A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO ADDRESS THE INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS OF THE STATE BY PROVIDING PERMANENT SOURCES OF FUNDING FOR INFRASTRUCTURE AND TO REQUIRE THE ANNUAL DEBT AFFORDABILITY STUDY TO INCLUDE DEBT CAPACITY FOR HIGHWAY FUNDS.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 142‑101 reads as rewritten:
"(d)	Duties. – The Debt Affordability Advisory Committee shall annually advise the Governor and the General Assembly on the estimated debt capacity of the State for the upcoming 10 fiscal years. The Committee shall oversee the undertaking of an annual debt affordability study and the establishment of guidelines for evaluating the State's debt burden. The guidelines should include target and ceiling ratios of net tax‑supported debt to personal income and debt service to revenues, target and floor percentages for the 10‑year payout ratio, and target and floor percentages for the unreserved General Fund balance. The Committee's recommendations shall include recommendations on debt capacities for debt supported by the General Fund and by the Highway Fund and Highway Trust Fund. The Committee shall also recommend any other debt management policies it considers desirable and consistent with sound management of the State's debt."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 105‑187.3(a) reads as rewritten:
"§ 105‑187.3.  Rate of tax.
(a)	Amount. – The rate of the use tax imposed by this Article is the combined general rate and is applied to the retail value of a motor vehicle for which a certificate of title is issued. The tax is payable as provided in G.S. 105‑187.4. The maximum tax is one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each certificate of title issued for a Class A or Class B motor vehicle that is a commercial motor vehicle, as defined in G.S. 20‑4.01. The maximum tax is one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500) for each certificate of title issued for a recreational vehicle that is not subject to the one thousand dollar ($1,000) maximum tax.
(b)	Retail Value. – The retail value of a motor vehicle for which a certificate of title is issued because of a sale of the motor vehicle by a retailer is the sales price of the motor vehicle, including all accessories attached to the vehicle when it is delivered to the purchaser. The retail value of a motor vehicle for which a certificate of title is issued because of a sale of the motor vehicle by a seller who is not a retailer is the market value of the vehicle. A transaction in which two parties exchange motor vehicles is considered a sale regardless of whether either party gives additional consideration as part of the transaction. The retail value of a motor vehicle for which a certificate of title is issued because of a reason other than the sale of the motor vehicle is the market value of the vehicle. The market value of a vehicle is presumed to be the value of the vehicle set in a schedule of values adopted by the Commissioner.
(c)	Schedules. – In adopting a schedule of values for motor vehicles, the Commissioner shall adopt a schedule whose values do not exceed the wholesale values of motor vehicles as published in a recognized automotive reference manual."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 105‑187.5(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b)	Rate. – The tax rate on the gross receipts from the short‑term lease or rental of a motor vehicle is eight percent (8%) and the tax rate on the gross receipts from the long‑term lease or rental of a motor vehicle is the combined general rate. Gross receipts does not include the amount of any allowance given for a motor vehicle taken in trade as a partial payment on the lease or rental price. The maximum tax in G.S. 105‑187.3(a) on certain motor vehicles applies to a continuous lease or rental of such a motor vehicle to the same person."
SECTION 4.  G.S. 105‑187.6(c) reads as rewritten:
"(c)	Out‑of‑state Vehicles. – A maximum tax of three hundred dollars ($300.00) applies when a certificate of title is issued for a motor vehicle that, at the time of applying for a certificate of title, is and has been titled in another state for at least 90 days."
SECTION 4.  G.S. 105‑187.9 reads as rewritten:
"§ 105‑187.9.  Disposition and use of tax proceeds.
(a)	Distribution. – Taxes collected under this Article at the rate of eight percent (8%) shall be credited to the General Fund. Taxes collected under this Article at the combined general rate shall be credited to the North Carolina Highway Trust Fund.
