Section 1 [Snow Angel Program; Criteria] establishes a grant program, to be developed and administered by the Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission, to fund construction projects for ski facilities across the state. To be eligible for a grant, a proposal must include local contributions, including in-kind contribution of time, land, roads, utilities, landscaping, and parking. Facilities eligible for grants must be in areas of maximum demonstrated interest and must maximize accessibility to an arterial highway. Grants under the program may be used for constructing ski jumps, constructing year-round skiing, boarding, and ski jumping facilities, for cross-country ski facility expansion, to upgrade existing facilities, to purchases girls’ ski team equipment, and to conduct amateur women’s ski and other skiing sport tournaments.

To the extent possible, 50 percent of the grants under the program must be awarded to communities in greater Minnesota and the commission must provide technical assistance to communities on ski facilities planning, design, and operation.

The commissioner may use $50,000 of an appropriation for the program each fiscal year to pay for staffing and for administering the grant program.

Section 2 [Appropriation] appropriates $6,000,000 in fiscal year 2017 from the general fund for the program established in section 1.