GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1995

S	1 

SENATE BILL 1070

Short Title:  State/Local Gov't. Fiscal Study.	(Public)

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Sponsors: Senator Perdue.

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Referred to:  Appropriations

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May 4, 1995

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO ESTABLISH THE STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT FISCAL RELATIONS STUDY COMMISSION.
Whereas, providing public services to North Carolina's citizens is a shared responsibility of the State and its local governments that involves complex fiscal and administrative relationships between State government and units of local government; and
Whereas, North Carolina's system of shared responsibility for administering and financing those services must function well in meeting both the needs of the State as a whole and the needs of its people as residents of local communities; and
Whereas, North Carolina local governments, particularly counties, have a major role in administering many statewide services, especially in the areas of education, health, and welfare; and
Whereas, North Carolina municipalities are responsible for providing many public services in urban environments, such as city streets, law enforcement, and fire protection, at a higher level than is needed in rural areas; and
Whereas, the public services administered by North Carolina's local governments account for most of the public employment in the State and nearly three-quarters of all direct public spending, Now, therefore,
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  (a)	The State and Local Government Fiscal Relations Study Commission is established to study whether North Carolina's current system of shared responsibility for administering and financing public services is meeting the needs of the State and its communities, and how that system might be improved to make the provision of public services more effective, efficient, and equitable.  The Commission shall consist of 10 members, as follows:
(1)	The President Pro Tempore of the Senate;
(2)	The Speaker of the House of Representatives;
(3)	Four Senators appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate; and
(4)	Four Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
(b)	Appointment to the Commission shall be made before September 15, 1995.  The first meeting of the Commission shall be held no later than October 13, 1995.
(c)	The President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall serve as cochairs of the Commission.
Sec. 2.  (a)	The Commission is authorized to review the current responsibilities of State agencies and units of local government for administering, financing, and making decisions about public services.  It shall give particular attention to those statewide services that are administered by counties on behalf of the State, such as public education at both the K-12 level and through the community college system; public health; mental health, developmental disabilities, and substance abuse services; and social services programs.  It may also consider services that once were administered by local governments, such as secondary roads; services that are primarily provided by the State but have some component of local responsibility, such as court facilities; and other public services that are provided and financed primarily by local governments, such as law enforcement, city streets, solid waste collection and disposal, and water and sewer services.
(b)	In reviewing the allocation of responsibility for public services among the State and its local governments, the Commission shall address the following issues:
(1)	Whether all or some portion of the service could be more effectively and efficiently provided by the private sector, with or without some form of public-private partnership;
(2)	Which level of government and which units within each level should be made responsible for providing and administering the service;
(3)	Whether revenues needed to finance the service should come from the State or its local governments, or from some combination of State and local revenue sources, and which revenue sources should be used to finance the service;
(4)	The extent to which local governments should be free to provide the service or not and at what level of effort;
(5)	The extent to which the State should impose some degree of uniformity in levels or quality of service by setting standards and guidelines or imposing mandates; and
(6)	How best to address the need to achieve statewide uniformity in the provision of certain services, such as those required by federal or State law to be provided uniformly throughout the State, while at the same time providing local governments with the flexibility needed to administer the programs effectively.
(c)	In reviewing how public services are financed, the Commission shall conduct a review of all sources of revenue available to local governments, including locally levied taxes, charges, fees, intergovernmental revenues, and State revenues shared with local governments.  This review shall include consideration of:
(1)	Current trends in local government spending and revenues;
(2)	The extent to which existing local revenue sources are or can be made responsive to changes in the demand for services;
(3)	The extent to which existing local revenue sources allocate the burden of financing public services in a just and equitable manner;
(4)	Whether additional sources of revenue for local governments are needed;
(5)	Current State policy and practice with respect to mandating provision of public services at the local level without commensurate support from State-collected revenues; and
(6)	Current State policy and practice with respect to distributing State-collected revenues to local governments to compensate for legislated changes in local revenue sources.
Sec. 3.  The Commission may make an interim report of its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly on or before the first day of the 1996 Regular Session.  The Commission shall submit a final report of its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly on or before the first day of the 1997 Session by filing the report with the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.  Upon filing its final report, the Commission shall terminate.
Sec. 4.  The Commission, while in the discharge of official duties, may exercise all the powers provided for under the provisions of G.S. 120-19, and G.S. 120-19.1 through G.S. 120-19.4.  The Commission may meet at any time upon the joint call of the cochairs.  The Commission may meet in the Legislative Building or the Legislative Office Building.
Sec. 5.  Members of the Commission shall receive subsistence and travel expenses at the rates set forth in G.S. 120-3.1.
Sec. 6.  The Commission may contract for professional or consultant services as provided by G.S. 120-32.02.  The House of Representatives' and the Senate's Supervisors of Clerks shall assign clerical staff to the Commission, upon the direction of the Legislative Services Commission.  The expenses relating to clerical employees shall be borne by the Legislative Services Commission.
Sec. 7.  When a vacancy occurs in the membership of the Commission, the vacancy shall be filled by the same appointing officer who made the initial appointment.
Sec. 8.  All State departments and agencies and local governments and their subdivisions shall furnish the Commission with any information in their possession or available to them.
Sec. 9.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the General Assembly the sum of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) for the 1995-96 fiscal year for the expenses of the Commission.
Sec. 10.  This act becomes effective July 1, 1995.