A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to enhance the deadlines for passage of budget items relating to critical matters such as education and items that impact local budgets.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 143‑15.1 reads as rewritten:
"§ 143‑15.1. Current Operations Appropriations Act; General Fund Financial Model.
(a)	The General Assembly shall enact the Current Operations Appropriations Act by June 15 of odd‑numbered years and by June 30 of even‑numbered years in which a Current Operations Appropriations Act is enacted. The Current Operations Appropriations Act shall state the amount of General Fund appropriations availability upon which the General Fund budget is based. The statement of availability shall list separately the beginning General Fund credit balance, General Fund revenues, and any other components of the availability amount.
(a1)	The General Assembly shall enact prior to June 1 of each calendar year legislation appropriating funds for time sensitive budget issues related to fiscal year funding, such as pay increases, school enrollment, and funding which impacts local government budgets, as well as appropriations to meet federal matching fund requirements. Budget conferees shall give priority to these items. If necessary to meet time sensitive deadlines, such funding may be included in separate budget bills.
The General Fund operating budget appropriations, including appropriations for local tax reimbursements and local tax sharing, for the second year in a Current Operations Appropriations Act that contains a biennial budget shall not be more than two percent (2%) greater than the General Fund operating budget appropriations for the first year of the biennial budget.
(b)	The General Assembly shall review the results of the General Fund Financial model, a computer‑based financial model used to project long‑term expenditure and revenue trends under various simulations, in its budget deliberations. The model shall be maintained and, from time to time, updated by the Fiscal Research Division of the General Assembly."
SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law.