24-15-102. Public transit account.

(a) There is created a public transit account within the highway fund. The department shall fund the program annually with one million five hundred thousand dollars ($1,500,000.00) using unrestricted state highway funds. Funds provided to the state under the federal Transit Act and other funds that may become available to assist urban and rural public transit programs shall be in addition to funding provided from unrestricted highway funds. Funds in the account shall be distributed and expended in accordance with federal requirements and department rules and regulations.

(b) Recipients of funds under the federal Transit Act may transfer unused grant funds for the benefit of other public transit programs in the state, subject to the following:

(i) Any transfer of funds under this paragraph shall require the approval of the governor;

(ii) Transferred federal funds under this paragraph shall be reimbursed to the transferor by the department from unrestricted state highway funds to be used as local match for federal funds at the rate of one dollar ($1.00) for every three dollars ($3.00) of federal funds transferred by the transferor;

(iii) To the extent not reimbursed from unrestricted state funds, the federal funds transferred shall be used for the benefit of public transit program grantees for the acquisition of new transit vehicles, replacement of transit vehicles or rehabilitation of vehicles in the transit fleet;

(iv) Federal funds transferred by a program grantee may be carried over into the following fiscal year by the department or a recipient public transit program grantee.