Colorado § 13-1-305 - Grant applications - duties of counties.

§ 13-1-305. Grant applications - duties of counties.

(1) To be eligible for moneys from the fund, a county must apply to the commission through the state court administrator, using the application form provided by the commission, in accordance with the timelines and guidelines adopted by the commission. For the commission to consider a grant application, the application must first be reviewed and approved by the chief judge of the county and the board of county commissioners.

(2) (a) Grants from the fund may only be used to fund counties that meet the requirements set forth in paragraph (b) of this subsection (2) and the criteria specified in subsection (4) of this section to:

(I) Commission master planning services;

(II) Serve as matching funds or leverage grant funding opportunities; or

(III) Address emergency needs due to the imminent closure of a court facility.

(b) Grants from the fund may only be awarded to a county when:

(I) The county has demonstrated good faith in attempting to resolve the issues before seeking a grant from the fund;

(II) The county has agreed to disclose pertinent financial statements to the commission or the state court administrator for review; and

(III) The state court administrator is satisfied that the county does not have significant uncommitted reserves.

(c) Grants from the fund may not supplant any county funding for a county that has the means to support its court facility.

(d) The approval of a grant shall not result in the state or commission assuming ownership or liability for a county courthouse or other county facility that houses county offices and employees. The county shall continue to have ownership and liability for all such facilities.

(e) Once a county is awarded a grant, the county shall complete the project as designated and described in the grant award.

(f) The commission shall develop a compliance review process to ensure that counties are using each grant as specified in the grant award.

(3) Counties that meet all four of the criteria specified in subsection (4) of this section must be given the highest priority for need-based grants for underfunded courthouse facilities pursuant to this part 3.

(4) Counties that meet at least two of the following criteria qualify for need-based grants for underfunded courthouse facilities pursuant to this part 3:

(a) Counties in which the total population is below the state median, as determined by the most recent data published by the department of local affairs;

(b) Counties in which the per capita income is below the state median, as determined by the most recent data published by the department of local affairs;

(c) Counties in which property tax revenues are below the state median, as determined by the most recent data published by the department of local affairs; or

(d) Counties in which the total county population living below the federal poverty line is greater than the state median, as determined by the most recent census published by the United States bureau of the census.

Source: L. 2014: Entire part added, (HB 14-1096), ch. 186, p. 694, § 1, effective May 14.