As required by subsection 306(a), the Secretary may make grants to any coastal state for the purpose of administering that state's management program, if the state matches any such grant according to the following ratios of Federal-to-state contributions for the applicable fiscal year:

For those states for which programs were approved prior to enactment of the Coastal Zone Act Reauthorization Amendments of 1990, 1 to 1 for any fiscal year.

For programs approved after enactment of the Coastal Zone Act Reauthorization Amendments of 1990, 4 to 1 for the first fiscal year, 2.3 to 1 for the second fiscal year, 1.5 to 1 for the third fiscal year, and 1 to 1 for each fiscal year thereafter.

As required by subsection 306(b), the Secretary may make a grant to a coastal state under subsection 306(a) only if the Secretary finds that the management program of the coastal state meets all applicable requirements of this title and has been approved in accordance with subsection 306(d).

As required by subsection 306(c), grants under this section shall be allocated to coastal states under approved programs based on rules and regulations promulgated by the Secretary which shall take into account the extent and nature of the shoreline and area covered by the program, population of the area, and other relevant factors. The Secretary shall establish, after consulting with the coastal states, maximum and minimum grants for any fiscal year to promote equity between coastal states and effective coastal management.

Minimum/maximum allocations. The Assistant Administrator shall establish minimum and maximum state allocations annually, after consultation with the coastal states.

Allocation formula factors and weighting. Each State eligible to receive a financial assistance award shall be allocated an amount of the total available Federal funding based on:

A minimum share (established by the Assistant Administrator) of the total funding available for allocation to eligible State coastal management programs, plus

A proportionate share of the remainder to be divided as follows:

Sixty percent will be allocated based on each eligible State's proportionate share of the length of tidal shoreline and/or Great Lake shoreline mileage of all participating States based on the most recently available data from or accepted by the National Ocean Survey, and

Forty percent will be allocated on each eligible State's proportionate share of the aggregate population of all coastal counties contained in whole or in part within the designated coastal boundary of all eligible State coastal programs based on official data or the most recent U.S. census.

Should any State's base allocation exceed the maximum established by the Assistant Administrator, the excess amount shall be subtracted from the established maximum and redistributed proportionately among those eligible States with allocations not exceeding the established maximum.

Use of the allocation formula. The allocation formula shall be used to establish base level allocations for each State coastal management program eligible to receive Federal funding.

Adjustment for phase down of Federal funding. The Assistant Administrator may adjust base level allocations as necessary to implement a phase down of Federal financial support. Any such adjustment shall be implemented in a manner which gives some priority to recently approved State coastal management programs. Options for implementation of a phase down will be submitted to the States for review and comment.

Calculation of financial assistance award levels. Actual financial assistance award levels will be set from base level allocations, any adjustments under paragraph (e) above, and in accordance with the provisions of Section 312(c) and (d).