North Carolina § 58-87-1 - Volunteer Fire Department Fund.

§ 58-87-1. Volunteer Fire Department Fund.

Fund. - The Volunteer Fire Department Fund is created as an interest-bearing, nonreverting fund in the Department to provide matching grants to volunteer fire departments to purchase equipment and make capital improvements. The Commissioner shall administer the Fund. Up to one percent (1%) of the Fund may be used for additional staff and resources to administer the Fund in each fiscal year. Grant Program. - An eligible fire department may apply to the Commissioner for a grant under this section. In awarding grants under this section, the Commissioner must, to the extent possible, select applicants from all parts of the State based upon need. The Commissioner must award the grants on May 15, or on the first business day after May 15 if May 15 falls on a weekend or a holiday, of each year subject to the following limitations: The size of a grant may not exceed thirty thousand dollars ($30,000). The applicant shall match the grant on a dollar-for-dollar basis, unless the applicant receives less than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) per year from municipal and county funding, in which case the applicant shall match one dollar ($1.00) for each three dollars ($3.00) of grant funds. The grant may be used only for equipment purchases, payment of highway use taxes on those purchases, costs of putting property acquired from the Department of Defense through the Firefighter Property (FFP) and federal Excess Property (FEPP) programs in service, or capital expenditures necessary to provide fire protection services. An applicant may receive no more than one grant per fiscal year. Eligible Fire Department. - A fire department is eligible for a grant under this section if it meets all of the conditions of this subsection. No fire department may be declared ineligible for a grant solely because it is classified as a municipal fire department. [The required conditions are:] Repealed by Session Laws 2016-78, s. 2.1(a), effective June 30, 2016. It consists entirely of volunteer members, with the exception that the unit may have paid members to fill the equivalent of six full-time paid positions. It has been certified by the Department of Insurance. Report. - The Commissioner must submit a written report to the General Assembly within 60 days after the grants have been made. This report must contain the following: The amount of the grant and the name of the recipient. The Fund balance at the beginning of the grant cycle. Cash receipts through the grant cycle. Cash disbursements through the grant cycle. The Fund balance at the end of the grant cycle. History (1987, c. 709, s. 1; 1987 (Reg. Sess., 1988), c. 1062, ss. 6-9; 1989, c. 770, s. 30; 1995, c. 507, s. 7.21A(k); 1998-212, s. 25(a); 1999-319, s. 1; 2004-203, s. 5(c); 2006-196, s. 8; 2007-250, s. 3; 2013-360, s. 20.2(b); 2014-64, s. 4(a), (b); 2016-78, s. 2.1(a).) Editor's Note. - The bracketed phrase "[The required conditions are:]" was added to the introductory paragraph in subsection (b), which has been set out in the form above at the direction of the Revisor of Statutes. Session Laws 1987 (Reg. Sess., 1988), c. 1062, s. 9, effective October 1, 1988, provides that "G.S. 118-50(a) is amended by adding after the last sentence in Section 1(b) a new sentence." At the direction of the Revisor of Statutes, this new sentence is set out above as the final paragraph of subsection (a). Session Laws 2004-203, s. 5(c), effective August 17, 2004, in subdivision (b)(3), inserted "of this subsection" following "subdivision (1)" and substituted "State Budget Officer" for "State Planning Officer." Session Laws 2006-196, s. 13, provides: "The Revenue Laws Study Committee shall study the following issues: "(1) The simplification of the additional tax imposed on insurance contracts on property coverage, as enacted in Section 3 of this act, and the distribution of the revenue generated by the tax. The study of this issue may include a recommendation on the percentage of revenue to be distributed to the firemen's local relief funds and the formula for making this distribution. The study may also consider the increasing difference between the amount of revenue available in the Volunteer Fire Department Fund for matching grants to purchase equipment and make capital improvements and the amount of grant requests received. "(2) The authority of the Secretary of Revenue to require taxpayers to file consolidated returns. The study of this issue may include consideration of whether the State should require some corporations or all corporations to file a consolidated return. "(3) The feasibility of replacing the State's current corporate income and franchise tax laws with a commercial activity tax based upon business gross receipts. "(4) The administrative process for the review of disputed tax matters." Session Laws 2014-64, s. 4(a), made the amendment to subsection (a1) applicable to the 2015 grant process. Session Laws 2014-64, s. 4(f), provides: "No later than January 1, 2015, the Department of Insurance shall report to the Joint Program Evaluation Oversight Committee on the Department's efforts to update and correct its computer code that assigns points to grant applicants for funds awarded under Article 87 of Chapter 58 of the General Statutes." Session Laws 2016-78, s. 2.3, provides: "The Office of State Fire Marshal, Department of Insurance, shall study, in consultation with the North Carolina State Firemen's Association [North Carolina State Firefighters' Association], the North Carolina Association of Fire Chiefs, the North Carolina Association of Rescue and Emergency Medical Services, the North Carolina League of Municipalities, and the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners, and make recommendations regarding the issue of declining recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters in North Carolina to the General Assembly on or before the convening of the 2018 Legislative Session. The recommendations shall include at least the following: "(1) Assessment of existing programs, initiatives, and efforts to increase the number of volunteer firefighters protecting their communities across the State. "(2) Assessment of other states' programs, initiatives, and efforts to increase the number of volunteer firefighters protecting their communities. "(3) Consideration of financial incentive programs that may be offered to encourage increased volunteer firefighter participation rates, including tax incentives, rebates, or other initiatives. "(4) The impact of current programs and viability of expansion of high school based programs providing firefighter training statewide. "(5) Other issues, initiatives, or matters deemed relevant to consideration of and action on this issue by the Office of State Fire Marshall and its collaborators. "(6) Recommendations for legislative action, if any, to address the issue of recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters statewide." Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2006-196, s. 8, effective January 1, 2008, and applicable to proceeds credited to the Department of Insurance on or after January 1, 2008, rewrote this section. Session Laws 2007-250, s. 3, effective January 1, 2008, substituted "thirty thousand dollars ($30,000)" for "twenty thousand dollars ($20,000)" in subdivision (a1)(1) and made a minor stylistic changes in subdivisions (a1)(2) and (3); substituted "12,000" for "6,000" in subdivision (b)(1), and "six" for "three" in subdivision (b)(2). Session Laws 2013-360, s. 20.2(b), effective July 1, 2013, substituted "one percent (1%)" for "two percent (2%)" in the last sentence of subsection (a). Session Laws 2014-64, s. 4(a), effective January 1, 2015, in subsection (a1), substituted "May 15, or on the first business day after May 15 if May 15 falls on a weekend or a holiday" for "May 15" in the last sentence of the introductory language; in subdivisions (a1)(2), inserted "unless the applicant receives less than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) per year from municipal and county funding, in which case the applicant shall match one dollar ($1.00) for each three dollars ($3.00) of grant funds. and (a1)(3)"; and in subdivision (a1)(3), inserted "costs of putting property acquired from the Department of Defense through the Firefighter Property (FFP) and federal Excess Property (FEPP) programs in service." See Editor's note for applicability. Session Laws 2014-64, s. 4(b), effective July 1, 2014, rewrote subsection (c), to add subdivision designations and subdivisions (2) through (5). Session Laws 2016-78, s. 2.1(a), effective June 30, 2016, deleted former subdivision (b)(1), which read "It serves a response area of 12,000 or less in population. In making the population determination, the Department must use the most recent annual population estimates certified by the State Budget Officer."