§ 299-X — State aid

§ 299-x. State aid. 1. Recognizing that general public benefits, in\nterms of flood prevention, and erosion control, will accrue to the\npeople of the state, through the establishment of small watershed\nprotection projects because such benefits will go beyond the limits of\nwatershed districts and their parent counties; and recognizing that the\nhealth, welfare, and prosperity of our people is enhanced by the proper\nmanagement, wise use, and development of our soil and water resources;\nit is hereby declared to be a proper state purpose for the state to\nprovide financial reimbursement to the counties for a part of certain\nlocal costs which must be met in the establishment of watershed\nprojects.\n 2. Such reimbursement shall not exceed one-half of the local\nexpenditure for the land, easements, and rights-of-way which are\nnecessary and required for the construction of flood prevention works,\nnot including land treatment measures, for which federal aid for\nconstruction costs is granted pursuant to the said "Watershed Protection\nand Flood Prevention Act". In the case of a joint project pursuant to\nsection two hundred ninety-nine-t, each county of this state\nparticipating therein shall be entitled to claim for and receive state\naid in accordance with its pro rata share of the liabilities or\nexpenditures incurred or undertaken by said county on account thereof.\nApplication for such state reimbursement shall be made each year by the\ncounty board of supervisors to the commissioner of conservation on or\nbefore such date, and in such form and manner, as may be prescribed by\nhim. After his determination that such requests and the amounts thereof\nare proper and in compliance with this article, he shall submit a\nseparate request for each project, as a part of his annual budget\nrequests and estimates for the department of conservation. The budget\nitem for each project shall contain the name of the project, the county\nor counties in which located, and the amount of state reimbursement\nrequested therefor.\n 3. After funds have been appropriated therefor and are available, the\ncommissioner shall certify to the comptroller for payment the amount of\nstate reimbursement due each county. The amount so certified by the\ncommissioner, after audit by and on the warrant of the comptroller,\nshall be paid to the county treasurers of the respective counties to\nwhich state reimbursement is due.\n 4. The provisions of this section shall apply to projects, for which\nreimbursement made subsequent to April first, nineteen hundred\nsixty-three, was limited to twenty thousand dollars, to the extent of\nthe difference between twenty thousand dollars and one-half of such\nlocal expenditure.\n