House committee substitute makes the following changes to the 2nd edition.

Amends the act's short and long titles.

Deletes all of the provisions of the previous edition and replaces them with the following.

Amends Section 20 of SL 1991-391 concerning budget funding for the Nash-Rocky Mount Board of Education (Board), requiring the Board to submit, beginning July 1, 2016, an annual school budget to the Nash County Board of Commissioners (BOC) for approval and to the Edgecombe County Board of Commissioners (Edgecombe BOC) for review and recommendations. Directs the Board and the BOC to make best efforts to achieve a fair, reasonable, and practical appropriation of capital outlay and debt service funds for schools in the Nash-Rocky Mount School Administrative Unit (Unit). Provides that final approval of the Unit's school budget will be made by the BOC. Deletes provisions concerning previous allocation requirements of capital outlay funds as specified in lieu of now requiring the Edgecombe BOC, beginning July 1, 2016, to provide the Edgecombe proportional share of the capital outlay funds of the Unit. Specifies how the Edgecombe share is calculated. Also enacts new subsection (d), which provides that if the finance officers  of the Unit and counties cannot come to a consensus on the funding amounts, then a certified public accountant with expertise in school finance will be selected by consensus to determine the amounts. Makes conforming and organizational changes.

Further amends Sections 21 of SL 1991-391 to provide that beginning July 2, 2016, the City of Rocky Mount is required to appropriate local current expense funds from City funds to the Unit an amount equal to any current expenditure differential between Nash and Edgecombe counties, as calculated under the act. Deletes the requirement that the Rocky Mount City Council and the county commissioner each appropriate $500,00 per year for 10 consecutive years, beginning in 1992, as well as the requirement that the City pay for the extension of specified utility lines if a specified site was used for a school. Deletes the provision allowing the City to appropriate funds to the Unit for the Unit's capital outlay needs. Effective July 1, 2016.

Further amends Section 20 of SL 1991-391, to require, beginning July 1, 2020, that the Edgecombe BOC appropriate to the Unit the Edgecombe proportional share of the local current expense funds appropriated in the approved annual school budget. Specifies how the Edgecombe proportional share is to be calculated. 

Effective June 30, 2020, repeals Section 21 of SL 1991-391, so that the City of Rocky Mount would no longer be required to appropriate any funds to the Unit.  

Provides that effective July 1, 2020, the Nash-Rocky Mount School Administrative Unit will be renamed the Nash School Administrative Unit and the Nash-Rocky Mount Board of Education will be renamed the Nash Board of Education. 

Provides that a local board of education is prohibited from filing any legal action pursuant to statutory authority as specified in order to challenge the sufficiency of the funds appropriated to the local current expense fund, capital outlay fund, or both. This prohibition on legal action ends with the adoption of the 2026-27 fiscal year budget. Requires the BOC to approve a school budget that provides a per-pupil annual amount for local current expense funds that is equal to or greater than the per-pupil amount for local current expense funds appropriated for the 2016-17 fiscal year. Applies to Nash county only.

Sets out several circumstances that are to occur if Edgecombe County or the City of Rocky Mount fail to provide the required annual funding as specified in this act, subject to the review and certification of the Local Government Commission. These provisions address the boundaries of the Unit; terms of office of any local board of education member not residing within the local school administrative unit; revision of electoral districts for the boards; a written plan for transfer of the portion of the Unit located in Edgecombe County; title and ownership of Board property located in Edgecombe County; and claims, demands, and obligations and liabilities of the Unit located in Edgecombe County.

Includes a severability clause.