GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
1995 SESSION

CHAPTER 346
HOUSE BILL 437

AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA TO ESTABLISH A STATE VETERANS HOME PROGRAM IN THE DIVISION OF VETERANS AFFAIRS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION.

Whereas, there are more than 700,000 veterans in North Carolina, of whom more than 200,000 are 65 years of age or older, with the percentage of older veterans projected to grow significantly in the future; and
Whereas, the General Assembly authorized the Veterans Home Study Commission to conduct an independent study to determine the feasibility of constructing a State Veterans Home which, after due consideration, determined that the construction of a home was not only feasible, but also necessary because of the aging veteran population; and
Whereas, a study commissioned by the 1992 General Assembly concurred with the results of the study conducted by the Veterans Home Study Commission in projecting the need for a skilled nursing care bed State Veterans Home on a site adjacent to the Fayetteville Veterans Administration Medical Center; and
Whereas, the General Assembly finds and determines that there currently exists a significant need for health, nursing, and medical rehabilitative facilities for those residents of this State who have served their State and nation in the Armed Forces; and
Whereas, the General Assembly further finds and determines that  to meet this need there should be established a State Veterans Home program to provide nursing home care to veterans who are residents of North Carolina; Now, therefore,

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

Section 1.  Chapter 165 of the General Statutes is amended by adding the following new Article to read:
"ARTICLE 8.
"State Veterans Home.
"§ 165-45.  Short Title. 
This Article may be referred to as the 'State Veterans Home Act'.
"§ 165-46.  Establishment. 
The State of North Carolina shall construct, maintain, and operate veterans  homes for the aged and infirm veterans resident in this State under the administrative authority and control of the Division of Veterans Affairs of the Department of Administration.  There is vested in such Division any and all powers and authority that may be necessary to enable it to establish and operate the homes and to issue rules necessary to operate the homes in compliance with applicable State and federal statutes and regulations.
"§ 165-47.  Exemption from certificate of need. 
Any state veterans home established by the Division of Veterans Affairs shall be exempt from the certificate of need requirements as set out in Article 9 of Chapter 131E, or as may be hereinafter enacted.
"§ 165-48.  North Carolina Veterans Home Trust Fund. 
(a)	Establishment. – A trust fund shall be established in the State treasury, for the Division of Veterans Affairs, to be known as the North Carolina Veterans Home Trust Fund.
(b)	Composition. – The trust fund shall consist of all funds and monies received by the Veterans Affairs Commission or the Division of Veterans Affairs from the United States, any federal agency or institution, and any other source, whether as a grant, appropriation, gift, contribution, bequest or individual reimbursement, for the care and support of veterans who have been admitted to a State veterans home.
(c)	Use of Fund. – The trust fund created in subsection (a) of this section shall be used by the Division of Veterans Affairs:
(1)	To pay for the care of veterans in said State veterans homes;
(2)	To pay the general operating expenses of the State veterans homes, including the payment of salaries and wages of officials and employees of said homes; and
(3)	To remodel, repair, construct, modernize, or add improvements to buildings and facilities at the homes.
(d)	Miscellaneous. – The following provisions apply to the trust fund created in subsection (a) of this section:
(1)	All funds deposited and all income earned on the investment or reinvestment of such funds shall be credited to the trust fund.
(2)	Any monies remaining in the trust fund at the end of each fiscal year shall remain on deposit in the State treasury to the credit of the North Carolina Veterans Home Trust Fund.
(3)	Nothing contained herein shall prohibit the establishment and utilization of special agency accounts by the Division of Veterans Affairs, as may be approved by the Veterans Affairs Commission, for the receipt and disbursement of personal funds of the State veterans homes' residents or for receipt and disbursement of charitable contributions for use by and for residents.
"§ 165-49.  Funding. 
(a)	The Division of Veterans Affairs of the Department of Administration may apply for and receive federal aid and assistance from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or any other agency of the United States Government authorized to pay federal aid to states for the construction and acquisition of veterans homes under Title 38, United States Code, section 8131 et seq., or for the care or support of disabled veterans in State veterans homes under Title 38, United Stated Code, section 1741 et seq., or from any other federal law for said purposes.
(b)	The Division of Veterans Affairs may receive from any source any gift, contribution, bequest, or individual reimbursement, the receipt of which does not exclude any other source of revenue.
(c)	All funds received by the Division shall be deposited in the North Carolina Veterans Home Trust Fund, except for any funds deposited into special agency accounts established pursuant to G.S. 165-48(d)(3).  The Veterans Affairs Commission shall authorize the expenditure of all funds from the North Carolina Veterans Home Trust Fund.
"§ 165-50.  Contracted operation of homes. 
