(a)
The Environmental Enhancement Grant Program is hereby established. Project proposals shall be solicited when adequate funds have accumulated in the Environmental Enhancement Fund to cover the cost of an appropriate project or projects.
(b)
Grants shall be awarded to nonprofit organizations, cities, counties, cities and counties, districts, state agencies, departments, and federally recognized tribes; and, to the extent permitted by federal law, to federal agencies on a competitive basis using the selection process established by the Environmental Enhancement Committee. The selection criteria will be enumerated in all requests for proposals distributed to potential applicants. The administrator may grant funds for those projects that are selected by the
Environmental Enhancement Committee and that meet the requirements of this article. State departments and agencies receiving grants under this section for environmental enhancement projects, shall, to the maximum extent feasible, utilize the services of the California Conservation Corps in accordance with Section 14315 of the Public Resources Code.
(c)
Grant recipients shall use the grant award to fund only the project described in the recipient’s application.
(d)
Grant recipients shall not use the grant funds to shift money to or otherwise cover costs of an existing or proposed project or activity not included in the application.
(e)
Any grant funds allocated to a project that exceed the actual cost of completing the project as outlined in the recipient’s application shall be returned to the Environmental
Enhancement Fund, and shall not be used by the grant recipient for any other purpose.
(f)
If a member of the Environmental Enhancement Committee, or a member of their immediate family, is employed by a grant applicant, the employer of a grant applicant, or a consultant or independent contractor employed by the grant applicant, the committee member shall make that disclosure to the other members of the committee and shall not participate or make recommendations on the grant proposal of that applicant.
(g)
For habitat acquisition, the Environmental Enhancement Committee shall be subject to the same provisions as prescribed in Section 31116 of the Public Resources Code.
