Sec. 10.6. (a) Before July 1 of each year, the department of state revenue shall distribute the money in the local emergency planning and right to know fund as follows:

(1) Ten percent (10%) allocated to the commission and administered by the department of homeland security to be used for the implementation and administration of IC 13-25-1 and this chapter. Money received as an allocation under this subdivision does not revert to the state general fund at the end of a state fiscal year.

(2) A distribution of the remaining money as follows:

(A) To each county, two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500).

(B) To each county, an additional distribution in an amount determined in STEP TWO of the following formula:

STEP ONE: Divide the amount available for distribution by the number of facilities that paid the fee required under section 10(a)(2) of this chapter in the calendar year preceding the distribution.

STEP TWO: Multiply the quotient determined in STEP ONE by the number of facilities located in each county.

The department of state revenue may make a distribution to a county under this subdivision only after receiving notice from the commission that the local emergency planning committee for the county has met the requirements of IC 13-25-1-6(b).

(b) The revenue distributed to the county under this section shall be deposited in a separate fund established by the county for the purpose of:

(1) preparing and updating a comprehensive emergency response plan required under 42 U.S.C. 11003 for the county or emergency planning district;

(2) establishing and implementing procedures for receiving and processing requests from the public for information about hazardous chemicals under SARA (42 U.S.C. 11001 et seq.);

(3) training for emergency response planning, information management, and hazardous materials incident response and exercising hazardous materials response plans;

(4) equipping a hazardous materials response team that provides at least a district wide emergency planning response if the equipment purchased is consistent with current training levels of the response team members;

(5) purchasing communication equipment for a local emergency planning committee's administrative use;

(6) paying an optional stipend to local emergency planning committee members who attend regularly scheduled meetings at which a quorum is present in an amount:

(A) determined by a majority of the local emergency planning committee membership; and

(B) that is not more than twenty dollars ($20) per member per meeting;

(7) paying for Title III risk communication, chemical accident related, and accident prevention projects submitted to and approved by the commission; and

(8) maintaining, repairing, and calibrating equipment purchased for a hazardous materials response team under subdivision (4).

However, revenue distributed to a county under this section may be used for the purposes set forth in subdivisions (3) through (8) only if the local emergency planning committee appointed for the county has prepared and submitted to the commission an emergency plan that meets the requirements of 42 U.S.C. 11003(a) and has received approval for the training programs from the commission.

(c) The fund established under subsection (b) shall be administered by the county executive. The expenses of administering the fund shall be paid from money in the fund. Money in the fund not currently needed to meet the obligations of the fund may be invested in the same manner as other public funds. Interest that accrues from these investments shall be deposited in the fund. Money in the fund at the end of the fiscal year remains in the fund and does not revert to any other fund.

(d) Money shall be appropriated by a county fiscal body (as defined in IC 36-1-2-6) from a fund established under subsection (b) upon the receipt by the county fiscal body of the local emergency planning committee's spending plan. The spending plan must:

(1) have been approved by a majority of the members of the local emergency planning committee; and

(2) conform with the provisions of this chapter.

The county fiscal body may not appropriate money from the fund established under subsection (b) for any person or purpose other than the local emergency planning committee.

(e) All equipment, apparatus, and supplies purchased with money from a fund established under subsection (b) remain under the direction and control of the local emergency planning committee.

As added by P.L.85-2015, SEC.15.