A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to appropriate funds to the department of commerce for the One North carolina sbir/sttr incentive program and the community innovation fund to be used to provide grants to small businesses and communities in the state.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the One North Carolina Small Business Account, established in G.S. 143B‑437.71, the sum of five million dollars ($5,000,000) in recurring funds for the 2019‑2020 fiscal year to be used for the North Carolina SBIR/STTR Incentive Program and the North Carolina SBIR/STTR Matching Funds Program, as provided by Part 2I of Article 10 of Chapter 143B of the General Statutes.
SECTION 2.(a)  There is created the Community Innovation Fund as a special reserve fund in the Department of Commerce. The Department shall use monies in the Fund to award competitive grants to assist rural, small‑, and medium‑sized communities in the State in transitioning to a knowledge‑ and innovation‑based economy.
SECTION 2.(b)  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Community Innovation Fund created in this section the sum of five million dollars ($5,000,000) in nonrecurring funds for the 2019‑2020 fiscal year.
SECTION 3.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2019.