State Codes and Statutes

Statutes > Nebraska > Chapter81 > 81-15_175

81-15,175. Fund allocations; board; powers and duties.(1) The board may make an annual allocation each fiscal year from the Nebraska Environmental Trust Fund to the Nebraska Environmental Endowment Fund as provided in section 81-15,174.01. The board shall make annual allocations from the Nebraska Environmental Trust Fund and may make annual allocations each fiscal year from the Nebraska Environmental Endowment Fund for projects which conform to the environmental categories of the board established pursuant to section 81-15,176 and to the extent the board determines those projects to have merit. The board shall establish a calendar annually for receiving and evaluating proposals and awarding grants. To evaluate the economic, financial, and technical feasibility of proposals, the board may establish subcommittees, request or contract for assistance, or establish advisory groups. Private citizens serving on advisory groups shall be reimbursed for their actual and necessary expenses pursuant to sections 81-1174 to 81-1177.(2) The board shall establish rating systems for ranking proposals which meet the board's environmental categories and other criteria. The rating systems shall include, but not be limited to, the following considerations:(a) Conformance with categories established pursuant to section 81-15,176;(b) Amount of funds committed from other funding sources;(c) Encouragement of public-private partnerships;(d) Geographic mix of projects over time;(e) Cost-effectiveness and economic impact;(f) Direct environmental impact; and(g) Environmental benefit to the general public and the long-term nature of such public benefit.(3) The board may establish a subcommittee to rate grant applications. If the board uses a subcommittee, the subcommittee shall (a) use the rating systems established by the board under subsection (2) of this section, (b) assign a numeric value to each rating criterion, combine these values into a total score for each application, and rank the applications by the total scores, (c) recommend an amount of funding for each application, which amount may be more or less than the requested amount, and (d) submit the ranked list and recommended funding to the board for its approval or disapproval. A motion to deviate from the subcommittee's recommendations must specify the reason for doing so and be adopted with an affirmative vote of not fewer than eight members of the board.(4) The board may commit funds to multiyear projects, subject to available funds and appropriations. No commitment shall exceed three years without formal action by the board to renew the grant or contract. Multiyear commitments may be exempt from the rating process except for the initial application and requests to renew the commitment.(5) The board shall adopt and promulgate rules and regulations and publish guidelines governing allocations from the fund. The board shall conduct annual reviews of existing projects for compliance with project goals and grant requirements.(6) Every five years the board may evaluate the long-term effects of the projects it funds. The evaluation may assess a sample of such projects. The board may hire an independent consultant to conduct the evaluation and may report the evaluation findings to the Legislature and the Governor. SourceLaws 1992, LB 1257, § 52; Laws 1993, LB 138, § 81; Laws 2000, LB 957, § 12; Laws 2002, LB 1003, § 51; Laws 2004, LB 832, § 2.