North Carolina § 19A-64 - Distributions to counties and cities from Spay/Neuter Account.

§ 19A-64. Distributions to counties and cities from Spay/Neuter Account.

Reimbursable Costs. - Counties and cities eligible for distributions from the Spay/Neuter Account may receive reimbursement for the direct costs of a spay/neuter surgical procedure for a dog or cat owned by a low-income person as defined in G.S. 19A-63(b). Reimbursable costs shall include anesthesia, medication, and veterinary services. Counties and cities shall not be reimbursed for the administrative costs of providing reduced-cost spay/neuter services or capital expenditures for facilities and equipment associated with the provision of such services. The reimbursement amount for each surgical procedure for a female dog or cat shall be no more than one hundred fifty percent (150%) of the average reimbursement allowed for surgical procedures for female dogs and cats by the Spay/Neuter Program during the prior calendar year. The reimbursement amount for each surgical procedure for a male dog or cat shall be no more than one hundred fifty percent (150%) of the average reimbursement allowed for surgical procedures for male dogs and cats by the Spay/Neuter Program during the prior calendar year. Application. - A county or city eligible for reimbursement of spaying and neutering costs from the Spay/Neuter Account shall apply to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services by the last day of January, April, July, and October of each year to receive a distribution from the Account for that quarter. The application shall be submitted in the form required by the Department and shall include an itemized listing of the costs for which reimbursement is sought. Distribution. - The Department shall make payments from the Spay/Neuter Account to eligible counties and cities who have made timely application for reimbursement within 30 days of the closing date for receipt of applications for that quarter. In the event that total requests for reimbursement exceed the amounts available in the Spay/Neuter Account for distribution, the monies available will be distributed as follows: Fifty percent (50%) of the monies available in the Spay/Neuter Account shall be reserved for reimbursement for eligible applicants within development tier one areas as defined in G.S. 143B-437.08. The remaining fifty percent (50%) of the funds shall be used to fund reimbursement requests from eligible applicants in development tier two and three areas as defined in G.S. 143B-437.08. Among the eligible counties and cities in development tier one areas, reimbursement shall be made to each eligible county or city in the proportion that the rate of spays and neuters per one thousand persons in that city or county compares to the total rate of spays and neuters per one thousand persons within the total tier one area. Population data shall be obtained from the most recent decennial census. Among the eligible counties and cities in development tier two and three areas, reimbursement shall be made to each eligible county or city in the proportion that the rate of spays and neuters per one thousand persons in that city or county compares to the total rate of spays and neuters per one thousand persons within the total tier two and three area. Population data shall be obtained from the most recent decennial census. Should funds remain available from the fifty percent (50%) of the Spay/Neuter Account designated for development tier one areas after reimbursement of all claims by eligible applicants in those areas, the remaining funds shall be made available to reimburse eligible applicants in development tier two and three areas. History (2000-163, s. 1; 2006-252, s. 2.11; 2010-31, s. 11.4(e); 2013-377, s. 4.) Editor's Note. - Session Laws 2010-31, s. 11.4(a), provides: "The Spay/Neuter Program established under G.S. 19A-61 and the Spay/Neuter Account established under G.S. 19A-62 are transferred from the Department of Health and Human Services to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Any unexpended funds appropriated to the Department of Health and Human Services for the 2009-2010 fiscal year to implement the Spay/Neuter Program are transferred to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services." Session Laws 2010-31, s. 1.1, provides: "This act shall be known as the 'Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2010.'" Session Laws 2010-31, s. 32.3, provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 2010-2011 fiscal year, the textual provisions of this act apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 2010-2011 fiscal year." Session Laws 2010-31, s. 32.6, is a severability clause. Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2006-252, s. 2.11, effective January 1, 2007, throughout subdivisions (c)(1) through (c)(4), substituted "development tier one areas" and "development tier two and three areas" for "enterprise tier one, two and three areas" and "enterprise tier four and five areas" respectively, and substituted "G.S. 143B-437.8" for "G.S. 105-129.3" twice in subdivision (c)(1). Session Laws 2010-31, s. 11.4(e), effective October 1, 2010, in the first sentence in subsection (a), substituted "by a low-income person as defined in G.S. 19A-63(b)" for "by a low-income person meeting the Department's eligibility requirements for spay/neuter services"; in the first sentence in subsection (b), substituted "Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services" for "Department of Health and Human Services"; rewrote subdivision (c)(2), which formerly read: "Among the eligible counties and cities in development tier one areas, reimbursement shall be made to each eligible county or city in proportion to the number of dogs and cats that have received rabies vaccinations during the preceding fiscal year in that county or city as compared to the number of dogs and cats that have received rabies vaccinations during the preceding fiscal year by all of the eligible applicants in development tier one areas"; and rewrote subdivision (c)(3), which formerly read: "Among the eligible counties and cities in development tier two and three areas, reimbursement shall be made to each eligible county or city in proportion to the number of dogs and cats that have received rabies vaccinations during the preceding fiscal year in that county or city as compared to the number of dogs and cats that have received rabies vaccinations during the preceding fiscal year by all of the eligible applicants in development tier two and three areas." Session Laws 2013-377, s. 4, effective October 1, 2013, added the last two sentences in subsection (a); and, in subdivisions (c)(2) and (c)(3), substituted "in the proportion . . . " through the end of the subdivisions for "pursuant to rules adopted by the Department."