1. Legislative findings. Whereas expenditures from the Public Reserved Lands Management Fund established under section 1849, subsection 2 must be consistent with the public trust limitations embodied in the Constitution of Maine, Article X; and the Constitution of Maine, Article X designates the public lots for the benefit of the schools in this State; and educating new loggers and foresters in the State will help to ensure that the public reserved lands continue to be managed to demonstrate exemplary land management practices, the Legislature declares that authorizing grants under this section is consistent with the Legislature's responsibility as trustee. [PL 2017, c. 289, §9 (NEW).] 2. Educational grant program established; eligibility. The bureau shall establish, maintain and administer an educational grant program, referred to in this section as "the grant program," and an application system for the grant program to allow an eligible public secondary program, career and technical education program and public postsecondary educational program to apply for an educational grant under the grant program. Only an educational program at a public secondary or public postsecondary educational institution or career and technical education center that is related to logging or forestry, referred to in this section as "an eligible educational program," is eligible to receive funding under the grant program. [PL 2017, c. 289, §9 (NEW).] 3. Grants; source of funds; limits. An approved eligible educational program may receive grants of up to $50,000, if available, from the grant program. The source of the funds for the grants is the Public Reserved Lands Management Fund established under section 1849, subsection 2. Total distributions from the Public Reserved Lands Management Fund under the grant program may not exceed $300,000 in the 2 fiscal years of the state budget biennium. [PL 2017, c. 289, §9 (NEW).] 4. Permitted use of funding. An eligible educational program that receives a grant under the grant program may use the grant in more than one year if such an extended use is approved by the bureau during the application process. Grants received through the grant program may be used only for educational purposes, including but not limited to upgrading existing logging equipment. Any grants issued to an eligible educational program must supplement, not supplant, existing school funding. [PL 2017, c. 289, §9 (NEW).] 5. Participation of regional managers. The bureau shall include managers of any regional public reserved lands units established by the bureau in the process established for approving the distribution of funds to eligible educational programs under the grant program and shall ensure that the managers are involved with, or have the option to be involved with, any eligible educational program that receives funding through the grant program. [PL 2017, c. 289, §9 (NEW).] 6. Rulemaking. The bureau shall adopt rules to carry out the purposes of this section. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. [PL 2017, c. 289, §9 (NEW).]
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