North Carolina § 143C-4-4 - Contingency and Emergency Fund.

§ 143C-4-4. Contingency and Emergency Fund.

Creation. - The Contingency and Emergency Fund is established within the General Fund. The General Assembly shall appropriate a specific amount to this fund for contingencies and emergencies in the Current Operations Appropriations Act or other appropriations bill. Authorized Uses. - Notwithstanding any other provision of law, funds appropriated to the Contingency and Emergency Fund may be used only for expenditures required: (i) by a court or Industrial Commission order, (ii) to respond to events as authorized under G.S. 166A-19.40(a) of the North Carolina Emergency Management Act, or (iii) for other statutorily authorized purposes or other contingencies and emergencies. Request for Allocation. - A State agency may request an allocation from the Contingency and Emergency Fund by submitting a request in writing to the Director along with any information required by the Director. If the Director approves the request, the Director shall present the request, together with a recommendation, to the Council of State for its approval. If the Council of State approves the request, the Director shall order the Controller to allocate the funds requested. The Director shall report on the request at the next scheduled meeting of the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations. History (2006-203, s. 3; 2012-12, s. 2(v).) Editor's Note. - Session Laws 2013-360, s. 6.1, as amended by Session Laws 2013-363, s. 1.4, provides: "For the 2013-2015 fiscal biennium and notwithstanding the provisions of G.S. 143C-4-4(b) , funds appropriated to the Contingency and Emergency Fund may be used only for expenditures required (i) by a court or Industrial Commission order, (ii) to respond to events as authorized under G.S. 166A-19.40(a) of the North Carolina Emergency Management Act, (iii) by the State Treasurer to pay death benefits as authorized under Article 12A of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes, (iv) by the Office of the Governor for crime rewards in accordance with G.S. 15-53 and G.S. 15-53.1 , (v) by the Industrial Commission for supplemental awards of compensation, or (vi) by the Department of Justice for legal fees. These funds shall not be used for other statutorily authorized purposes or for any other contingencies and emergencies." Session Laws 2013-360, s. 1.1, provides: "This act shall be known as the 'Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2013.'" Session Laws 2013-360, s. 38.2, provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 2013-2015 fiscal biennium, the textual provisions of this act apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 2013-2015 fiscal biennium." Session Laws 2013-360, s. 38.5, is a severability clause. Session Laws 2013-360, s. 6.1, as amended by Session Laws 2013-363, s. 1.4, and as amended by Session Laws 2014-100, s. 6.12, provides: "For the 2013-2015 fiscal biennium and notwithstanding the provisions of G.S. 143C-4-4(b) , funds appropriated to the Contingency and Emergency Fund may be used only for expenditures required (i) by a court or Industrial Commission order, (ii) to respond to events as authorized under G.S. 166A-19.40(a) of the North Carolina Emergency Management Act, (iii) by the State Treasurer to pay death benefits as authorized under Article 12A of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes, (iv) by the Office of the Governor for crime rewards in accordance with G.S. 15-53 and G.S. 15-53.1 , (v) by the Industrial Commission for supplemental awards of compensation, (vi) by the Department of Justice for legal fees, or (vii) for litigation expenses incurred by State agencies in defense of the State during the 2014-2015 fiscal year, in an amount not to exceed seven hundred fifty thousand dollars ($750,000), as approved by the Office of State Budget and Management. "These funds shall not be used for other statutorily authorized purposes or for any other contingencies and emergencies." Session Laws 2015-241, s. 6.1, provides: "For the 2015-2017 fiscal biennium and notwithstanding the provisions of G.S. 143C-4-4(b) , funds appropriated to the Contingency and Emergency Fund may be used only for expenditures required (i) by a court or Industrial Commission order, (ii) to respond to events as authorized under G.S. 166A-19.40(a) of the North Carolina Emergency Management Act, (iii) by the State Treasurer to pay death benefits as authorized under Article 12A of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes, (iv) by the Office of the Governor for crime rewards in accordance with G.S. 15-53 and G.S. 15-53.1 , (v) by the Industrial Commission for supplemental awards of compensation, or (vi) by the Department of Justice for legal fees. These funds shall not be used for other statutorily authorized purposes or for any other contingencies and emergencies." 