The office must prepare and update a prioritized project list, and the joint committee must hold hearings and act on it within set timelines.
§3473. Priority list of projects; public hearings; final program Each quarter, the office shall prepare and furnish to the joint committee a prioritized list of projects based on the applications received by the office during that quarter. The joint committee shall receive the prioritized list of projects from the office for each of the first three quarters of the year, and shall call a public hearing within thirty days of receiving the list in order to receive public testimony regarding any project on the list. At such hearing, the joint committee shall vote to either accept, reject, or modify the list. Each quarter, the office shall reprioritize the list of projects to reflect the cumulative list of projects recommended by the office. After application recommendations for the last quarter are made by the office, the office shall submit the final waterway dredging and deepening priority program for the ensuing fiscal year to the joint committee for approval. Prior to the convening of the regular session of the legislature, the joint committee shall hold a public hearing for the purpose of reviewing the final program for the ensuing fiscal year. Prior to such hearing, the office shall publish the appropriate official notice on the department's website. The final program shall be based upon the anticipated revenues to be appropriated by the legislature or other funding obligation authority and the projects shall be listed in order of priority. When this final construction program is presented to the legislature for funding or funding obligation authority for the ensuing fiscal year, the legislature shall not add any projects to this final construction program. Any project recommended by the office and approved by the joint committee for which funds are unavailable in the fiscal year but for which it was approved shall remain on the prioritized list of projects and shall be carried forward to the next fiscal year. Acts 2017, No. 382, §1, eff. July 1, 2017.