North Carolina § 136-41 - 1. Appropriation to municipalities; allocation of funds generally; allocation to Butner.

§ 136-41. 1. Appropriation to municipalities; allocation of funds generally; allocation to Butner.

Upon appropriation of funds by the General Assembly to the Department of Transportation for State aid to municipalities, one-half of the amount appropriated shall be allocated in cash on or before October 1 of each year to the cities and towns of the State in accordance with this section. The second one-half of the amount appropriated shall be allocated in cash on or before January 1 of each year to the cities and towns of the State in accordance with this section. For purposes of this section and of G.S. 136-41.2 and 136-41.3, urban service districts defined by the governing board of a consolidated city-county in which street services are provided by the consolidated city-county, as defined by G.S. 160B-2(1), shall be considered eligible municipalities, and the allocations to be made thereby shall be made to the government of the consolidated city-county. Any funds allocated to the unincorporated area known as the Butner Reservation shall be transferred to the Town of Butner. Nature. - The General Assembly finds that the revenue distributed under this section is local revenue, not a State expenditure, for the purpose of Section 5(3) of Article III of the North Carolina Constitution. Therefore, the Governor may not reduce or withhold the distribution. Seventy-five percent (75%) of the funds appropriated for cities and towns shall be distributed among the several eligible municipalities of the State in the percentage proportion that the population of each eligible municipality bears to the total population of all eligible municipalities according to the most recent annual estimates of population as certified to the Secretary of Revenue by the State Budget Officer. This annual estimation of population shall include increases in the population within the municipalities caused by annexations accomplished through July 1 of the calendar year in which these funds are distributed. Twenty-five percent (25%) of said fund shall be distributed among the several eligible municipalities of the State in the percentage proportion that the mileage of public streets in each eligible municipality which does not form a part of the State highway system bears to the total mileage of the public streets in all eligible municipalities which do not constitute a part of the State highway system. It shall be the duty of the mayor of each municipality to report to the Department of Transportation such information as it may request for its guidance in determining the eligibility of each municipality to receive funds under this section and in determining the amount of allocation to which each is entitled. Upon failure of any municipality to make such report within the time prescribed by the Department of Transportation, the Department of Transportation may disregard such defaulting unit in making said allotment. The funds to be allocated under this section shall be paid in cash to the various eligible municipalities on or before October 1 and January 1 of each year as provided in this section. Provided that eligible municipalities are authorized within the discretion of their governing bodies to enter into contracts for the purpose of maintenance, repair, construction, reconstruction, widening, or improving streets of such municipalities at any time after January 1 of any calendar year in total amounts not to exceed ninety percent (90%) of the amount received by such municipality during the preceding fiscal year, in anticipation of the receipt of funds under this section during the next fiscal year, to be paid for out of such funds when received. The Department of Transportation may withhold each year an amount not to exceed one percent (1%) of the total amount appropriated for distribution under this section for the purpose of correcting errors in allocations: Provided, that the amount so withheld and not used for correcting errors will be carried over and added to the amount to be allocated for the following year. The word "street" as used in this section is hereby defined as any public road maintained by a municipality and open to use by the general public, and having an average width of not less than 16 feet. In order to obtain the necessary information to distribute the funds herein allocated, the Department of Transportation may require that each municipality eligible to receive funds under this section submit to it a statement, certified by a registered engineer or surveyor of the total number of miles of streets in such municipality. The Department of Transportation may in its discretion require the certification of mileage on a biennial basis. History (1951, c. 260, s. 2; c. 948, ss. 2, 3; 1953, c. 1127; 1957, c. 65, s. 11; 1963, c. 854, ss. 1, 2; 1969, c. 665, ss. 1, 2; 1971, c. 182, ss. 1-3; 1973, c. 476, s. 193; c. 500, s. 1; c. 507, s. 5; c. 537, s. 6; 1975, c. 513; 1977, c. 464, s. 7.1; 1979, 2nd Sess., c. 1137, s. 50; 1981, c. 690, s. 4; c. 859, s. 9.2; c. 1127, s. 54; 1985 (Reg. Sess., 1986), c. 982, s. 1; 1989, c. 692, s. 1.6; 1995, c. 390, s. 26; c. 461, s. 18; 1997-443, s. 11A.118(a); 2000-165, s. 1; 2002-120, s. 5; 2007-269, s. 13; 2011-145, s. 28.10(a); 2013-183, s. 3.1; 2014-100, s. 34.1; 2015-241, s. 29.17D(a).) Local Modification. - Cherokee: 