§ 17. State advances to authorities for preparation of plans. 1. Application may be made to the commissioner by an authority for state advances for making studies relating to and preparing preliminary plans and detailed plans and specifications for a project within the state which may be undertaken by such authority. Upon approval of such application by the commissioner, the commissioner shall allocate out of any moneys available therefor by appropriation such sum as he deems necessary to pay the cost of such studies and the cost of preparing such preliminary plans, but in no event shall the sum allocated for the cost of preparing such preliminary plans exceed one per cent of the cost of construction of such project as estimated by the commissioner at the time such application is approved. Any such application and allocation shall be subject to the approval of the director of the budget.

2. If such an application shall have been approved as provided in subdivision one, and, if preliminary plans are or have been required and moneys allocated therefor as provided in subdivision one, upon approval of the preliminary plans by the commissioner, an authority may proceed with the preparation of detailed plans and specifications and the commissioner shall thereupon allocate such sum as he deems necessary to pay the cost of preparing such detailed plans and specifications, but in no event shall the total of the sum so allocated, together with the sum allocated for the preparation of preliminary plans, exceed four per cent of the cost of construction as estimated by the commissioner at the time such preliminary plans are approved. Such allocations shall be subject to the approval of the director of the budget.

3. Whenever an application for a state advance is made by an authority pursuant to this section, the commissioner may in his discretion allocate out of any moneys available therefor by appropriation such additional sum or sums as he may deem necessary to pay the cost of test borings or other extraordinary expenditures which the commissioner may deem desirable. Such allocation shall be subject to the approval of the director of the budget.

4. Plans and specifications, or studies or test borings or other extraordinary expenditures for a project in connection with which an application for an advance made by an authority has been approved, as hereinbefore provided in this section, may be prepared or undertaken by such authority or by private architectural or engineering firms selected by such authority.

5. All moneys paid to any authority pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be treated as advances by the state and shall be repaid to the state. If bonds or other obligations are sold by such an authority for the purpose of financing the construction of such project, and if repayment is not made from other moneys, such advances by the state shall be repaid out of the proceeds of the first bonds or other obligations sold by such authority; if any such project is constructed by such authority without the sale of bonds or other obligations, and if repayment is not made from other moneys, such advances shall be repaid from the revenues of such authority derived from such project; and in any other case such advances shall be repaid from any other funds of the authority not otherwise pledged. Upon receipt of any such moneys by the state they shall be credited by the state comptroller to the post-war reconstruction fund.

6. Any unobligated balance of moneys appropriated and allocated for the purposes of this section remaining at any time may be cancelled by the commissioner with the approval of the director of the budget, and any such balances so cancelled shall be available for the purposes described in the original appropriation from which such allocations were made.

7. The commissioner and the director of the budget may each request and shall each receive from any department, division, board, bureau, commission or agency of the state or of any political subdivision thereof, such assistance and data as will enable them to properly carry out their respective activities under and effectuate the purposes of this section. The department of taxation and finance is authorized to accept and receive from the federal government any moneys which the federal government shall offer to the state to assist it to carry out any of the provisions of this section or undertakings or assistance authorized by it.