8A.712  Historical resource development program — country school grants.
  1.  The department shall administer a program of grants and loans for historical resource development throughout the state, subject to funds for such grants and loans being made available through the appropriations process or otherwise provided by law.
  2.  The purpose of the historical resource development program is to preserve, conserve, interpret, and enhance historical resources that will encourage and support the economic and cultural health and development of the state and the communities in which the resources are located. For this purpose, the department may make grants and loans as otherwise provided by law with funds as may be made available by applicable law.
  3.  The following persons are eligible to receive historical resource grants and loans:
  a.  County and city governments.
  b.  Nonprofit corporations.
  c.  Private corporations and businesses.
  d.  Individuals.
  e.  State agencies.
  f.  Governments and traditional tribal societies of recognized resident American Indian tribes in Iowa.
  g.  Other units of government.
  4.  Grants and loans may be made for the following purposes:
  a.  Acquisition and development of historical resources.
  b.  Preservation and conservation of historical resources.
  c.  Interpretation of historical resources.
  d.  Professional training and educational programs on the acquisition, development, preservation, conservation, and interpretation of historical resources.
  5.  a.  Grants and loans shall be awarded in each of the following categories:
  (1)  Museums.
  (2)  Documentary collections.
  (3)  Historic preservation.
  b.  Not less than twenty percent and not more than sixty percent of the program’s funds appropriated in one fiscal year shall be allocated to any single category.
  6.  Grants and loans are subject to the following restrictions:
  a.  Not more than twenty percent of the total grant moneys combined shall be given to or received by state agencies and institutions, or their representatives or agents.
  b.  A portion of the applicant’s operating expenses may be used as a cash match or in-kind match as specified by the department’s rules.
  c.  Grant or loan funds shall not be used to support public relations or marketing expenses.
  d.  Not more than one hundred thousand dollars or twenty percent of the annual appropriation, whichever is more, shall be granted and loaned to recipients within a single county in any given grant cycle.
  e.  Not more than one hundred thousand dollars or ten percent of the annual appropriation, whichever is more, shall be granted and loaned to any single recipient or its agent within a single fiscal year.
  f.  Grants under this program may be given only after review and recommendation by the state historical society board of trustees. The department may contract with lending institutions chartered in this state to act as agents for the administration of loans under the program, in which case, the lending institution may have the right of final approval of loans, subject to the department’s administrative rules. If the department does not contract with a lending institution, loans may be made only after review and recommendation by the state historical society board of trustees.
  g.  The department shall not award grants or loans to be used for goods or services obtained outside the state, unless the proposed recipient demonstrates that it is neither feasible nor prudent to obtain the goods or services within the state.
  h.  Grant or loan funds shall not be awarded to a city or county government for a project in the historic preservation category unless the city or county government has been approved as a certified local government by the state historic preservation officer.
  7.  For each dollar of grant funds the following recipients must provide the following matching cash and in-kind resources:
  a.  All units of government and nonprofit corporations, fifty cents, of which at least twenty-five cents must be in cash.
  b.  For other private corporations and businesses, one dollar of which at least seventy-five cents must be in cash.
  c.  For individuals, seventy-five cents of which at least fifty cents must be in cash.
  8.  The department may use ten percent of the annual allocation to the historical resource grant and loan fund established in this section pursuant to section 455A.19, but in no event more than seventy-five thousand dollars, for administration of the grant and loan program.
  9.  a.  (1)  The department may establish a historical resource grant and loan fund composed of any money appropriated by the general assembly for that purpose, funds allocated pursuant to section 455A.19, and of any other moneys available to and obtained or accepted by the department from the federal government or private sources for placement in that fund. Each loan made under this section shall be for a period not to exceed ten years, shall bear interest at a rate determined by the state historical board, and shall be repayable to the revolving loan fund in equal yearly installments due March 1 of each year the loan is in effect. The interest rate upon loans for which payment is delinquent shall accelerate immediately to the current legal usury limit. Applicants are eligible for not more than one hundred thousand dollars in loans outstanding at any time under this program. A single lending institution contracting with the department pursuant to this section shall not hold more than five hundred thousand dollars worth of outstanding loans under the program.
  (2)  Any applicant, who is otherwise eligible, who receives a direct or indirect appropriation from the general assembly for a project or portion of a project is ineligible for a historical resources development grant for that same project during the fiscal year for which the appropriation is made. For purposes of this paragraph, “project” includes any related activities, including but not limited to construction, restoration, supplies, equipment, consulting, or other services.
  b.  The department may:
  (1)  Contract and adopt administrative rules necessary to carry out the provisions of this section, but the department shall not in any manner directly or indirectly pledge the credit of the state of Iowa.
  (2)  Authorize payment from the historical resource grant and loan fund, from fees and from any income received by investments of money in the fund for costs, commissions, attorney fees and other reasonable expenses related to and necessary for making and protecting direct loans under this section, and for the recovery of moneys loaned or the management of property acquired in connection with such loans.
  10.  a.  The general assembly finds that the country school that served Iowa’s educational needs for much of its history offered a unique opportunity to students and communities, providing for multigenerational attendance, high educational performance, a safe environment, a focus for community support, and a caring, attentive environment.
  b.  A country schools historical resource preservation grant program is therefore established to be administered by the department for the preservation of one-room and two-room buildings once used as country schools. In developing grant approval criteria, the department shall place a priority on the educational uses planned for the country school building, which may include, but are not limited to, historical interpretation and use as a teaching museum or as an operational classroom accessible to a school district or accredited nonpublic school for provisional instructional purposes.
  c.  Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the amount of a grant shall not exceed twenty-five thousand dollars and applicants shall match grant funding on a dollar-for-dollar basis, of which at least one-half of the local match must be in cash.
86 Acts, ch 1238, §54; 86 Acts, ch 1245, §1314
C87, §303.16
87 Acts, ch 17, §8; 89 Acts, ch 78, §11, 12; 89 Acts, ch 236, §12 – 14; 89 Acts, ch 319, §79; 90 Acts, ch 1097, §2 – 8; 91 Acts, ch 73, §1 – 7; 99 Acts, ch 205, §44; 2010 Acts, ch 1061, §180; 2023 Acts, ch 19, §1411 – 1414, 1424
C2024, §8A.712
Referred to in §8A.702, 15.121, 455A.19