(1) (a) There is hereby created in the state treasury the electric vehicle grant fund, referred to in this section as the "fund". The fund shall be used to provide grants to state agencies, public universities, public transit agencies, local governments, landlords of multi-family apartment buildings, private nonprofit or for-profit corporations, and the unit owners' associations of common interest communities as defined in article 33.3 of title 38, C.R.S., to install recharging stations for electric vehicles. The grants shall be prioritized based upon:

(I) The prospective recipients' potential for, and commitment to, energy efficiency;

(II) The extent to which the proposed recipients' charging locations are likely to effectively serve existing electric vehicles or encourage the acquisition of additional electric vehicles; and

(III) The extent to which one or more charging stations would not be installed but for the financial assistance provided by a grant from the fund.

(b) The general assembly declares that while the intent of this section is to provide assistance and additional incentive where needed to encourage the installation of charging stations rather than to fully fund the installation of any station, thereby maximizing the number of stations that can be installed using the limited resources available from the fund, the Colorado energy office may grant the full cost of an installation in a location that is especially advantageous for support of the electric vehicle market but where other revenues are not and will not foreseeably be available to defray the costs of installation.

(2) The Colorado energy office is authorized to seek and accept gifts, grants, or donations from private or public sources for the purposes of this section. All private and public funds received through gifts, grants, or donations shall be transmitted to the state treasurer, who shall credit the same to the fund. The moneys in the fund shall be subject to annual appropriation by the general assembly. Any moneys in the fund not expended for the purposes of this section may be invested by the state treasurer as provided by law. All interest and income derived from the investment and deposit of moneys in the fund shall be credited to the fund. Any unexpended and unencumbered moneys remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall remain in the fund and shall not be credited or transferred to the general fund or another fund.