GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1997

H	2 

HOUSE BILL 672
Senate Commerce Committee Substitute Adopted 7/9/97

Short Title:  County Construction of Forestry Buildings.  	(Public)

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Sponsors:

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Referred to:

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March 31, 1997

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO  MAKE CERTAIN FUNDS APPROPRIATED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT, HEALTH, AND NATURAL RESOURCES NONREVERTING.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  Sec. 27.18 of Chapter 18 of the 1996 Second Extra Session Laws reads as rewritten:
"PILOT PRIVATIZATION PROJECT FOR CONSTRUCTION OF FORESTRY BUILDINGS
Sec. 27.18.  Of the funds appropriated in this act to the Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources, the sum of one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000) for the 1996-97 fiscal year shall be placed in a nonreverting reserve within the Department, and the Department shall, as part of a pilot project, enter into a contract with a county to construct a forestry headquarters building in that county.  The contract shall provide: that the county may contract with a private for-profit or nonprofit firm for the construction of a building at least 2,300 square feet in size to consist of, at a minimum, a storage unit and an office area and to include a surfaced driveway and parking area and utility services; that the county shall submit the design plans and specifications to the Department of Insurance, the Office of State Construction,  and the Secretary of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources for review and approval; that the State shall not lease any State-owned land to the county for the building prior to the Department of Insurance, the Office of State Construction,  and the Secretary of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources approving the design plans and specifications; that the Department of Insurance, the Office of State Construction,  and the Secretary of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources shall inspect and review the project during construction and at the completion of construction to ensure that the building is suitable for its intended use and to determine whether the building is suitable for acquisition by the State; that in carrying out their responsibilities under this provision, all parties shall act in good faith; that the Department shall not reimburse the county from the reserve until the Department of Insurance, the Office of State Construction,  and the Secretary of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources determine that the building is suitable for acquisition by the State; that the State shall lease to the county any land the State owns that is needed for siting the building and its appurtenances, and, prior to the Department reimbursing the county from the reserve, the county shall transfer to the State for no additional consideration such property, the building, and its appurtenances; and that, prior to the Department reimbursing the county from the reserve, the county shall transfer to the State for no additional consideration any land the county owns that is needed for siting the building and its appurtenances, the building, and its appurtenances.  It is the intent of the General Assembly that the General Assembly shall not appropriate additional funds for this pilot project and that the county in which the forestry headquarters building is to be located shall be responsible for all costs in excess of one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000), including those costs related to the county purchasing any new land necessary for siting the building and its appurtenances and those costs related to constructing and equipping this building and its appurtenances.   No later than December 15, 1997, and again no later than April 15, 1998, the Department shall report to the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations and the Fiscal Research Division on the progress of this pilot project and shall include in both reports the Department's findings and recommendations on the desirability and feasibility of expanding this project to the construction of forestry buildings in other counties."
Section 2.  This act becomes effective June 30, 1997.