A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to appropriate funds for a consumer protection specialist in the department of Justice to assist military personnel and their families.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Justice the sum of thirty‑two thousand five hundred twenty‑five dollars ($32,525) for the 2005‑2006 fiscal year and the sum of fifty thousand eight hundred eighteen dollars ($50,818) for the 2006‑2007 fiscal year for a new consumer protection specialist position in the Department of Justice.  The consumer protection specialist shall be responsible for (i) coordinating consumer complaints from military personnel and their families; (ii) providing a single point of contact in the Consumer Protection Division for military personnel, their families, and military attorneys; and (iii) communicating with military bases in North Carolina on a regular basis to inform the appropriate military offices of the services provided by the Consumer Protection Division, to discover new complaints, and to follow up on cases initiated by military personnel or their families through military offices.
SECTION 2.   The Department of Justice shall report by April 1 each year of the 2005‑2007 biennium to the General Assembly on the consumer protection accomplishments of the new position established by this act.  The report shall be submitted to the Chairs of the Justice and Public Safety Subcommittee of the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations, the Chairs of the House of Representatives and Senate Appropriations Committees, the Chairs of the House of Representatives and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Justice and Public Safety, the Chairs of the Military, Veterans and Indian Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives, and the Chairs of the Senate Select Committee on Homeland Security, Emergency Management and Military Affairs.
SECTION 3.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2005.