GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1989

H	1 

HOUSE BILL 8

Short Title:  Rescue/EMS Squad Funds.	(Public)
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Sponsors: Representatives Anderson; Bowman and Fletcher.
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Referred to:  Commerce.
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January 13, 1989

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO EXTEND THE VOLUNTEER RESCUE SQUAD FUND MATCHING GRANT PROGRAM TO EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES SQUADS.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  Article 5 of Chapter 118 of the General Statutes reads as rewritten:
"Article 5.
"Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue/EMS Squad Funds.
"§ 118-50.  Volunteer Fire Department Fund.
(a)	There is created the Volunteer Fire Department Fund to provide matching grants to volunteer fire departments to purchase equipment and make capital improvements.  The Fund shall be set up in the Department of Insurance.  The State Treasurer shall invest its assets according to law, and the earnings shall remain in the Fund.  The Fund shall be distributed under the direction of the Commissioner of Insurance.  Beginning January 1, 1988, an eligible fire department may apply to the Commissioner of Insurance for a grant under this section.  Beginning May 1, 1988, and on each May 15, thereafter, the Commissioner shall make grants to eligible fire departments subject to the following limitations:
(1)	The size of a grant may not exceed twenty thousand dollars ($20,000);
(2)	The applicant shall match the grant on a dollar-for-dollar basis;
(3)	The grant may be used only for equipment purchases or capital expenditures necessary to provide fire protection services; and
(4)	An applicant may receive no more than one grant per fiscal year.
In awarding grants under this section, the Commissioner shall to the extent possible select applicants from all parts of the State based upon need.  Up to two percent (2%) of the Fund may be used for additional staff and resources to administer the Fund in each fiscal year.
No fire department may be declared ineligible for a grant under this section solely because it is classified as a municipal fire department.
(b)	A fire department is eligible for a grant under this section if:
(1)	It serves a response area of 6,000 or less in population;
(2)	It is all volunteer; and
(3)	It has been certified by the Department of Insurance.
In making the population determination under subdivision (1), the Department shall use the latest decennial U.S. Census population data.
(c)	The Commissioner of Insurance shall submit a written report to the General Assembly within 60 days after the grants have been made.  This report shall contain the amount of the grant and the name of the recipient.
"§ 118-51.  Volunteer Rescue/EMS Squad Fund.
(a)	There is created in the Department of Insurance the Volunteer Rescue/EMS Squad Fund to provide matching grants to volunteer rescue squads and volunteer emergency medical services (EMS) squads to purchase equipment and make capital improvements.  An eligible rescue or EMS squad may apply to the Department of Insurance for a grant under this section.  The application form and criteria for grants shall be established by the Department and the Office of Emergency Medical Services in the Department of Human Resources.  The State Treasurer shall invest the Fund's assets according to law, and the earnings shall remain in the Fund.  Beginning December 15, 1989, and on each December 15 thereafter, the Department shall make grants to eligible rescue and EMS squads subject to the following limitations:
(1)	The size of a grant may not exceed fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000);
(2)	The applicant shall match the grant on a dollar-for-dollar basis with non-State funds;
(3)	The grant may be used only for equipment purchases or capital expenditures; and
(4)	An applicant may receive no more than one grant per fiscal year.
In awarding grants under this section, the Department shall to the extent possible select applicants from all parts of the State based upon need.  Up to two percent (2%) of the Fund may be used for additional staff and resources to administer the Fund in each fiscal year.
(b)	A rescue or EMS squad is eligible for a grant under this section if:
(1)	It serves a response area of 10,000 or fewer residents or a response area that consists of an entire county;
(2)	It is all volunteer, except that the rescue or EMS squad unit may have paid members, not to exceed two positions, either full-time or part-time; and
(3)	It has been recognized by the Department as a rescue or EMS squad; and
(4)	It satisfies the eligibility criteria established by the Department under subsection (a) of this section."
Sec. 2.  G.S. 20-183.7(c) reads as rewritten:
	"(c) Fees collected for inspection certificates shall be paid to the Division of Motor Vehicles in accordance with its regulations and shall be periodically transferred as follows:
(1)	After making the transfer provided in subdivision (3) of this subsection, seventy-five cents (75¢) of the fee for the valid inspection sticker collected pursuant to subsection (a) shall be transferred to the Highway Fund, and the remaining moneys shall be transferred to the Department of Insurance for the Volunteer Rescue/EMS Squad Fund created in G.S. 118-51.
(2)	After making the transfer provided in subdivision (3) of this subsection, the fee collected pursuant to subsection (a1) shall be transferred as follows:  the first thirty-five cents (35¢) to the Division of Environmental Management; the next twenty cents (20¢) to the Department of Insurance for the Volunteer Rescue/EMS Squad Fund created in G.S. 118-51; and any excess up to one dollar and eighty-five cents ($1.85) to the Highway Fund.
(3)	Five cents (5¢) of the fee for the valid inspection sticker collected pursuant to subsections (a) and (a1) shall be transferred each quarter of the year to the North Carolina Commissioner of Insurance, for the purpose of funding the Rescue Squad Workers' Relief Fund under Article 5 of General Statute Chapter 118."
¨	Sec. 3.  This act is effective upon ratification.