(b)	Transfer. – In each fiscal year the State Treasurer shall transfer the amounts provided below from the taxes deposited in the Trust Fund to the General Fund. The transfer of funds authorized by this section may be made by transferring one‑fourth of the amount at the end of each quarter in the fiscal year or by transferring the full amount annually on July 1 of each fiscal year, subject to the availability of revenue.
(1)	The sum of one hundred seventy million dollars ($170,000,000).
(2)	In addition to the amount transferred under subdivision (1) of this subsection, the sum of one million seven hundred thousand dollars ($1,700,000) shall be transferred in the 2001‑2002 fiscal year. The amount distributed under this subdivision shall increase in the 2002‑2003 fiscal year to the sum of two million four hundred thousand dollars ($2,400,000). In each fiscal year thereafter, the sum transferred under this subdivision shall be the amount distributed in the previous fiscal year plus or minus a percentage of this sum equal to the percentage by which tax collections under this Article increased or decreased for the most recent 12‑month period for which data are available.
(c)	Use. – One‑half of the taxes credited to the North Carolina Highway Trust Fund under this Article shall be used only to retire indebtedness incurred for road construction and maintenance projects."
SECTION 5.  G.S. 105‑228.29 reads as rewritten:
"§ 105‑228.29.  Exemptions.
This Article does not apply to any of the following transfers of an interest in real property:
(1)	By operation of law.
(2)	By lease for a term of years.
(3)	By or pursuant to the provisions of a will.
(4)	By intestacy.
(5)	By gift.
(6)	If no consideration in property or money is due or paid by the transferee to the transferor.
(7)	By merger, conversion, or consolidation.
	"
SECTION 6.  G.S. 105‑228.30 reads as rewritten:
"§ 105‑228.30.  Imposition of excise tax; distribution of proceeds.
(a)	An excise tax is levied on each instrument by which any interest in real property is conveyed to another person. For instruments securing indebtedness, the tax rate is one dollar ($1.00) on each one thousand dollars ($1,000) or fractional part thereof of the consideration or value of the interest conveyed. For all other instruments, the tax rate is five dollars ($5.00) on each one thousand dollars ($1,000) or fractional part thereof of the consideration or value of the interest conveyed. The transferor must pay the tax to the register of deeds of the county in which the real estate is located before recording the instrument of conveyance. If the instrument transfers a parcel of real estate lying in two or more counties, however, the tax must be paid to the register of deeds of the county in which the greater part of the real estate with respect to value lies.
The excise tax on instruments imposed by this Article applies to timber deeds and contracts for the sale of standing timber to the same extent as if these deeds and contracts conveyed an interest in real property.
(b)	The register of deeds of each county must remit the proceeds of the tax levied by this section to the county finance officer. The finance officer of each county must credit one‑fifth of the proceeds to the county's general fund and remit the remaining four‑fifths of the proceeds, less the county's allowance for administrative expenses, to the Department of Revenue on a monthly basis. A county may retain one‑half percent (0.5%) of the amount of tax proceeds allocated for remittance to the Department of Revenue as compensation for the county's cost in collecting and remitting the State's share of the tax. The Department of Revenue must credit funds remitted to it as follows:
(1)	Seventy‑five percent (75%) to the Capital and Infrastructure Fund established under G.S. 143C‑8‑13.
(2)	Eighteen and seventy‑five one‑hundredths percent (18.75%) to the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund established under G.S. 113‑44.15.
(3)	Six and twenty‑five one‑hundredths percent (6.25%) to the Natural Heritage Trust Fund established under G.S. 113‑77.7."
SECTION 7.  Article 8 of Chapter 143C of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 143C‑8‑13.  Capital and Infrastructure Fund.
There is established the Capital and Infrastructure Fund. Investment earnings and interest earned on the Fund shall be credited to the Fund. Moneys in the Fund do not revert except as provided in G.S. 143C‑8‑11. The moneys in the Fund shall be used only for capital projects. Moneys in the Fund shall be available for expenditure only upon an act of appropriation by the General Assembly."
SECTION 9.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2007.