A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to appropriate funds for enrollment growth at North Carolina's community colleges.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Findings. – The General Assembly finds all of the following:
(1)	The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‑19) pandemic has devastated the economy in North Carolina, caused unprecedented job loss, and significantly disrupted the delivery of education by traditional four‑year institutions of higher education.
(2)	COVID‑19 has caused students enrolled in four‑year institutions of higher education primarily receiving online instruction to seek less expensive alternatives.
(3)	North Carolina community colleges can offer courses to students at a significantly lower cost than four‑year institutions of higher education.
(4)	Students who take courses at community colleges can successfully transfer credits to four‑year institutions of higher education later in their education pathways and overall have comparably positive educational outcomes to those attending traditional colleges and universities at substantial savings.
(5)	North Carolina community colleges also offer short‑term workforce training courses for unemployed individuals who have lost their jobs due to COVID‑19, which is crucial to the recovery of the economy in North Carolina.
(6)	Enrollment has particularly increased in short‑term workforce education due to the growing emphasis of North Carolina's community colleges in meeting the needs of the businesses of the State and people recognizing the value and quality of a community college education.
SECTION 2.  Transfer. – The State Controller shall transfer the sum of forty‑one million five hundred thousand dollars ($41,500,000) from the Coronavirus Relief Reserve established in Section 2.1 of S.L. 2020‑4 to the Coronavirus Relief Fund established in Section 2.2 of that same act.
SECTION 3.  Appropriation. – There is appropriated from the Coronavirus Relief Fund to the Office of State Budget and Management (OSBM) the sum of forty‑one million five hundred thousand dollars ($41,500,000) in nonrecurring funds for the 2020‑2021 fiscal year to be allocated to the Community Colleges System Office for enrollment growth at North Carolina's community colleges.
SECTION 4.  Requirements. – The requirements and limitations set forth in Part I of S.L. 2020‑4 shall apply to the funds appropriated by this act. OSBM shall include the funds transferred and appropriated under this act in the report required under Section 1.7 of S.L. 2020‑4.
SECTION 5.  Effective Date. – This act becomes effective July 1, 2020.