A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to authorize tri‑county community College to charge in‑state tuition to residents of states bordering north carolina who live in counties that are contiguous to cherokee county, clay county, and graham county.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 115D‑39(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	The State Board of Community Colleges shall fix and regulate all tuition and fees charged to students for applying to or attending any institution pursuant to this Chapter.
The receipts from all student tuition and fees, other than student activity fees, shall be State funds and shall be deposited as provided by regulations of the State Board of Community Colleges.
The legal resident limitation with respect to tuition, set forth in G.S. 116‑143.1 and G.S. 116‑143.3, shall apply to students attending institutions operating pursuant to this Chapter; provided, however, that when an employer other than the Armed Forces, as that term is defined in G.S. 116‑143.3, pays tuition for an employee to attend an institution operating pursuant to this Chapter and when the employee works at a North Carolina business location, the employer shall be charged the in‑State tuition rate; provided further, however, a community college may charge in‑State tuition to up to one percent (1%) of its out‑of‑state students, rounded up to the next whole number, to accommodate the families transferred by business, the families transferred by industry, or the civilian families transferred by the Armed Forces, consistent with the provisions of G.S. 116‑143.3, into the State.
In addition, a resident of a state bordering North Carolina who lives in a county that is contiguous to Cherokee County, Clay County, or Graham County in North Carolina may be charged the in‑State tuition rate to attend Tri‑County Community College. Tri‑County Community College shall ensure that no out‑of‑state student eligible for in‑State tuition due to residence in a contiguous county shall displace an in‑State student seeking to enroll in a program offered by the community college.
Notwithstanding the requirements of this subsection, a refugee who lawfully entered the United States and who is living in this State shall be deemed to qualify as a domiciliary of this State under G.S. 116‑143.1(a)(1) and as a State resident for community college tuition purposes as defined in G.S. 116‑143.1(a)(2). Also, a nonresident of the United States who has resided in North Carolina for a 12‑month qualifying period and has filed an immigrant petition with the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service shall be considered a State resident for community college tuition purposes."
SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law and applies beginning with the 2017‑2018 academic year.