A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to authorize a pilot program to locate, classify, and clear highway drainage issues.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Pilot Program to Locate, Classify, and Clear Drainage Issues. – No later than September 1, 2019, the Department of Transportation (Department) shall establish a pilot program to locate, classify, and clear drainage issues in Highway Division 1. The program shall consist of the following:
(1)	Locating and recording the GPS coordinates of all culverts located in the Department right‑of‑way.
(2)	Locating and recording the GPS coordinates of all drainage easements held by the Department with respect to ditches or canals or other conveyances adjacent to the Department right‑of‑way and used to divert or drain water away from the right‑of‑way.
(3)	Classifying the condition of each culvert, the overall drainage conditions of the adjoining ditches or canals, whether the culvert needs to be cleared, and whether the adjoining ditches or canals need to be cleaned, excavated, or repaired with soil stabilization.
(4)	Clearing, cleaning, or repairing all culverts and ditches identified pursuant to subdivision (3) of this section.
(5)	Developing an ongoing inspection schedule for all culverts located pursuant to subdivision (1) of this section.
SECTION 2.  Pilot Program End Date. – The pilot program shall end on September 1, 2021.
SECTION 3.  Appropriation. – There is appropriated from the Highway Fund to the Department of Transportation the sum of two million dollars ($2,000,000) in nonrecurring funds for the 2019‑2021 fiscal biennium for the purpose of conducting the pilot program required by Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 4.  Report. – The Department shall report to the Joint Legislative Transportation Oversight Committee on the progress of the pilot program established pursuant to this act on September 1, 2020, and on September 1, 2021.
SECTION 5.  Effective Date. – This act becomes effective July 1, 2019.