96.905 Regional Development Agency Assistance Program -- Grants for economic development and job creation activities -- Annual reports -- Certification of proper use of funds. (1) A Regional Development Agency Assistance Program is established to consist of a system of grants to agencies designated by fiscal courts of counties designated in KRS 96.895. Grants shall be administered by the Department for Local Government. (2) (a) Grants obtained under this program shall be used for: 1. Economic development and job creation activities that the agency is empowered to undertake in that county; 2. Acquiring federal, state, or private matching funds to the extent possible; and 3. Debt service for approved projects. (b) Grants obtained under this program shall not be used for salaries or consulting fees. (3) Applications for grants from funds provided for in KRS 96.895 shall be made by the legislative bodies of one (1) or more counties entitled to receive money from the regional development agency assistance fund. (4) The Department for Local Government shall review and approve grant applications from counties for agencies that operate in, or serve the interest of, the county whose fiscal court designated it to receive funding. Multiple counties may also submit a joint application requesting that part of their allotted funds be directed to an agency for a project that affects the counties. (5) By October 1 of each year, the commissioner of the Department for Local Government shall provide, in writing, to each the Governor and the Legislative Research Commission a listing of all applications for grants received pursuant to this section since the last report, a listing of all grants awarded, the amount of the award, the recipient agency, and the related project. (6) The Department for Local Government shall require that any funds granted under this section include an agreement that the recipient agency shall certify that the funds were expended for the purpose intended. The department shall determine whether the certification should be an independent annual audit or an internal certification, taking into account the size of the agency and the financial burden an independent annual audit may impose on the agency. In the case of an independent annual audit, the audit report shall include a certification that the funds were expended for the purpose intended. A copy of the audit or certification of compliance shall be forwarded to the Department for Local Government within eighteen (18) months after the end of the fiscal year. Effective: April 10, 2018 History: Created 2018 Ky. Acts ch. 129, sec. 2, effective April 10, 2018.