Small County Outreach Program.

(1) There is created within the Department of Transportation the Small County Outreach Program. The purpose of this program is to assist small county governments in repairing or rehabilitating county bridges, paving unpaved roads, addressing road-related drainage improvements, resurfacing or reconstructing county roads, or constructing capacity or safety improvements to county roads.

(2) For the purposes of this section, the term “small county” means any county that has a population of 200,000 or less as determined by the most recent official estimate pursuant to s. 186.901.

(3)(a) Small counties shall be eligible to compete for funds that have been designated for the Small County Outreach Program for projects on county roads. The department shall fund 75 percent of the cost of projects on county roads funded under the program.

(b) In determining a county’s eligibility for assistance under this program, the department may consider whether the county has attempted to keep county roads in satisfactory condition, which may be evidenced through an established pavement management plan.

(c) The following criteria shall be used to prioritize road projects for funding under the program:

1. The primary criterion is the physical condition of the road as measured by the department.

2. As secondary criteria the department may consider:

a. Whether a road is used as an evacuation route.

b. Whether a road has high levels of agricultural travel.

c. Whether a road is considered a major arterial route.

d. Whether a road is considered a feeder road.

e. Information as evidenced to the department through an established pavement management plan.

f. Other criteria related to the impact of a project on the public road system or on the state or local economy as determined by the department.

(4) The department is authorized to administer contracts on behalf of a county selected to receive funding for a project under this section. All projects funded under this section shall be included in the department’s work program developed pursuant to s. 339.135.

(5) Funds paid into the State Transportation Trust Fund pursuant to ss. 201.15, 215.211, 320.072, and 339.0801 for the purposes of the Small County Outreach Program are hereby annually appropriated for expenditure to support the Small County Outreach Program.

(6) Subject to a specific appropriation in addition to funds annually appropriated for projects under this section, a municipality within a rural area of opportunity or a rural area of opportunity community designated under s. 288.0656(7)(a) may compete for the additional project funding using the criteria listed in subsection (3) at up to 100 percent of project costs, excluding capacity improvement projects.

(7) Subject to a specific appropriation in addition to funds appropriated for projects under this section, a local government either wholly or partially within the Everglades Agricultural Area as defined in s. 373.4592(15), the Peace River Basin, or the Suwannee River Basin may compete for additional funding using the criteria listed in paragraph (3)(c) at up to 100 percent of project costs on state or county roads used primarily as farm-to-market connections between rural agricultural areas and market distribution centers, excluding capacity improvement projects.