GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1997

S	1 

SENATE BILL 271

Short Title:  Small Business Capital & Growth Act.	(Public)

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Sponsors: Senators Shaw of Cumberland; Jenkins and Phillips.

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Referred to:  Finance.

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February 27, 1997

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO ESTABLISH THE NORTH CAROLINA CAPITAL ACCESS AUTHORITY, WHICH WILL CREATE 25,000 JOBS FOR NORTH CAROLINA BY PROVIDING LOAN GUARANTEES FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED BUSINESSES.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I.   CAPITAL ACCESS AUTHORITY AND FUND
II.  INVESTMENTS BY STATE TREASURER
III. CONFORMING CHANGES
IV.  EFFECTIVE DATE
PART I.
CAPITAL ACCESS AUTHORITY AND FUND
Section 1.  This act is the Small Business Capital and Growth Act of 1997.
Section 2.  G.S. 53A-35 through G.S. 53A-37 are designated Part 1 of Article 3 of Chapter 53A of the General Statutes, entitled "General Provisions", and the remainder of Article 3 of Chapter 53A of the General Statutes is designated Part 2, entitled "North Carolina Enterprise Corporations".
Section 3.  Article 3 of Chapter 53A of the General Statutes, as amended by this act, is further amended by adding a new Part to read:
"Part 3. The North Carolina Capital Access Authority.
"§ 53A-50.  Creation of Authority; purpose.
(a)	Creation. – The North Carolina Capital Access Authority is created as a body corporate and politic having the powers and jurisdiction as provided under this Part or any other law.  The Authority is a State agency created to perform essential governmental and public functions.  The Authority shall be located within the Department of Commerce, but shall exercise all of its powers, including the power to employ, direct, and supervise all personnel, independently of the Secretary of Commerce and, notwithstanding any other provision of law, shall be subject to the direction and supervision of the Secretary only with respect to the management functions of coordinating and reporting.
(b)	Purpose. – The purpose of The North Carolina Capital Access Authority is to promote, stimulate, develop, and advance economic prosperity and stimulate job creation in rural areas, underdeveloped communities, depressed urban commercial areas, and economically distressed areas of North Carolina through loan guarantees to Qualified North Carolina Businesses.  To stimulate development broadly across the State, the Authority shall, to the maximum extent feasible consistent with sound business practices, provide loan guarantees to businesses located throughout the State.  The Authority shall support nonspeculative, mainstream businesses as provided in this Part.
"§ 53A-51.  Governing body of Authority.
(a)	Board of Directors. – The Authority shall be governed by a Board of Directors.  The Board shall consist of nine appointed members and two ex officio members.  As the holder of an office, each member of the Board shall take the oath required by Section 7 of Article VI of the North Carolina Constitution before assuming the duties of a Board member.  The Governor shall designate a chair and a vice-chair of the Board.  The chair shall convene the first meeting of the Board.
(b)	Appointed Members. – Three members shall be appointed by the Governor, one who represents the banking industry, created pursuant to Part 2 of this Article, one who represents small business interests, and one who represents public interests.  Three members shall be appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Speaker of the House of Representatives in accordance with G.S. 120-121, one who represents community development corporations, one who represents medium-sized business interests, and one who represents public interests.  Three members shall be appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the President Pro Tempore of the Senate in accordance with G.S. 120-121, one who owns a minority business as defined in G.S. 143-128, one who represents a nonprofit organization active in infrastructure development under the Community Reinvestment Act, and one who represents public interests.
In making appointments to the Board, the Governor and the General Assembly shall give consideration to the geographical representation of the Western region, the Piedmont region, and the Eastern region of the State.  In addition, the appointments should reflect the ethnic and gender diversity of the State as nearly as practical.  The appointing authority shall make a replacement appointment to serve for the unexpired term in the case of a vacancy.  A vacancy in an appointment made by the General Assembly shall be filled in accordance with G.S. 120-122.
The initial appointments to the Board shall be for terms beginning on July 1, 1997.  Of the initial appointments made by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Speaker of the House of Representatives and by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, one appointment from each group shall be designated to expire on July 1, 1999.  Of the initial appointments made by the Governor, two appointments shall be designated to expire on July 1, 1999.  The remaining terms shall expire July 1, 2001.  Thereafter, each appointment shall be for a term of four years.
