(a) General rule.--The department shall distribute highway appropriations and executive authorizations for State highway maintenance in the various county maintenance districts in the following manner:

(1) For any fiscal year in which the total highway maintenance appropriations and executive authorizations are equal to the combined total base allocations for all the county maintenance districts, each maintenance district shall receive its base allocation.

(2) For any fiscal year in which the total highway maintenance appropriations and executive authorizations are less than the combined total base allocations of all the county maintenance districts, each maintenance district's share shall be reduced, to the extent necessary to bring the total allocation within the funding limits, in the same proportion that each county's base allocations bears to the combined total of all counties' base allocations.

(3) For any fiscal year in which the total highway maintenance appropriations and executive authorizations are greater than the combined total base allocations of all the county maintenance districts, the funds shall be distributed based upon the formula in subsection (b), but notwithstanding the formula calculation for any particular county, no county shall receive less than its base allocation in any year.

(b) Formula for distribution.--The department shall distribute to each county maintenance district:

(1) an amount equal to the county's base allocation; plus

(2) an amount based on the following incremental formula in which each county shall receive a portion of State highway maintenance appropriations and executive authorizations in excess of the total of all counties' base allocations, expressed in the following manner:

ASHMA (40% RPQc + 15% BMDc + 30% LMc + 15% VMc).

(c) Establishment of applicable data.--The applicable data for all counties corresponding to each individual factor in the incremental formula in subsection (b) shall be established and certified by the Governor by May 1 of each year based on the best information available at that time for the immediately preceding five-year period with the exception of BMD. The submission of data relative to BMD shall only include the immediately preceding 12-month period beginning with fiscal year 1997-1998. In each subsequent fiscal year, an additional year of data relative to BMD shall be added until such time as data from a five-year period has been accumulated.

(d) Effect of insufficient funds.--In the event sufficient funds are not available to fully fund all county maintenance districts under the formula in subsection (b) due to the hold harmless provision in subsection (a), each county maintenance district receiving an increase above its base allocation shall have its share reduced in the proportion that the increase over its base allocation bears to the total increases over the base allocation of all counties entitled to an increase, to the extent necessary to bring the total allocations within the funding limit.

(Apr. 17, 1997, P.L.6, No.3, eff. July 1, 1997)

Cross References. Section 9102 is referred to in sections 9010, 9207, 9502 of this title.