STATEMENT OF BASIS AND PURPOSE
The State Historical Fund was established by amendment to Article XVIII, Section 9 of the Constitution of the State of Colorado, effective January 3, 1991. After payment of all ongoing expenses of any state agency administering the provisions of said Section 9, I the Constitution directs the state treasurer to distribute 28% of the remaining balance into the State Historical Fund. Eighty percent of that amount is then directed to be distributed "for the historic preservation and restoration of historical sites and 1 municipalities throughout the state in a manner to be determined by the general assembly".
The Colorado General Assembly subsequently adopted The Colorado Limited Gaming Act, codified as CRS 12-47.1-1201, which provides that the portion of the State Historical Fund reserved for statewide distribution be administered by the Colorado Historical Society as a grants program for a variety of historic preservation purposes enumerated therein. CRS 12-47.1-1201(4) was further amended in 1999 to provide that "The society shall promulgate rules for the purpose of administering the state historical fund, which rules may include criteria for consideration in awarding grants from such fund and standards for preservation which are acceptable to the society and which shall be employed by grant recipients." CRS 12-47.1-1201 was further amended in 2003 to clarify the types of entities eligible to receive grants, to clarify the types of grants that may be made for educational purposes, to permit the Society to make expenditures for reasonable costs incurred by the Society in fulfilling its mission, and to establish a limitation on the proportion of the State Historical Fund which must be reserved for grants for preservation purposes.
The purpose of these rules is to define who may apply for grants from the State Historical Fund, the types of projects that qualify for funding, the basic application procedures, the standards to be applied to funded projects, and the use of the State Historical Fund by the Colorado Historical Society.
8 CCR 1504-8