The Governor may remove any appointed member of the Board for misfeasance, malfeasance, or nonfeasance in accordance with G.S. 143B-13(d). The Authority who appointed a member of the Board may remove the member for using improper influence in accordance with G.S. 143B-13(c).
(c)	Ex Officio Members. – The following members shall be ex officio, voting members of the Board:
(1)	The State Treasurer, or the Treasurer's designee.
(2)	The Secretary of Commerce, or the Secretary's designee.
(d)	Organization of the Board. – The Board shall adopt bylaws with respect to the calling of meetings, quorums, voting procedures, the keeping of records, and other organizational and administrative matters as the Board may determine.  A quorum shall consist of a majority of the members of the Board.  No vacancy in the membership of the Board shall impair the right of a quorum to exercise all rights and to perform all the duties of the Board and the Authority.
(e)	Compensation of the Board. – No part of the revenues or assets of the Authority shall inure to the benefit of or be distributable to the members of the Board or officers or other private persons. The members of the Board shall receive no salary for their services but shall be entitled to receive per diem and necessary travel and subsistence expenses payable to members of State boards and agencies generally pursuant to G.S. 138-5 and G.S. 138-6, as the case may be.
(f)	Treasurer. – The Board shall select the Authority's treasurer.  The Board shall require a surety bond of the appointee in an amount fixed by the Board, and the premium shall be paid by the Authority as a necessary expense of the Authority.
(g)	Executive Director and Other Employees. – The Board shall appoint an executive director, whose salary shall be fixed by the Board, to serve at its pleasure.  The executive director or a person designated by the executive director shall appoint, employ, dismiss, and, within the limits of available funding, fix the compensation of other employees as considered necessary.
(h)	Office. – The Board shall establish an office for the transaction of the Authority's business at the place the Board finds advisable or necessary to implement the provisions of this Part.
"§ 53A-52.  Capital Access Financing Fund.
The Authority shall establish the Capital Access Financing Fund as a special revenue fund.  The Fund shall consist of loans, gifts, grants, appropriations, and any other funds made available for the Fund.  Revenue in the Fund does not revert at the end of a fiscal year, and interest and other investment income earned by the Fund accrues to the Fund.
The Authority shall use monies in the Fund only to guarantee private loans made by federally insured lending institutions to Qualified North Carolina Businesses. The total amount of loan guarantees issued may not exceed five times the amount of money in the Fund.
"§ 53A-53.  Capital Access Financing Program.
(a)	Program Established. – The Authority shall establish and implement a Capital Access Financing Program in accordance with this section to guarantee private loans made by federally insured lending institutions to Qualified North Carolina Businesses in rural areas, underdeveloped communities, depressed urban commercial areas, and economically distressed areas of the State.  Financing shall be targeted to businesses that will create well-paying jobs for North Carolina citizens.
(b)	Procedures; Fee. – The Authority shall establish a procedure for participating lending institutions to apply for loan guarantees on behalf of loan applicants.  Each application shall include documentation of the number of jobs to be created as a result of the financing and the expected average wage the jobs will pay.  The Authority shall adopt rules and standards to assure that all loan guarantees provided from the Fund are consistent with sound business practices, including requirements that all loans be collateralized, that applicants have sound credit ratings and meet experience standards set by the Authority, and that financing not be speculative.  The Authority shall assure that guaranteed loans meet standards such that the loans can be sold on the secondary market.
The Authority shall charge a fee of one percent (1%) of the guaranteed amount of the loan.  The face of each guarantee issued must contain a statement that the Authority is obligated to pay the guarantee only from the revenue in the Fund and that neither the taxing power nor the faith and credit of the State or any of its political subdivisions is pledged in payment of the guarantee.
(c)	Minimum Wage Standards. – The Authority shall require as a condition of receiving a loan guarantee from the Fund that jobs to be created by a business must pay at least twenty-five percent (25%) above the median weekly wage paid in the county in which the jobs will be located.  For the purpose of this subsection, the median wage in a county is the median average wage for all insured industries in the county as computed by the Employment Security Commission for the most recent period for which data are available.  The Authority may waive or alter the minimum wage requirement if the area in which the jobs are to be created has an especially severe rate of unemployment or in similar cases involving extreme circumstances.
