A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to foster regional cooperation for water and wastewater infrastructure.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 159G‑42 reads as rewritten:
"§ 159G‑42.  Disbursement of loan or grant.
(a)	The Department must disburse the proceeds of a loan or grant to a recipient in a series of payments based on the progress of the project for which the loan or grant was awarded. To obtain a payment, a loan or grant recipient must submit a request for payment to the Department and document the expenditures for which the payment is requested.
(b)	Prior to any disbursement of a loan or grant to a recipient that is engaged in regionalization or initiating regionalization with the loan or grant, the Department shall encourage the recipient to have one of the following with respect to each local government unit that serves a customer base of over five thousand (5,000) and that purchases treated or untreated water from the recipient at the time of the disbursement of the loan or grant:
(1)	A written agreement approved by the governing board of the recipient and the governing board of the local government unit stating the current rates of purchase and any anticipated increases over the term of the agreement.
(2)	A resolution approved by the governing board of the purchasing local government unit stating the local government unit waives its option to establish such a written agreement.
(c)	In developing any agreement for execution as required by subsection (b) of this section, either local government unit may request to the Local Government Commission to assist in resolving any disputes between the local government units prior to execution of the written agreement. When a request for assistance is made, the Local Government Commission shall assist and provide recommendations within 90 days of the request."
SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law and applies to disbursements under Chapter 159G of the General Statutes on or after that date.