A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS TO FURTHER PREVENT OR REDUCE NEURAL TUBE BIRTH DEFECTS BY CREATING A STATEWIDE VITAMIN DISTRIBUTION PROGRAM.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health, the sum of four hundred eighty thousand dollars ($480,000) for the 2009‑2010 fiscal year and the sum of four hundred eighty thousand dollars ($480,000) for the 2010‑2011 fiscal year.  These funds shall be used to purchase multivitamins with folic acid that have proven to be effective in reducing and preventing neural tube birth defects. The vitamins shall be distributed to low‑income women of childbearing age through a statewide vitamin distribution program operating through local health departments and other safety net providers such as community health centers and rural and migrant health centers.
SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2009.