Bill Summary for S 665 (2019-2020)

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Summary date: 

Apr 9 2019

Bill Information:

View NCGA Bill Details2019-2020 Session
Senate Bill 665 (Public) Filed Wednesday, April 3, 2019
AN ACT TO INVEST IN RURAL NORTH CAROLINA AND TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS.
Intro. by Smith, Clark, D. Davis.

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Bill summary

Section 1

Appropriates from the Highway Fund to the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) $200,000 in recurring funds for each fiscal year of the 2019-21 fiscal biennium for the purpose of providing mobile DMV services in tier one counties that do not have a fixed DMV site.

Section 2

Directs the Department of Information Technology (DIT), through its Office of Digital Infrastructure, and with the assistance of the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Department of Administration, the Department of Commerce, NC State University, and UNC-Charlotte, to develop a State broadband plan to ensure all citizens have access to broadband capability. Details four components of the plan, including a detailed strategy for achieving affordability of the service and maximum utilization of broadband infrastructure and service by citizens. Requires DIT to report to the specified NCGA committee on the plan no later than May 1, 2020, and include recommendations for necessary legislative action and cost estimates for achieving the objectives of the plan. Specifies that funding for the development of the plan is to be provided by DIT using funds available from the Information Technology Fund.

Section 3

Amends GS 143B-135.56(b), setting forth the allocation and uses of funds from the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund (Fund).

Currently, subdivision (2) requires 30% of the funds of the Fund to be allocated to provide matching funds to local governmental units or public authorities as defined in GS 159-7 on a dollar-for-dollar basis for local park and recreation purposes, and allows the appraised value of the land that is donated to a local government unit or public authority to be applied to the matching requirement of this provision. This act replaces the dollar-for-dollar local match requirements, and instead bases the matching requirements for projects under subdivision (2) on the most recent development tier designation, as defined in GS 143B-437.08, of the county containing the local governmental unit or public authority, as follows. 

Sets the local governmental unit match at 50% for local park and recreation purposes other than projects described below. Provides that the appraised value of land that is donated to a local government unit or public authority can by applied to the match required by this provision.

Sets the local governmental unit match at 15% for tier one counties and 10% for tier two or three counties for land acquisition, including the acquisition of unbuildable lots for public recreational purposes. Requires at least 50% of the local match to be in cash, and allows up to 50% to be the value of in-kind donations by the local governmental unit.

Sets the local governmental match at 25% in tier one counties and 10% in tier two and three counties for park and recreation site improvements. Requires at least 50% of the local match to be in cash, and allows up to 50% to be the value of in-kind donations by the local governmental unit. 

Section 4

Amends SL 1965-559, Section 2, as amended, enacting new Section 2.1, granting the Windsor Township Development Commission (Commission) the authority to acquire and hold title to real and personal property, and to borrow money and incur debt, for public purposes, including the construction and maintaining of affordable rental housing units for Bertie County schools' teachers and employees, Bertie County employees, the Town of Windsor employees, and State employees residing in Bertie County. Grants the Commission the authority to enter into leases, management agreements, and similar arrangements with Bertie County to manage, lease, and maintain these rental housing units. Grants the Commission the authority to accept grants or donations of money contributed for public purposes. 

Grants Bertie County the authority to enter into leases, management agreements, or similar arrangements with the Commission for the County to manage, lease, and maintain these rental housing units. Directs Bertie County to restrict the rental of these units to Bertie County Public Schools teachers and employees, unless units cannot be filled by school employees, in which case units are to be rented to employees of Bertie County, the Town of Windsor, and State employees residing in Bertie County. 

Does not exempt these affordable housing units from compliance with applicable building codes, zoning ordinances, or and other health and safety regulations.

Section 4.1

Directs the NC House Finance Agency to review and revise the 2018 Qualified Allocation Plan for the allocation of low-income housing tax credits with regard to the Plan's selection criteria and threshold requirements for site and market evaluation to eliminate barriers to providing low-income housing to rural communities. Specifically requires modification of the scoring for proximity to a grocery store for a small town to take into account the lack of grocery stores in some rural counties and the significant distance citizens must travel in other rural counties. Requires the Agency to adopt the revised Plan no later than July 1, 2019, for implementation during the next loan cycle.

Section 5

Appropriates $340,000 in nonrecurring funds for 2019‑20 from the General Fund to Working Landscapes for a pilot program to reimburse participating school districts based on the servings of food they source from farms within the same region. Requires that the pilot project take place in the educational district for the North Central region as provided in GS 143B‑28.1 (Chatham, Durham, Edgecombe, Franklin, Granville, Harnett, Johnston, Lee, Nash, Orange, Person, Vance, Wake, Warren, and Wilson counties). Specifies that of the funds appropriated by this act, $60,000 must be used for payments to participating school systems to offset the higher cost of locally grown products, with the remaining funds cost‑shared on a one‑to‑one basis with funds provided by Working Landscapes to establish program infrastructure and assist local farms in obtaining certifications necessary to supply school nutrition programs.

Section 6

Appropriates from the General Fund to the Golden L.E.A.F. Inc. $1.5 million for the 2019-20 fiscal year for grants to fund public private partnership projects to provide water and sewer infrastructure or broadband to underserved rural counties in eastern North Carolina.

Section 7

Effective July 1, 2019.