A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to CLARIFY that the freight rail and rail crossing safety improvement fund may be used to assist short‑line RAILROADS.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 124‑5.1 reads as rewritten:
"§ 124‑5.1.  North Carolina Railroad Company dividends deposited to Highway Fund.
Any dividends of the North Carolina Railroad Company received by the State shall be deposited into the Freight Rail & Rail Crossing Safety Improvement Fund within the Highway Fund and administered by the Rail Division of the Department of Transportation. The Fund shall be used for the enhancement of freight rail service, short‑line railroad assistance, and railroad‑roadway crossing safety, which may include the following project types:
(1)	Track and associated infrastructure improvements for freight service.
(2)	Grade crossing protection, elimination, and hazard removal.
(3)	Signalization improvements.
(4)	Assistance for projects to improve rail access to industrial, port, and military facilities and for freight intermodal facility improvements, provided that funding assistance under this subdivision shall be subject to the same limits as that for short‑line railroads under G.S. 136‑44.39.
(5)	Corridor protection and reactivation.
(6)	Other short‑line railroad projects.
The Fund may also be used to supplement funds allocated for freight rail or railroad‑roadway crossing safety projects approved as part of the Transportation Improvement Program."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 136‑44.39 reads as rewritten:
"§ 136‑44.39.  Department to provide State and federal financial assistance to short‑line railroads.
The Department of Transportation is authorized to provide assistance to short‑line railroads to continue and enhance rail service in the State so as to assist in economic development and access to ports and military installations. Assistance under this section may include funds from the Rail Industrial Access Program and the Short Line Infrastructure Access Program, and such other programs as may exist or be established for these purposes. Grants under this section shall not exceed fifty percent (50%) of the nonfederal share and must be matched by equal or greater funding from the applicant."
SECTION 3.  This act is effective when it becomes law.