Section 12986.

(a) It is the intent of the Legislature to reimburse an eligible local agency pursuant to this part for costs incurred in any year for the maintenance or improvement of project or nonproject levees as follows:

(1) No costs incurred shall be reimbursed if the entire cost incurred per mile of project or nonproject levee is one thousand dollars ($1,000) or less.

(2) Not more than 75 percent of any costs incurred in excess of one thousand dollars ($1,000) per mile of project or nonproject levee shall be reimbursed.

(3) (A) As part of the project plans approved by the board, the department shall require the local agency or an independent financial consultant to provide information regarding the agency's ability to pay for the cost of levee maintenance or improvement. Based on that information, the department may require the local agency or an independent financial consultant to prepare a comprehensive study on the agency's ability to pay.

(B) The information or comprehensive study of the agency's ability to pay shall be the basis for determining the maximum allowable reimbursement eligible under this part. Nothing in this paragraph shall be interpreted to increase the maximum reimbursement allowed under paragraph (2).

(4) Reimbursements made to the local agency in excess of the maximum allowable reimbursement shall be returned to the department.

(5) The department may recover, retroactively, excess reimbursements paid to the local agency from any time after January 1, 1997, based on an updated study of the agency's ability to pay.

(6) All final costs allocated or reimbursed under a plan shall be approved by the Central Valley Flood Protection Board for project and nonproject levee work.

(7) Costs incurred pursuant to this part that are eligible for reimbursement include construction costs and associated engineering services, financial or economic analyses, environmental costs, mitigation costs, and habitat improvement costs.

(b) Upon completion of its evaluation pursuant to Sections 139.2 and 139.4, by January 1, 2008, the department shall recommend to the Legislature and the Governor priorities for funding under this section.

(c) Reimbursements made pursuant to this section shall reflect the priorities of, and be consistent with, the Delta Plan established pursuant to Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 85300) of Part 4 of Division 35.

(d) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2018, and, as of January 1, 2019, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2019, deletes or extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.

(Amended (as amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 296) by Stats. 2012, Ch. 549, Sec. 3. Effective January 1, 2013. Inoperative July 1, 2018. Repealed as of January 1, 2019, by its own provisions. See later operative version, as amended by Sec. 2 of Ch. 549.)