(d)	Minimum and Maximum Guarantee. – A loan guarantee may not exceed ninety percent (90%) of the unpaid balance of the loan.  The Authority shall provide loan guarantees in amounts no less than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) per business and no greater than one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000) per business.  The amount of loan guarantees should not exceed twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) per job to be created, on average.
(e)	Priority of Financing. – In choosing businesses to finance, the Authority shall give priority to start-up businesses; businesses that engage primarily in manufacturing, processing, warehousing, wholesaling, research and development, or a service-related industry; businesses that will create high-quality jobs; and businesses that cannot obtain sufficient financing through traditional financial institutions.  The Authority shall assign a lower priority to real estate related businesses as defined in G.S. 105-163.010 and to businesses that engage primarily in providing a professional service as defined in Chapter 55B of the General Statutes, construction or contracting, selling or leasing at retail, providing personal grooming or cosmetic services, or offering any form of entertainment, amusement, recreation, or athletic or fitness activity for which an admission or a membership is charged.  The Authority shall not finance a business engaged as a substantial part of its business in the purchase, sale, or development, or purchasing, selling, or holding for investment of commercial paper, notes, other indebtedness, financial instruments, securities, or real property, or otherwise in making investments.  The Authority shall not finance a business formed for the primary purpose of acquiring all or part of the stock or assets of one or more existing businesses.
(f)	Disbursements. – The Authority shall pay a participating lender the amount owed under a guarantee on a defaulted loan upon certification of the lender that all collateral for that loan that can reasonably be liquidated has been liquidated.
(g)	Technical Assistance. – The Authority shall provide technical assistance and support to businesses to enable them to obtain loan guarantees and other support from federal agencies and other sources.
"§ 53A-54.  Powers of the Authority.
(a)	The Authority shall have all of the powers necessary to execute the provisions of this Part, which shall include at least the following powers:
(1)	The powers of a corporate body, including the power to sue and be sued and to adopt and use a common seal.
(2)	To own, acquire, finance, rent, lease, dispose of, encumber, mortgage, or manage real or personal property, but not to acquire property by eminent domain.
(3)	To pay all necessary costs and expenses in the formation, organization, administration, and operation of the Authority.
(4)	To apply for, accept, and administer loans and grants of money from any federal agency, from the State or its political subdivisions, or from any other public or private sources available, to expend the money in accordance with the requirements imposed by the lender or donor, and to give any evidences of indebtedness that are required.  No indebtedness of any kind incurred or created by the Authority shall constitute an indebtedness of the State or its political subdivisions, and no indebtedness of the Authority shall involve or be secured by the faith, credit, or taxing power of the State or its political subdivisions.
(5)	To make loans to or deposits with lending institutions and purchase or sell loans.
(6)	To adopt bylaws or rules implementing the provisions of this Part.
(7)	To indemnify the Authority and its officers, directors, agents, employees, and adjoining property owners, or the general public against loss or liability resulting from any act or omission by or on behalf of the Authority.
(8)	To arrange for the State Treasurer to invest in its obligations pursuant to G.S. 147-69.2(b)(10a).
(b)	To execute the powers provided in subsection (a) of this section, the Board shall determine the policies of the Authority by majority vote of the members of the Board present and voting, a quorum having been established.  Once a policy is determined, the Board shall communicate it to the executive director, who shall have the sole and exclusive authority to execute the policy of the Authority.  No member of the Board shall have the responsibility or authority to give operational directives to any employee of the Authority other than the executive director.
"§ 53A-55.  Purchases and sales of loans.
If the Authority becomes the owner of a defaulted loan it may purchase or contract to purchase and sell or contract to sell the loan.
"§ 53A-56.  Taxation of property of Authority.
Property owned by the Authority is exempt from taxation in accordance with Section 2 of Article V of the North Carolina Constitution.
"§ 53A-57.  Authority funds; pledge.
(a)	All Authority funds shall be deposited in one or more banks to be designated by the Board.  Funds of the Authority shall be paid out only upon warrants signed by the treasurer or assistant treasurer of the Authority and countersigned by the chair, the acting chair, or the executive director.  Warrants shall be drawn or issued disbursing the funds of the Authority only for a purpose authorized by this Part and only when the account or expenditure has been audited and approved by the Authority or its executive director.
