Fee schedule; Grants and Donations Trust Fund.

The department, by rule, shall establish a schedule of fees to pay one-half of the costs incurred by the department in administering this act, except that the fee may not exceed $175 per district per year. The fees collected under this section shall be deposited in the Grants and Donations Trust Fund administered by the department. Any fee rule must consider factors such as the dependent and independent status of the district and district revenues for the most recent fiscal year as reported to the Department of Financial Services. The department may assess fines of not more than $25, with an aggregate total not to exceed $50, as penalties against special districts that fail to remit required fees to the department. It is the intent of the Legislature that general revenue funds will be made available to the department to pay one-half of the cost of administering this act.