in July 2018.
(ii)
The resource conservation district receives no more than one hundred and fifty thousand dollars ($150,000) annually from taxes or assessments levied by the district or by a city, county, or city and county, which collects taxes or assessments on behalf of the district.
(4)
A resource conservation district that receives a grant awarded under this section shall
provide the department with an informal accounting summary that describes how the grant money was spent in accordance with the purposes and conditions of the grant.