(b)	The Authority may not pledge any money other than money in the Fund for payment of a loss.  No action by the Authority constitutes the creation of a debt secured by a pledge of the taxing power or of the faith and credit of the State or any of its political subdivisions.
Any pledge made by the Authority shall be valid and binding from time to time when the pledge is made. The money, assets, or revenues of the Authority so pledged and thereafter received by the Authority shall immediately be subject to the lien of the pledge without any physical delivery or further act, and the lien of any pledge shall be valid and binding as against all parties having claims of any kind in tort, contract, or otherwise against the Authority, irrespective of whether the parties have notice of the lien. Neither the resolution nor any other instrument by which a pledge is created need be recorded or filed in order to establish and perfect a lien or security interest in the property so pledged by the Authority. This section does not prohibit the Authority from selling any assets subject to any pledge except to the extent that the sale may be restricted by the trust agreement or resolution providing for the issuance of such obligations.
"§ 53A-58.  Cooperation by other State agencies.
All State officers and agencies shall render the services to the Authority within their respective functions as may be requested by the Authority.
"§ 53A-59.  Annual reports.
The Authority shall, promptly following the close of each fiscal year, submit an annual report of its activities for the preceding year to the Governor, the General Assembly, and the State Treasurer.  Each report shall be accompanied by an audit of its books and accounts.  The costs of all audits, whether conducted by the State Auditor's staff or contracted with a private auditing firm, shall be paid from funds of the Authority.
"§ 53A-60.  Dissolution.
Whenever the Board determines by resolution that the purposes for which the Authority was formed have been substantially fulfilled and that all obligations incurred by the Authority have been fully paid or satisfied, the Board may declare the Authority to be dissolved.  On the effective date of the resolution, the title to all funds and other property owned by the Authority at the time of the dissolution shall vest in the State and possession of the funds and other property shall be delivered to the State."
PART II.
INVESTMENTS BY STATE TREASURER
Section 4.  G.S. 147-69.2(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b)	It shall be the duty of the State Treasurer to invest the cash of the funds enumerated in subsection (a) of this section in excess of the amount required to meet the current needs and demands on such funds, selecting from among the following:
(1)	Any of the investments authorized by G.S. 147-69.1(c);
(2)	General obligations of other states of the United States;
(3)	General obligations of cities, counties and special districts in North Carolina;
(4)	Obligations of any company, other organization or legal entity incorporated or otherwise created or located within or without the United States if such obligations bear one of the three highest ratings of at least one nationally recognized rating service and do not bear a rating below the three highest by any nationally recognized rating service which rates the particular security;
(5)	Notes secured by mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration or guaranteed by the Veterans Administration on real estate located within the State of North Carolina;
(6)	Asset-backed securities (whether considered debt or equity) provided they bear ratings by nationally recognized rating services as provided in G.S. 147-69.2(b)(4) and that they do not bear a rating below the three highest by any nationally recognized rating service which rates the particular securities;
(7)	With respect to Retirement Systems' assets referred to in G.S. 147-69.2(b)(8), (i) insurance contracts which provide for participation in individual or pooled separate accounts of insurance companies, (ii) group trusts, (iii) individual, common or collective trust funds of banks and trust companies and (iv) real estate investment trusts; provided the investment manager has assets under management of at least one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000); provided such investment assets are managed primarily for the purpose of investing in or owning real estate or related debt financing located in the United States; and provided that the investment authorized by this subsection shall not exceed ten percent (10%) of the book value of all invested assets of the Retirement Systems;
(8)	With respect to assets of the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System, the Consolidated Judicial Retirement System, the Firemen's and Rescue Workers' Pension Fund, the Local Governmental Employees' Retirement System, and the Legislative Retirement System (hereinafter referred to collectively as the Retirement Systems), preferred or common stocks issued by any company incorporated or otherwise created or located within or without the United States, provided:
a.	That common stock or preferred stock of such corporation is registered on a national securities exchange as provided in the Federal Securities Exchange Act or quoted through the National Association of Securities Dealers' Automated Quotations (NASDAQ) system;
b.	That such corporation shall have paid a cash dividend on its common stock in each year of the 5-year period next preceding the date of investment and the aggregate net earnings available for dividends on the common stock of such corporation for the whole of such period shall have been at least equal to the amount of such dividends paid;
c.	That in applying the dividend and earnings test under this section to any issuing, assuming, or guaranteeing corporation, where such corporation shall have acquired its property or any substantial part thereof within a five-year period immediately preceding the date of investment by consolidation, merger, or by the purchase of all or a substantial portion of the property of any other corporation or corporations, or shall have acquired the assets of any unincorporated business enterprise by purchase or otherwise, the dividends and net earnings of the several predecessor or constituent corporations or enterprises shall be consolidated and adjusted so as to ascertain whether or not the applicable requirements of this section have been complied with;
d.	That the book value of common and preferred stocks including securities convertible into common stocks shall not exceed fifty percent (50%) of the book value of all invested assets of the Retirement Systems; provided, further:
1.	Not more than one and one-half percent (1 1/2%) of the book value of such assets shall be invested in the stock of a single corporation, and provided further;
2.	The total number of shares in a single corporation shall not exceed eight percent (8%) of the issued and outstanding stock of such corporation, and provided further;
3.	As used in this subdivision d. and elsewhere in this section, book value shall mean adjusted cost basis as shown on the records of the State Treasurer.
