6116 - Establishment of bond fund and allocation and use of bond proceeds.
§ 6116. Establishment of bond fund and allocation and use of bond proceeds. (a) Establishment of bond fund.--There is hereby established a special fund in the State Treasury to be known as the Growing Greener Bond Fund. Prior to allocation, moneys in the bond fund may be invested or reinvested as are other funds in the custody of the State Treasurer in a manner provided by law. The following amounts shall be deposited by the Treasury Department into the bond fund: (1) Funds borrowed under section 6115(a) (relating to Commonwealth indebtedness) for use as prescribed in this chapter. (2) Earnings derived from the investment of the money in the bond fund after deduction of investment expenses. (3) Any other money appropriated to the bond fund. (b) Plan.--An annual allocation plan for the bond fund shall be submitted by the Governor to the General Assembly as part of the Governor's annual budget. The allocation plan shall be open for review and comment by the members of the General Assembly and shall include a detailed listing of the types of programs to be funded for the fiscal year. The General Assembly may review and provide comment on the allocation plan. (c) Allocation and use of funds.--Moneys in the bond fund shall be allocated and used as follows: (1) The amount of $230,000,000 to the Department of Environmental Protection for its existing programs for watershed protection, mine and acid mine drainage remediation, plugging of abandoned oil and gas wells, advanced energy projects as authorized in subparagraph (i), flood protection, geological hazards and brownfields remediation. At least $60,000,000 shall be used for acid mine drainage abatement and mine cleanup efforts. The Department of Environmental Protection is authorized to make portions of these moneys available to the following Commonwealth agencies and authorities for the purposes designated: (i) up to $10,000,000 annually to the Energy Development Authority for advanced energy projects; and (ii) up to $5,000,000 annually to the Department of Community and Economic Development for brownfields remediation. (2) The amount of $217,500,000 to the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for its existing programs for the improvement of State parks and State forests, community park and recreation grants and open space preservation. Not less than $100,000,000 of these moneys shall be used for facility and infrastructure improvements to State parks and State forests, and $90,000,000 of these moneys shall be used for open space conservation. Except for interior lands of existing State park or State forest lands, funds under this subsection shall not be used for acquisition of additional State park or State forest lands without the approval of the board of commissioners in the county where the acquisition is situated. (3) The amount of $80,000,000 to the Department of Agriculture for its existing county-based farmland preservation programs. (4) Not more than $50,000,000 to the Department of Community and Economic Development for main street and downtown redevelopment related to smart growth, including improvements to existing water and wastewater infrastructure. (5) The amount of $27,500,000 to the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission for capital improvement projects to its existing lands and facilities. The executive director of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission shall, no later than June 30 of each year, provide an annual allocation plan detailing the projects to be funded under this paragraph, the amount of each project and the anticipated environmental benefit of the project to the chairman and minority chairman of the Game and Fisheries Committee of the Senate and the chairman and minority chairman of the Game and Fisheries Committee of the House of Representatives. (6) The amount of $20,000,000 to the Pennsylvania Game Commission for capital improvement projects to its existing lands and facilities. The executive director of the Pennsylvania Game Commission shall, no later than June 30 of each year, provide an annual allocation plan detailing the projects to be funded under this paragraph, the amount of each project and the anticipated environmental benefit of the project to the chairman and minority chairman of the Game and Fisheries Committee of the Senate and the chairman and minority chairman of the Game and Fisheries Committee of the House of Representatives. Funds under this paragraph shall not be used for land acquisition. (d) Definition.--As used in this section, the term "capital improvement project" or "project" means a project eligible for tax-exempt financing under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (Public Law 99-514, 26 U.S.C.