1989 (Reg. Sess., 1990), c. 1049, s. 13(a); Henderson: 1957, c. 1181; village of Grandfather: 1987, c. 419, s. 1; village of Woodlake: 1991 (Reg. Sess., 1992), c. 859, s. 1 (contingent on referendum). Cross References. - As to estimate of population authorizing participation in state-collected funds, see G.S. 160A-486 . Editor's Note. - Session Laws 2002-120, s. 9, is a severability clause. Session Laws 2002-159, s. 65, effective October 11, 2002, provides: "It is the intent of the General Assembly that Sections 1 through 7 of S.L. 2002-120 shall be effective prospectively only and shall not apply to pending litigation or claims that accrued before the effective date of S.L. 2002-120. Nothing in Section 1 through 7 of S.L. 2002-120 shall be construed as a waiver of the sovereign immunity of the State or any other defenses as to any claim for damages, other recovery of funds, including attorneys' fees, or injunctive relief from the State by any unit of local government or political subdivision of the State." Session Laws 2002-120, s. 5, effective September 24, 2002, added subsection (d). Session Laws 2007-269, s. 14.1, provides: "Section 1.1 through 14 of this act shall become effective only if the Charter of the Town of Butner is approved under section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965; provided, however, that if the Charter is not approved under section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 because of any provisions contained in Article III or Article IV of the Charter, the Butner Advisory Council established in accordance with G.S. 122C-413 may make such amendments to the Article III or IV of the Charter as it, in its sole discretion, deems necessary to obtain such approval, and such amendments shall be filed in accordance with G.S. 160A-111 . If the Charter is not approved, Sections 1.1 through 14 of this act have no force and effect. If the Charter is approved, then those sections become effective on the first day of the next calendar month that begins more than three days after the approval, except that the persons appointed as temporary officers under Section 3.2 of the Charter may immediately take the oath of office and take such preliminary actions as may be necessary for initial organization, personnel actions, and budget adoption, in such special meetings as may be called under G.S. 160A-71 ." Preclearance was received from the United States Department of Justice by letter dated October 1, 2007. Session Laws 2013-183, s. 3.5, provides: "DOT Municipal Lane Mile Study. - The Department of Transportation shall collect lane mile data from each municipality eligible to receive funds under this section no later than December 1, 2013. The Department shall report to the Joint Legislative Transportation Oversight Committee no later than March 1, 2014, on at least three options to shift the distribution formula to include lane mile data. The report shall include advantages and disadvantages, fiscal impacts to each municipality, and any other technical considerations in making such a change. The Joint Legislative Transportation Oversight Committee and the Fiscal Research Division shall include in its recommendations to the 2014 Session of the 2013 General Assembly a new distribution formula, if the Committee finds that a new formula is beneficial and practical." Session Laws 2013-183, s. 7.1(b), provided: "This act is effective only if the General Assembly appropriates funds in the Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2013 to implement this act." Session Laws 2013-360, s. 34.30, effective July 1, 2013, repealed Session Laws 2013-183, s. 7.1(b). Session Laws 2015-241, s. 29.17D(c), provides: "For the 2015-2016 fiscal year, and notwithstanding any provision of G.S. 136-41.3 to the contrary, the Department of Transportation shall submit by November 1, 2015, the report required under G.S. 136-41.3(b), as amended by subsection (b) of this section, detailing the uses by each municipality of funds received under G.S. 136-41.1 and G.S. 136-41.2 during the preceding year." Session Laws 2015-241, s. 1.1, provides: "This act shall be known as 'The Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2015.'" Session Laws 2015-241, s. 33.4, provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 2015-2017 fiscal biennium, the textual provisions of this act apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 2015-2017 fiscal biennium." Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2007-269, s. 13, rewrote subsection (c). For effective date, see Editor's note. Session Laws 2011-145, s. 28.10(a), effective July 1, 2011, in subsection (a), added "One-half of" at the beginning of the second sentence, and added the third sentence. Session Laws 2013-183, s. 3.1, effective July 1, 2013, in subsection (a), in the first paragraph, inserted "ten and four-tenths percent (10.4%) of" and substituted "the tax imposed" for "a one and three-fourths cents (1 3/4 › ) tax on each gallon of motor fuel taxed" in the first sentence and deleted the last two sentences, and, in the first sentence of the fourth paragraph, added "and January 1" and "as provided in this section." Session Laws 2014-100, s. 34.1, effective July 1, 2014, added the last sentence in the first paragraph of subsection (a). Session Laws 2015-241, s. 29.17D(a), effective July 1, 2015, rewrote the first paragraph in subsection (a).