A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT modifying the allocation of the proceeds from the gross premium tax on insurance companies to include dedicated funding for the workers' compensation fund for the benefit of volunteer safety workers.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 105‑228.5(d)(3) reads as rewritten:
"(d)	Tax Rates; Disposition. – 
…
(3)	Additional Rate on Property Coverage Contracts. – An additional tax at the rate of seventy‑four hundredths percent (0.74%) applies to gross premiums on insurance contracts for property coverage. The tax is imposed on ten percent (10%) of the gross premiums from insurance contracts for automobile physical damage coverage and on one hundred percent (100%) of the gross premiums from all other contracts for property coverage. Thirty percent (30%) of the net proceeds of this additional tax must be credited to the Volunteer Fire Department Fund established in Article 87 of Chapter 58 of the General Statutes. Twenty‑five percent (25%) of the net proceeds must be credited to the Department of Insurance for disbursement pursuant to G.S. 58‑84‑25. An amount determined in accordance with G.S. 58‑87‑10(f) must be credited to the Workers' Compensation Fund. The remaining net proceeds must be credited to the General Fund.
The following definitions apply in this subdivision:
a.	Automobile physical damage. – The following lines of business identified by the NAIC: private passenger automobile physical damage and commercial automobile physical damage.
b.	Property coverage. – The following lines of business identified by the NAIC: fire, farm owners multiple peril, homeowners multiple peril, nonliability portion of commercial multiple peril, ocean marine, inland marine, earthquake, private passenger automobile physical damage, commercial automobile physical damage, aircraft, and boiler and machinery. The term also includes insurance contracts for wind damage.
c.	NAIC. – National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
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SECTION 2.  G.S. 58‑87‑10 reads as rewritten:
"§ 58‑87‑10.  Workers' Compensation Fund for the benefit of volunteer safety workers.
(a)	Definition. – As used in this section, the term "eligible unit" means a volunteer fire department or volunteer rescue/EMS unit that is not part of a unit of local government and is exempt from State income tax under G.S. 105‑130.11.
(b)	Creation. – The Workers' Compensation Fund is created in the Department of Insurance as an expendable trust fund. Accordingly, interest and other investment income earned by the Fund accrues to it, and revenue in the Fund at the end of a fiscal year remains in the Fund and does not revert.
(c)	Use. – Revenue in the Workers' Compensation Fund shall be used to provide workers' compensation benefits to members of eligible units. Chapter 97 of the General Statutes governs the payment of benefits from the Fund. Benefits are payable for compensable injuries or deaths that occur on or after July 1, 1996.
(d)	Administration. – The State Fire and Rescue Commission, established under G.S. 58‑78‑1, shall administer the Workers' Compensation Fund and shall perform this duty by contracting with a third‑party administrator. The contracting procedure is not subject to Article 3C of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes. The reasonable and necessary expenses incurred by the Commission in administering the Fund shall be paid out of the Fund by the State Treasurer. The Commission may adopt rules to implement this section.
(e)	Revenue Source. – Revenue is credited to the Workers' Compensation Fund from a portion of the proceeds of the tax levied under 105‑228.5(d)(3). In addition, every eligible unit that elects to participate shall pay into the Fund an amount set annually by the State Fire and Rescue Commission to ensure that the Fund will be able to meet its payment obligations under this section. The amount shall be set as a per capita fixed dollar amount for each member of the roster of the eligible unit.
The payment shall be made to the State Fire and Rescue Commission on or before July 1 of each year. The Commission shall remit the payments it receives to the State Treasurer, who shall credit the payments to the Fund.
(f)	Funding Method. – The Department of Insurance shall conduct a periodic actuarial study to determine the needs of the Fund, and the study shall be reviewed by the Office of State Budget and Management. The study should consider that the premiums paid by members of the Fund shall not be reduced below the premiums paid in 2012‑2013. On or before March 1 of each year, the Office of State Budget and Management, in consultation with the Department of Insurance, must notify the Secretary of Revenue of the amount needed to meet the needs of the Fund for the upcoming fiscal year based on the actuarial study, and that amount shall be credited to the Fund."
SECTION 3.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2013.