e.	Up to five percent (5%) of the limits authorized in subdivision d. may be invested in the stocks or shares of a diversified investment company registered under the 'Investment Company Act of 1940' which has total assets of at least fifty million dollars ($50,000,000).
f.	Individual, common or collective trust funds of banks or trust companies provided that the investment manager has assets under management of at least one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000).
g.	That investments may be made in securities convertible into common stocks issued by any such company, if such securities bear one of the four highest ratings of at least one nationally recognized rating service and do not bear a rating below the four highest by any nationally recognized rating service which may then rate the particular security.
(9)	Obligations and securities of the North Carolina Enterprise Corporation, or of a limited partnership in which the North Carolina Enterprise Corporation is the only general partner, not to exceed twenty million dollars ($20,000,000) from all funds.
(10)	A limited partnership interest in a partnership whose primary purpose is to invest in venture capital or corporate buyout transactions, not to exceed thirty million dollars ($30,000,000) from all funds.
(10a)	Obligations of the North Carolina Capital Access Authority created in Article 3 of Chapter 53A of the General Statutes. To the extent possible consistent with the State Treasurer's duties, the State Treasurer shall invest at least one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) pursuant to this subdivision.
(11)	With respect to assets of the Escheat Fund, obligations of the North Carolina Global TransPark Authority authorized by G.S. 63A-4(a)(22), not to exceed twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000), that have a final maturity not later than September 1, 1999. The obligations shall bear interest at the rate set by the State Treasurer. No commitment to purchase obligations may be made pursuant to this subdivision after September 1, 1993, and no obligations may be purchased after September 1, 1994. In the event of a loss to the Escheat Fund by reason of an investment made pursuant to this subdivision, it is the intention of the General Assembly to hold the Escheat Fund harmless from any such loss by appropriating to the Escheat Fund funds equivalent to the loss."
PART III.
CONFORMING CHANGES
Section 5.  The title of Chapter 53A of the General Statutes reads as rewritten:
"Chapter 53A.
Business Development 
and Access to Capital."
Section 6.  The title of Article 3 of Chapter 53A of the General Statutes reads as rewritten:
"ARTICLE 3.
North Carolina Enterprise Corporations and the
North Carolina Capital Access Authority."
Section 7.  G.S. 53A-35 and G.S. 53A-47 are repealed.
Section 8.  G.S. 53A-36 reads as rewritten:
"§ 53A-36.  Legislative findings and purpose.
(a)	The General Assembly finds that there exists in North Carolina a serious shortage of mezzanine finance capital and credit available for investment in rural areas, underdeveloped communities, depressed urban commercial areas, and economically distressed areas in the State.  This shortage of mezzanine finance capital and credit is severe throughout these areas of the State, has persisted for a number of years, and constitutes a grave threat to the welfare and prosperity of all residents of the State.  The lack of access to capital prevents North Carolina businesses from creating jobs that would otherwise enhance the economy of the State and provide livelihoods for North Carolina citizens.
