{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-147a.250","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 147A.250","heading":"Railtrail Development Office -- Authority to apply for grants.","body":"A Railtrail Development Office is hereby created within the Department for Local\nGovernment. The Department for Local Government shall ensure that the office has the\nnecessary expertise to carry out the requirements imposed upon it by this section. Among\nother railtrail functions and duties which may be assigned to it, the Railtrail Development\nOffice shall carry on at least the following responsibilities:\n(1) The office shall monitor the proceedings of the United States Department of\nTransportation's Surfa ce Transportation Board and shall disseminate to interested\nentities in Kentucky information regarding those proceedings of interest to railtrail\nconversion or policy in the Commonwealth. If a railroad applies to the Surface\nTransportation Board for authority to discontinue service over or abandon a railroad\ncorridor in the Commonwealth, the office shall immediately notify those political\nsubdivisions through which the corridor passes and any interested state agency of\nthe proceedings and the potential for trail development of the corridor. Notice shall\nalso be sent to the county judge/executive of each county through which the\nproposed abandonment passes, who shall distribute copies of the notice to each\nmember of the chief legislative body of the county go vernment at the next regularly\nscheduled meeting of that legislative body. The office shall also send a copy of the\nnotice to each soil and water conservation district through which the abandonment\npasses. If time is of the essence and it appears that the corridor is a suitable\ncandidate for conversion to a railtrail and that no other railtrail interested entity will\nbe participating in the federal proceeding, the office shall take those steps necessary\nto cause a railbanking or public use condition to be i mposed in the federal\nproceeding;\n(2) The office shall assist any requesting political subdivision or agency of state\ngovernment with assistance on any application to the Surface Transportation Board\nregarding an abandoned or about -to-be-abandoned railroad corridor, including any\nrequests for railbanking or imposition of public use conditions;\n(3) The office shall coordinate and promote railtrail development efforts among the\nvarious agencies of state government, including the Department of Parks and the\nTransportation Cabinet. While this subsection does not confer upon the office any\npowers beyond those that it may ordinarily possess, every entity of state government\nshall cooperate with the office to the extent practicable under the circumstances;\n(4) The office shall furnish to requesting political subdivisions assistance in applying to\navailable federal, state, or local funding sources for funds to be used for the process\nof converting railroad corridors into public use trails; and\n(5) The office may apply for federal, state, or private grants or other forms of financial\nassistance to carry on its mission.","path":["KRS Chapter 147A"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=1664","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:50:39Z","sha256":"839430ee655023d487562459ba3fe6e74388ef8c0c6e0d286f874bc0881ac18a","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-147a.200","next":"us-ky/krs-147a.300"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}