(a) The director of the department shall prepare and adopt criteria and procedures for evaluating applications for grants allocated pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 80061. The application shall be accompanied by certification that the project is consistent with the park and recreation element of the applicable city or county general plan or the district park recreation plan, as the case may be.

(b) To utilize available grant funds as effectively as possible, overlapping and adjoining jurisdictions and applicants with similar objectives are encouraged to combine projects and submit a joint application. A recipient may allocate all or a portion of its per capita share for a regional or state project.

(Added by Stats. 2017, Ch. 852, Sec. 3. Approved in Proposition 68 at the June 5, 2018, election.)