A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO ENACT THE 2007 SOLDIER, SAILOR, MARINE, airmen, AND GUARDSMEN SUPPORT ACT.

Whereas, North Carolina is the home of Fort Bragg, and the XVIII Airborne Corps, with the 82nd Airborne Division as the Army's premier force to project power anywhere in the world on little or no notice; and
Whereas, Fort Bragg is the home of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, and of all Army Special Forces soldiers; and
Whereas, Pope Air Force Base and the 317th Airlift Wing play a vital role in our nation's defense by providing the means to deliver troops and equipment wherever needed in the world; and
Whereas, North Carolina is the home of Camp Lejeune, one of the nation's largest Marine Corps bases, and provides the training necessary to keep the Marines in a high state of readiness for any mission; and
Whereas, North Carolina is the home of Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, the base of an active air combat wing that can deploy worldwide on short notice and immediately generate combat power; and
Whereas, North Carolina is the home of the largest Marine Corps air station in the world, Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station, and is the home of the 2nd Marine Corps Aircraft Wing, the Naval Air Depot, and the Marine Corps Air Station at New River; and
Whereas, North Carolina is the home of several United States Coast Guard stations, including the United States Coast Guard Air Station at Elizabeth City, with missions that include search and rescue, international ice patrol, maritime law enforcement, aids to navigation, and environmental response; and
Whereas, North Carolina ranks high in the United States with 4.5% of the total military payroll, and defense spending in the 2002 federal fiscal year in North Carolina was approximately $6.7 billion; and
Whereas, the military in North Carolina materially affects North Carolina's economy, generating approximately $18 billion per year; Now, therefore,
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

PART I. Findings.
SECTION 1.1.  The General Assembly expresses its appreciation to the Department of Defense for the military bases and installations that are located in the State of North Carolina and that are vital parts of the national defense of the United States.
SECTION 1.2.  The General Assembly declares its full support for its military installations and acknowledges the important role of the military in North Carolina's economy.
SECTION 1.3.  The General Assembly has enacted several recent acts to accommodate the military and intends to continue:
(1)	S.L. 2005‑232 (deployed personnel get extension to renew concealed handgun permit).
(2)	S.L. 2005‑445 (appropriating funds to the Military Morale, Recreation, and Welfare Fund; appropriating funds to the Conservation Grant Fund for compatible land use and conservation easement type acquisitions of land adjacent to military bases and flyways).
(3)	S.L. 2006‑158 (protecting military personnel and veterans from identity theft).
(4)	S.L. 2006‑169 (prohibiting disorderly conduct at military funeral or memorial service).

PART II. MILITARY MORALE, RECREATION, AND WELFARE FUNDS, CONSERVATION GRANT FUNDS.
SECTION 2.1.(a)  There is appropriated from the General Fund to a Reserve for the Military Morale, Recreation, and Welfare Fund in the Office of State Budget and Management for the 2007‑2008 fiscal year the sum of one million dollars ($1,000,000).
SECTION 2.1.(b)  The Office of State Budget and Management shall distribute for the purposes described in this section the amount appropriated by subsection (a) of this section. That amount shall be distributed to each military installation on a per capita basis. 
SECTION 2.1.(c)  Funds distributed to a military installation exchange under this section must be deposited in the Military Morale, Recreation, and Welfare Fund for that installation and used only for community services and other expenditures to improve quality of life programs for military members and their families in North Carolina.
SECTION 2.2.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Conservation Grant Fund established under G.S. 113A‑232 for the 2007‑2008 fiscal year the sum of one million dollars ($1,000,000). Funds distributed to the Conservation Grant Fund under this section must be used for compatible land use and conservation easement type acquisitions of land adjacent to military bases and flyways.

PART III. EFFECTIVE DATE.
SECTION 3. This act becomes effective July 1, 2007.