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." Session Laws 2015-241, s. 33.6, is a severability clause. Session Laws 2017-57, s. 6.1(a), provides: "Limitation. - For the 2017-2019 fiscal biennium, and notwithstanding the provisions of G.S. 143C-4-4(b) , funds appropriated to the Contingency and Emergency Fund may be used only for expenditures required (i) by a court or Industrial Commission order, (ii) to respond to events as authorized under G.S. 166A-19.40(a) of the North Carolina Emergency Management Act, (iii) by the State Treasurer to pay death benefits as authorized under Article 12A of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes, (iv) by the Office of the Governor for crime rewards in accordance with G.S. 15-53 and G.S. 15-53.1 , (v) by the Industrial Commission for supplemental awards of compensation, or (vi) by the Department of Justice for legal fees. These funds shall not be used for other statutorily authorized purposes or for any other contingencies and emergencies." Session Laws 2017-57, s. 6.1(b), provides: "Transfer. - Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, seven million dollars ($7,000,000) from the Contingency and Emergency Fund reserve shall be transferred to the State Controller to be deposited as a nontax revenue in the General Fund. Any funds remaining in the Contingency and Emergency Fund reserve may be used in accordance with the provisions of subsection (a) of this section and G.S. 143C-4-4(c) ." Session Laws 2017-209, s. 20(a), (b) provides: "(a) The General Assembly finds that the discharge of the poly-fluoroalkyl chemical known as "GenX" (CAS registry number 62037-80-3 or 13252-13-6) into the Cape Fear River demonstrates the need for supplemental funding for impacted local public utilities for the monitoring and treatment of GenX and to support the identification and characterization by scientists, engineers, and other professionals of GenX in the Cape Fear River. "Therefore, notwithstanding Section 6.1 of S.L. 2017-57, G.S. 143C-4-4 , and G.S. 143C-6-4 , of the funds appropriated to the Contingency and Emergency Fund, the sum of four hundred thirty-five thousand dollars ($435,000) shall be allocated and used as follows: "(1) One hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) to the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority, who shall, in coordination with Brunswick County Public Utilities, Pender County Utilities, and other entities that withdraw, treat, and subsequently distribute water originating from the Cape Fear River, study the identification and deployment of water treatment technology to remove GenX from the public water supply, and eighty-five thousand dollars ($85,000) to the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority for ongoing monitoring of water supplies withdrawn from the Cape Fear River. The Cape Fear Public Utility Authority shall provide an interim report to the Environmental Review Commission no later than December 1, 2017, regarding the progress in implementing this section, and a final report on or before April 1, 2018, to include any findings and recommendations for legislative action. "(2) Two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) to the University of North Carolina at Wilmington to identify and quantify GenX and measure the concentration of the chemicals in the sediments of the Cape Fear River, the extent to which the chemical biodegrades over time or bioaccumulates within local ecosystems, and what risk the contaminant poses to human health. The University of North Carolina at Wilmington shall not charge indirect facilities and administrative costs against the funding provided by this subdivision. The University of North Carolina at Wilmington shall provide an interim report to the Environmental Review Commission no later than December 1, 2017, regarding the progress in implementing this section, and a final report on or before April 1, 2018, to include any findings and recommendations for legislative action. "(b) Funds allocated by this section for the 2017-2018 fiscal year shall not revert but shall remain available for nonrecurring expenses until the end of the 2018-2019 fiscal year. The entities funded by this section may establish time-limited positions for the biennium with the funds allocated by this section." Session Laws 2017-57, s. 1.1, provides: "This act shall be known as the 'Current Operations Appropriations Act of 2017.'" Session Laws 2017-57, s. 39.4, provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 2017-2019 fiscal biennium, the textual provisions of this act apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 2017-2019 fiscal biennium." Session Laws 2017-57, s. 39.6, is a severability clause. Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2012-12, s. 2(v), effective October 1, 2012, substituted "G.S. 166A-19.40(a) of the North Carolina Emergency Management Act" for "G.S. 166A-5(1)a.9. of the Emergency Management Act" in subsection (b).