(A) The clean Ohio conservation fund is hereby created in the state treasury. Seventy-five per cent of the net proceeds of obligations issued and sold by the issuing authority pursuant to sections 151.01 and 151.09 of the Revised Code shall be deposited into the fund. Investment earnings of the fund shall be credited to the fund and may be used to pay costs incurred by the Ohio public works commission in administering sections 164.20 to 164.27 of the Revised Code. Moneys in the clean Ohio conservation fund shall be used to make grants to local political subdivisions and nonprofit organizations for projects that have been approved for grants under sections 164.20 to 164.27 of the Revised Code.

The clean Ohio conservation fund shall be administered by the Ohio public works commission.

(B) For the purpose of grants issued under sections 164.20 to 164.27 of the Revised Code, moneys shall be allocated on an annual basis from the clean Ohio conservation fund to districts represented by natural resources assistance councils as follows:

(1) Each district shall receive an amount that is equal to one-fourth of one per cent of the total annual amount allocated to all districts each year for each county that is represented by the district.

(2) The remaining moneys shall be allocated to each district annually on a per capita basis.

(C) A grant that is awarded under sections 164.20 to 164.27 of the Revised Code may provide up to seventy-five per cent of the estimated cost of a project. Matching funds from a grant recipient may consist of contributions of money by any person, any local political subdivision, or the federal government or of contributions in-kind by such entities through the purchase or donation of equipment, land, easements, interest in land, labor, or materials necessary to complete the project.

(D) The director of the Ohio public works commission shall notify the director of budget and management of the amounts allocated pursuant to this section, and that information shall be entered in the state accounting system. The director of budget and management may establish appropriate line items or other mechanisms that are needed to track the allocations.

(E) Grants awarded under sections 164.20 to 164.27 of the Revised Code from the clean Ohio conservation fund shall be used by a local political subdivision or nonprofit organization only to pay the costs related to the purposes for which grants may be issued under section 164.22 of the Revised Code and shall not be used by a local political subdivision or nonprofit organization to pay any administrative costs incurred by the local political subdivision or nonprofit organization.

Effective Date: 09-26-2003.