H.B. 869
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
Apr 25, 2023
SESSION 2023 HOUSE PRINCIPAL CLERK
H D
HOUSE BILL DRH10344-MHa-6
Short Title: Enhance State Fire Protection Grant Fund. (Public)
Sponsors: Representative Blackwell.
Referred to:
1 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
2 AN ACT TO PROVIDE FURTHER FUNDING AND OTHER ENHANCEMENTS TO THE
3 STATE FIRE PROTECTION GRANT FUND.
4 The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
5 SECTION 1. G.S. 58-85A-1 reads as rewritten:
6 "§ 58-85A-1. Creation of Fund; allocation to local fire districts and political subdivisions
7 of the State.
8 (a) There is created in the Department of Insurance the State Fire Protection Grant Fund.
9 The purpose of the Fund is to compensate local fire districts and political subdivisions of the
10 State for providing local fire protection to State-owned buildings and their contents.
11 (b) The Department of Insurance shall develop and implement an equitable and uniform
12 statewide method for distributing any funds to the State's local fire districts and political
13 subdivisions.
14 (c) It is the intent of the General Assembly to appropriate annually to the State Fire
15 Protection Grant Fund up to four million one hundred eighty thousand dollars ($4,180,000)
16 fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000) from the General Fund, one hundred fifty-eight thousand
17 dollars ($158,000) from the Highway Fund, and one million three hundred forty-five thousand
18 dollars ($1,345,000) two million five hundred thousand dollars ($2,500,000) from University of
19 North Carolina receipts. These funds are allocated as follows:
20 (1) Funds received from the General Fund shall be allocated only for providing
21 local fire protection for State-owned property supported by the General Fund;
22 funds Fund. The Department of Insurance may reserve up to ten percent (10%)
23 of these funds to compensate local fire districts and political subdivisions of
24 the State for providing local fire protection to State-owned property that is
25 under construction or first occupied during the fiscal year of the General Fund
26 appropriation.
27 (2) Funds received from the Highway Fund shall be allocated only for providing
28 local fire protection for State-owned property supported by the Highway
29 Fund; and funds Fund.
30 (3) Funds received from University of North Carolina receipts shall be allocated
31 only for providing local fire protection for State-owned property supported by
32 University of North Carolina receipts.receipts and for property owned by
33 nonprofit corporations or foundations associated with a constituent institution
34 of The University of North Carolina as set forth in subsection (g) of this
35 section.
*DRH10344-MHa-6*
 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2023
1 (d) In any fiscal year in which the annual appropriation from the General Fund to the
2 State Fire Protection Grant Fund is less than fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000), then the
3 amount of University of North Carolina receipts appropriated to the State Fire Protection Grant
4 Fund is equal to two million five hundred thousand dollars ($2,500,000) multiplied by a fraction,
5 the numerator of which is the appropriation from the General Fund to the State Fire Protection
6 Grant Fund for that fiscal year and the denominator of which is fifteen million dollars
7 ($15,000,000).
8 (e) Up to two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) of the funds appropriated
9 annually from the General Fund to the State Fire Protection Grant Fund shall be allocated by the
10 Department to provide reimbursement to local fire districts and political subdivisions of the State
11 for State lands emergency response. The Department of Insurance shall adopt rules establishing
12 procedures for reimbursement requests and distributions for the funds allocated by this
13 subsection.
14 For purposes of this subsection, "State lands emergency response" means services such as
15 search and rescue, wildfire suppression or management, and other natural disaster response
16 activities provided on State-owned property other than the provision of fire protection to
17 State-owned buildings and their contents.
18 (f) The Department of Insurance may reserve up to ten percent (10%) of funds
19 appropriated from the General Fund in each fiscal year to compensate local fire districts and
20 political subdivisions of the State for providing local fire protection to State-owned buildings and
21 their contents.
22 (g) Up to one million one hundred fifty-five thousand dollars ($1,155,000) of
23 appropriated receipts from The University of North Carolina is allocated to the State Fire
24 Protection Grant Fund to provide reimbursement to local fire districts and political subdivisions
25 of the State for providing local fire protection to buildings owned by nonprofit corporations or
26 foundations sited on State property through a ground lease with a constituent institution of The
27 University of North Carolina."
28 SECTION 2. The sum of eleven million two hundred twenty-two thousand four
29 hundred eighty-seven dollars ($11,222,487) in recurring funds for the 2023-2024 fiscal year is
30 appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Insurance for the State Fire Protection
31 Grant Fund. The amount of University of North Carolina receipts appropriated and allocated to
32 the State Fire Protection Grant Fund is increased by one million one hundred fifty-five thousand
33 dollars ($1,155,000) in recurring funds.
34 SECTION 3. This act becomes effective July 1, 2023.
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