A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to raise the excise tax on cigarettes and to phase out THE COUNTY share OF MEDICAID costs.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 105‑113.5 reads as rewritten:
"§ 105‑113.5.  Tax on cigarettes.
A tax is levied on the sale or possession for sale in this State, by a distributor, of all cigarettes at the rate of three and three-quarters cents (3.75¢) per individual cigarette."
SECTION 2.  Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, effective July 1, 2005, the State shall pay one hundred percent (100%) of the nonfederal share of nonadministrative costs under the Medical Assistance Program for all counties that were designated as enterprise tier one, two, and three for fiscal year 2005. Effective July 1, 2006, the State shall pay one hundred percent (100%) of the nonfederal share of nonadministrative costs under the Medical Assistance Program for all counties that were designated as enterprise tier counties for fiscal year 2006. Effective July 1, 2007, the State shall pay one hundred percent (100%) of the nonfederal share of nonadministrative costs under the Medical Assistance Program for all counties. For the purposes of this section, "enterprise tier" has the same meaning as under G.S. 105‑129.2.
SECTION 3.  Effective July 1, 2007, G.S. 108A‑54 reads as rewritten:
"§ 108A‑54.  Authorization of Medical Assistance Program.
The Department is authorized and empowered to establish a Medical Assistance Program from federal and State appropriations and to adopt rules and regulations under which payments are to be made in accordance with the provisions of this Part. "
SECTION 4.  Except as otherwise provided, this act becomes effective July 1, 2005.