(b)	The General Assembly finds that private enterprise and existing federal and State governmental programs have not adequately alleviated the severe shortage of mezzanine finance capital and credit available for investments in these areas in the State.
(c)	The General Assembly finds that it is a matter of grave public necessity that North Carolina Enterprise Corporations be authorized to be created and empowered to alleviate these severe shortages of mezzanine finance capital and credit for investment in rural areas of the State.  North Carolina Enterprise Corporations shall help eliminate barriers to rural economic development by providing mezzanine finance capital and credit, and other types of financing as appropriate, to businesses in rural areas that have been unable to obtain sufficient financing through traditional financial institutions.
(d)	The General Assembly finds that it is a matter of grave public necessity that the North Carolina Capital Access Authority be created and empowered to alleviate these severe shortages of capital and credit for investment in rural areas, underdeveloped communities, depressed urban commercial areas, and economically distressed areas of the State.  The Authority shall help eliminate barriers to economic development by providing loans, loan guarantees, and other types of financing as appropriate, to small and medium-sized businesses that may have been unable to obtain sufficient financing through traditional financial institutions."
Section 9.  G.S. 53A-37 reads as rewritten:
"§ 53A-37.  Definitions.
The following definitions apply in this Article:
(1)	Authority. – The North Carolina Capital Access Authority created in Part 3 of this Article.
(2)	Business. – A corporation, partnership, association, or sole proprietorship operated for profit.
(3)	Depressed urban commercial area. – A commercial or industrial area of a city in which blight exists in the form of dilapidated, deteriorated, poorly ventilated, obsolete, overcrowded, unsanitary, or unsafe buildings; inadequate and unsafe streets; inadequate lots; or other conditions detrimental to the sound growth of the community, which tend to depress the value of neighboring properties, impair the tax base of the community, and inhibit private efforts to rehabilitate or improve other structures in the area.
(4)	Distressed area. – A county that is designated one of the most economically distressed counties of the State under G.S. 143B-437A or a census tract that  has more than fifteen percent (15%) of its population below the poverty line according to the latest federal decennial census.
(5)	Equity security. – Common stock, preferred stock, an interest in a partnership, subordinated debt, or a warrant that is convertible into, or entitles the holder to receive upon its exercise, common stock, preferred stock, or an interest in a partnership.
(6), (7),(8)	Reserved.
(9)	Mezzanine finance. – An investment in the equity securities or subordinated debt of a Qualified North Carolina Business.
(10)	Person. – An individual, a corporation, a partnership, an association, a trust, or another legal entity.
(11)	Qualified North Carolina Business. – A business whose headquarters and principal business operations are located in North Carolina and which, together with its affiliates on a consolidated basis, had gross income during the immediately preceding fiscal year, determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles without taking into account extraordinary items, of less than forty million dollars ($40,000,000).
(12)	Rural areas. – Any county in North Carolina which does not include within its boundaries a city, as defined by G.S. 160A-1(2), with a population greater than one percent (1%) of the population of North Carolina.
(13)	Security. – A security as defined in G.S. 78A-2(11).
	(14)	Subordinated debt. – Indebtedness that is or will be subordinated to other indebtedness of the issuer. Subordinated debt may be convertible into common stock, preferred stock, or an interest in a partnership.
(15)	Traditional financial institutions. – Corporations or associations chartered under Chapter 53 or 54B of the General Statutes."
Section 10.  G.S. 53A-38(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	One or more persons, a majority of whom are residents of this State, may, by filing a certificate of incorporation as provided in subsection (b), incorporate a North Carolina Enterprise Corporation under the provisions of this Part."
Section 11.  G.S. 53A-41 reads as rewritten:
"§ 53A-41.  Governing law.
	Except as otherwise provided in this Part, a North Carolina Enterprise Corporation shall be governed by Chapter 55 of the General Statutes."
Section 12.  G.S. 53A-42 reads as rewritten:
"§ 53A-42.  Powers.
A North Carolina Enterprise Corporation created under this Part shall have all the powers conferred on business corporations by Chapter 55 of the General Statutes."
Section 13.  G.S. 120-123 is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:
"(48)	The North Carolina Capital Access Authority, as established by Article 3 of Chapter 53A of the General Statutes."
PART IV.
EFFECTIVE DATE
Section 14.  This act becomes effective July 1, 1997.