GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
1989 SESSION

CHAPTER 534
HOUSE BILL 8

AN ACT TO APPLY THE VOLUNTEER RESCUE FUND MATCHING GRANT PROGRAM TO ELIGIBLE EMS EQUIPMENT OF RESCUE UNITS THAT PROVIDE EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

Section 1.  The title of Article 5 of Chapter 118 of the General Statutes reads as rewritten:
"Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue/EMS Funds."
Sec. 2.  G.S. 118-51 reads as rewritten:
"§ 118-51.  Volunteer Rescue/EMS Fund.
(a)	There is created in the Department of Insurance the Volunteer Rescue/EMS Fund to provide matching grants to volunteer rescue units providing rescue only or rescue and emergency medical services to purchase equipment and make capital improvements. An eligible rescue or rescue/EMS unit 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. The Office of Emergency Medical Services in the Department of Human Resources shall provide the Department with an advisory priority listing of EMS equipment eligible for funding.  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 or rescue/EMS units 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 rescue/EMS unit 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 rescue/EMS 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 an organization that provides rescue only or rescue and emergency medical services; and
(4)	It satisfies the eligibility criteria established by the Department under subsection (a) of this section."
Sec. 3.  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 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 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 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. 4.  This act is effective upon ratification.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 30th day of June, 1989.