A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to appropriate funds to the community college facilities and EQUIPMENT fund.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.(a)  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Community Colleges System Office the sum of thirty million dollars ($30,000,000) for the 2007‑2008 fiscal year for the Community College Facilities and Equipment Fund.  The Fund shall be used for the purpose of awarding grants to community colleges for facility and equipment needs. The Community Colleges System Office, in consultation with the State Board of Community Colleges, shall develop a competitive grant application process and guidelines for facility or equipment needs. The State Board of Community Colleges shall award grants on the merit of the applications received. Priority shall be given to projects in low‑wealth counties and to projects that have a high potential for promoting economic growth in economically depressed areas. No individual grant may exceed the sum of two million dollars ($2,000,000).
These grants shall be awarded on a matching basis of one State dollar ($1.00) for every one non‑State dollar ($1.00).
SECTION 1.(b)  Beginning September 1, 2007, the Community Colleges System Office shall submit a report to the Office of State Budget and Management and the Fiscal Research Division containing the following information about each grant that was awarded: (i) the name of the community college; (ii) a description of the project; (iii) the project location; (iv) the cost‑benefit analysis conducted by the Community Colleges System Office and the rationale for awarding the grant; and (v) the amount of the grant.
SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2007.