(a) The Department of Transportation and Public Facilities may award a harbor facility grant during a fiscal year only for a proposed project eligible under AS 29.60.810 based on a grant application filed during the immediately preceding fiscal year before February 1. The total amount of grant money made available to a municipality or regional housing authority during a fiscal year may not exceed $5,000,000.

(b) The Department of Transportation and Public Facilities shall award a grant for every proposed project eligible under AS 29.60.810 that is for repair and major maintenance of a harbor facility that was transferred by the state to a municipality or regional housing authority before grants may be made for other proposed harbor facility projects during a fiscal year. However, after the department makes a grant for the repair and major maintenance of a harbor facility under this subsection, no other grants for the repair and major maintenance of that facility may be made during the same or any other fiscal year.

(c) The Department of Transportation and Public Facilities shall establish priorities for the award of grants for proposed harbor facility projects under (b) of this section and priorities for the award of grants for other proposed harbor facility projects, with new construction projects having the lowest priority. The department shall award grants in the order of priority established. In establishing priorities, the department shall include at least the following, in the order listed:

(1) the extent to which the municipality or regional housing authority can demonstrate that it will have sufficient revenue to operate and maintain the harbor facility in the future without state aid;

(2) public safety and emergency factors;

(3) the amount spent by the municipality or regional housing authority on maintenance of the harbor facility;

(4) other options that would reduce or eliminate the need for the proposed project; and

(5) whether alternative harbor projects would better serve the public interest.

(d) The Department of Transportation and Public Facilities may suggest modifications to a project request to achieve cost savings or to better serve the public interest and, if the municipality or regional housing authority agrees, award the harbor facility grant for the proposed project as modified.