A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to authorize the Department of Transportation to issue bonds and other financing instruments secured by future Transportation Appropriations.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 136‑18 reads as rewritten:
"§ 136‑18.  Powers of Department of Transportation.
The said Department of Transportation is vested with the following powers:
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(12c)	To issue bonds or other eligible debt financing instruments to finance highway projects using State transportation appropriations to pay a portion of principal, interest, and related debt issuance costs. The maximum annual principal and interest of such debt shall not exceed three hundred million dollars ($300,000,000) of the expected average annual State revenue shown for the period in the most recently issued Department work plan. Bonds shall be issued by the State Treasurer on behalf of the Department and shall be issued pursuant to an order adopted by the Council of State under G.S. 15988. The State Treasurer shall develop and adopt appropriate debt instruments, consistent with the terms of the State and Local Government Revenue Bond Act, Article 5 of Chapter 159 of the General Statutes, for use under this subdivision.
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(39)	To enter into partnership agreements with private entities, and authorized political subdivisions to finance, by tolls, contracts, and other financing methods authorized by law, the cost of acquiring, constructing, equipping, maintaining, and operating transportation infrastructure in this State, and to plan, design, develop, acquire, construct, equip, maintain, and operate transportation infrastructure in this State. An agreement entered into under this subdivision requires the concurrence of the Board of Transportation. The Department shall report to the Chairs of the Joint Legislative Transportation Oversight Committee, the Chairs of the House of Representatives Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, and the Chairs of the Senate Appropriations Committee on the Department of Transportation, at the same time it notifies the Board of Transportation of any proposed agreement under this subdivision. Any contracts for construction of highways, roads, streets, and bridges which are awarded pursuant to an agreement entered into under this section shall comply with the competitive bidding requirements of Article 2 of this Chapter.
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SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law.