AN ACT TO EXTEND THE APPLICATION PERIOD FOR THE HURRICANE FLORENCE AGRICULTURAL DISASTER PROGRAM OF 2018.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  Section 5.11(e) of S.L. 2018‑136 reads as rewritten:
"SECTION 5.11.(e)  A person seeking financial assistance for losses of agricultural commodities shall submit to the Department a Form 578 on file with the USDA Farm Service Agency or a form provided by the Department for reporting acreage or plantings of crops not typically reported on Form 578, along with any other documentation deemed appropriate by the Department, on or before December 20, 2018. For nursery crops, fruit‑bearing trees and bushes, and specialty crops where the survival level is not immediately known, the Department may extend this deadline to May 1, 2019, upon written request by the person received on or before December 20, 2018, and upon approval by the Department. A person receiving assistance under this program must provide a signed affidavit, under penalty of perjury, certifying that each fact of the loss presented by the person is accurate."
SECTION 2.  Section 5.11(g) of S.L. 2018‑136 reads as rewritten:
"SECTION 5.11.(g)  A person seeking financial assistance for losses of livestock or poultry shall submit documentation of loss and indemnity received from the USDA Livestock Indemnity Program, along with any other documentation deemed appropriate by the Department, to the Department on or before December 20, 2018. The Department may extend this deadline to March 1, 2019, upon written request by the person received on or before December 20, 2018, and upon approval by the Department. A person receiving assistance under this program must provide a signed affidavit, under penalty of perjury, certifying that each fact of the loss presented by the person is accurate."
SECTION 3.  Section 5.11(h) of S.L. 2018‑136 reads as rewritten:
"SECTION 5.11.(h)  The Department shall administer the financial assistance program authorized by this section in accordance with the following criteria:
…
(3)	The Department shall gather all claim information, except from those applicants granted a deadline extension, no later than December 20, 2018. The Department shall, as closely as possible, estimate the amount of the appropriation needed to be held in reserve for payments related to losses of livestock, poultry, nursery, bush, tree, and specialty crops for which losses will not be fully known or calculated. The Department shall set aside funds as it deems appropriate based on the estimated percentage of these losses.
…."
SECTION 4.  This act is effective when it becomes law.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 13th day of December, 2018.

	s/	 Philip E. Berger
	 President Pro Tempore of the Senate

	s/	 Tim Moore
	 Speaker of the House of Representatives

	s/	 Roy Cooper
	 Governor

Approved 6:10 p.m. this 13th day of December, 2018