GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1997

S	1 

SENATE BILL 1427*

Short Title:  School Utility Costs Shared by State.	(Public)

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Sponsors: Senator Rand.

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Referred to:  Appropriations.

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May 28, 1998

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO RETURN TO THE PRE-1991-92 PRACTICE OF SHARING SCHOOL UTILITY COSTS WITH THE COUNTIES.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  G.S. 115C-408(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b)	To insure a quality education for every child in North Carolina, and to assure that the necessary resources are provided, it is the policy of the State of North Carolina to provide from State revenue sources the instructional expenses for current operations of the public school system as defined in the standard course of study.  It is further the policy of the State of North Carolina to share school utility costs with county governments.
It is the policy of the State of North Carolina that the facilities requirements for a public education system will be met by county governments.
It is the intent of the 1983 General Assembly to further clarify and delineate the specific financial responsibilities for the public schools to be borne by State and local governments."
Section 2.  The General Assembly finds that during the 1991-92 fiscal year, the State began to phase out the State's contribution for public school utility costs and that this phaseout put an unfunded mandate on local governments; therefore, there is appropriated from the General Fund to State Aid to Local School Administrative Units the sum of eighty million dollars ($80,000,000) for the 1998-99 fiscal year.  The State Board of Education shall use these funds to reimburse counties for up to one-half of the school utility costs paid by local governments.
Section 3.  This act becomes effective July 1, 1998.