AN ACT to permit the state board of community colleges to use certain funds to provide financial assistance to students with disabilities.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 115D‑40.1(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b)	Targeted Assistance. – Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, the State Board may allocate no more than ten percent (10%) of the funds appropriated for Financial Assistance for Community College Students to:
(1)	Students who do not qualify for need‑based assistance but who enroll in low‑enrollment programs that prepare students for high‑demand occupations, and
(2)	Students with disabilities who have been referred by the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation and are enrolled in a community college."
SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2003.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 17th day of July, 2003.

	s/	 Beverly E. Perdue
	 President of the Senate

	s/	 James B. Black
	 Speaker of the House of Representatives

	s/	 Michael F. Easley
	 Governor

Approved 5:18 p.m. this 7th day of August, 2003