GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1993

S	3 

SENATE BILL 1089
Second Edition Engrossed 5/27/93
Environment and Natural Resources Committee Substitute Adopted 6/30/94

Short Title:  Inspect Homeless Shelters.	(Public)
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Sponsors:
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Referred to:  
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May 10, 1993

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR TO CONDUCT INFORMATIONAL INSPECTIONS OF SHELTERS FOR HOMELESS PERSONS.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  (a)	As used in this act, "shelter for homeless persons" means a supervised publicly or privately operated facility designed to provide temporary sleeping accommodations without charge for persons who do not have and cannot afford sleeping accommodations.
(b)	This act shall not apply to:
(1)	A shelter that provides services to six or fewer persons.
(2)	An emergency shelter set up in response to and immediately following a natural disaster.
(3)	A shelter operated primarily to provide services to victims of domestic violence, as defined in G.S. 50B-1.
Sec. 2.  (a)	The Department of Labor shall conduct informational inspections of homeless shelters to identify potential health and safety concerns and shall:
(1)	Compile information regarding the condition and operation of homeless shelters to determine the extent to which the shelters are providing minimally acceptable accommodations in terms of health and safety.
(2)	Provide informational reports and recommendations regarding health and safety conditions of each homeless shelter to the owner and operator of the shelter and to the county or district health department following each inspection.
(3)	Provide information and recommendations regarding health and safety conditions to the Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources and the Commission for Health Services to assist the Commission in rule making pursuant to G.S. 130A-235.1.
(b)	Reports of inspections of homeless shelters are public documents.
Sec. 3.  The Department of Labor, the Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources, and the Commission for Health Services shall jointly report to the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations as to their findings and recommendations regarding health and safety conditions in homeless shelters.  The report shall include recommendations on the resources necessary to adequately inspect homeless shelters and on how best to enforce rules relating to health and safety conditions in homeless shelters without causing severe economic hardship to the operation of the homeless shelters.  An initial report shall be made by 31 March 1995 and a final report shall be made by 31 December 1995.
Sec. 4.  This act shall not be construed to obligate the General Assembly to appropriate funds to implement the provisions of this act.  The Department of Labor, the Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources, and the Commission for Health Services shall implement the provisions of this act from funds otherwise appropriated or available to each agency.
Sec. 5.  This act becomes effective 1 September 1994 and expires 31 December 1995.