The Veterans Affairs Commission may contract with persons or other nongovernmental entities to operate each State veterans home.  Contracts for the procurement of services to manage, administer, and operate any State veterans home shall be awarded on a competitive basis through the solicitation of proposals and through the procedures established by statute and the Division of Purchase and Contract.  A contract may be awarded to the vendor whose proposal is most advantageous to the State, taking into consideration cost, program suitability, management plan, excellence of program design, key personnel, corporate or company resources, financial condition of the vendor, experience and past performance, and any other qualities deemed necessary by the Veterans Affairs Commission and set out in the solicitation for proposals.  Any contract awarded under this section shall not exceed five years in length.  The Veterans Affairs Commission is not required to select or recommend the vendor offering the lowest cost proposal but shall select or recommend the vendor who, in the opinion of the Commission, offers the proposal most advantageous to the veterans and the State of North Carolina.
"§ 165-51.  Program staff. 
The Division shall appoint and fix the salary of an Administrative Officer for the State veterans home program.  The Administrative Officer shall be an honorably discharged veteran who has served in active military service in the armed forces of the United States for other than training purposes.  The Administrative Officer shall direct the establishment of the State veterans home program, coordinate the master planning, land acquisition, and construction of all State veterans homes under the procedures of the Office of State Construction, and oversee the ongoing operation of said veterans homes.  The Administrative Officer may hire one office assistant to help with clerical responsibilities.
"§ 165-52.  Admission and dismissal authority. 
The Veterans Affairs Commission shall have authority to determine administrative standards for admission and dismissal, as well as the medical conditions, of all persons admitted to and dismissed from any State veterans home, and to issue any necessary rules, subject to the requirements set out in G.S. 165-53.
"§ 165-53.  Eligibility and priorities. 
(a)	To be eligible for admission to a State veterans home, an applicant shall meet the following requirements:
(1)	The veteran shall have served in the active armed forces of the United States for other than training purposes;
(2)	The veteran shall have been discharged from the armed forces under conditions other than dishonorable;
(3)	The veteran shall be disabled by age, disease, or other reason as determined through a physical examination by a State veterans home physician; and
(4)	The veteran shall have resided in the State of North Carolina for two years immediately prior to the date of application.
(b)	Eligible veterans will be admitted into a State veterans home or place on waiting lists for admission into a home according to the following priorities:
(1)	Eligible wartime veterans will receive priority over eligible nonwartime veterans and will be admitted to the first available bed capable of providing the level of care required.  Eligible wartime veterans with equal care requirements will be ranked in chronological order based on the earliest date of receipt of the veteran's application for care.
(2)	All other eligible veterans will be ranked in chronological order based on the earliest date of receipt of the veteran's application for care.  If more than one application is received on the same date, the Administrative Officer will determine their sequential order on the list according to medical need.
(c)	Nonveterans may occupy no more than twenty-five percent (25%) of the total beds in a State veterans home.  When any space is available for nonveterans, priority will be established for the following relatives of eligible veterans in the following order:
(1)	Spouse.
(2)	Widow or widower whose spouse, if living, would be an eligible veteran.
(3)	Gold Star parents, defined as the mother or father of a veteran who died an honorable death while in active service to the United States during time of war or emergency.
"§ 165-54.  Deposit required. 
Each resident of any State veterans home shall pay to the Division of Veterans Affairs the cost of maintaining his or her residence at the home.  This deposit shall be placed in the North Carolina Veterans Home Trust Fund and shall be in an amount and in the form prescribed by the Veterans Affairs Commission in consultation with the Assistant Secretary for Veterans Affairs.
"§ 165-55.  Report and budget. 
(a)	The Assistant Secretary for Veterans Affairs shall report annually to the Secretary of the Department of Administration on the activities of the State Veterans Homes Program.  This report shall contain an accounting of all monies received and expended, statistics on residents in the homes during the year, recommendations to the Secretary, the Governor, and the General Assembly as to the program, and such other matters as may be deemed pertinent.
(b)	The Assistant Secretary for Veterans Affairs, with the approval of the Veterans Affairs Commission, shall compile an annual budget request for any State funding needed for the anticipated costs of the homes, which shall be submitted to the Secretary of the Department of Administration.  State appropriated funds for operational needs shall be made available only in the event that other sources are insufficient to cover essential operating costs."
Sec. 2.  G.S. 147-69.2(a) is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:
"(17.1)  North Carolina Veterans Home Trust Fund."
Sec. 3.  This act is effective upon ratification.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 29th day of June, 1995.

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Dennis A. Wicker
President of the Senate

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Harold J. Brubaker
Speaker of the House of Representatives