NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY
1973 SESSION

CHAPTER 1468
HOUSE BILL 1707

AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 523 OF THE 1973 SESSION LAWS SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT A PORTION OF THE FUNDS APPROPRIATED FOR A TRANSIT SHED AT THE WILMINGTON PORT MAY BE USED TO SUPPLEMENT OPERATING FUNDS OF THE NORTH CAROLINA STATE PORTS AUTHORITY.

Whereas, the shortage of bunker fuels for ships of all nations, and the extreme rise in costs of such available fuel, have resulted in a worldwide disruption of ship service; and
Whereas, ship calls at North Carolina Ports have fallen off thirty percent (30%) during the last two months; and
Whereas, consultation with port interests in other states, with steamship operators and agencies, ship captains, and the United States Maritime Administration indicates that adverse conditions will prevail for an indefinite period; and
Whereas, this drastic reduction in ship service and cargo movement has sharply reduced revenue from ship dockage fees and cargo wharfage fees at the North Carolina Ports; and
Whereas, a walkout of the labor force and a strike by longshoremen labor caused severe operating losses at the Wilmington Terminal in September and October of 1973; and
Whereas, prior to the fuel shortage and the labor problems the North Carolina State Ports Authority had obligated itself for certain construction projects and equipment and property purchases; and
Whereas, for all these reasons the Authority finds its cash resources all but depleted, a financial position never before experienced; and
Whereas, the 1973 General Assembly appropriated to the Ports Authority funds for a Transit Shed on South Dock Extension, Wilmington Port, the construction of which in any case would have to be delayed for at least 12 months because of complications in connection with other construction which must be completed first; and
Whereas, the Ports Authority, through the Department of Transportation and Highway Safety, has requested that the sum of eight hundred ninety-five thousand dollars ($895,000), being a portion of the 1973 appropriation for the Transit Shed at the Wilmington Terminal, be made immediately available to the Authority as a supplement to its operating funds, thus enabling it to meet its current capital requirements and retain a sufficient cash reserve to permit time to adjust its activities to the new economic situation; Now, therefore,

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

Section 1.  Chapter 523 of the Session Laws of 1973 is hereby amended by adding a new section to follow Section 18, to be designated Section 18.1, and to read as follows:
"Sec. 18.1.  Of the sum of nine hundred thirty-five thousand dollars ($935,000) appropriated in Section 4 to the North Carolina State Ports Authority for Item 3, Transit Shed on South Dock Extension, Wilmington Port, the sum of eight hundred ninety-five thousand dollars ($895,000) may be used to supplement the operating funds of the Ports Authority."
Sec. 2.  Section 18 of Chapter 523 of the Session Laws of 1973 is hereby amended by deleting, on line 13, the figure "14,500,000" and inserting in lieu thereof the figure "15,395,000", and by deleting, on line 16, the figure "8,295,000" and inserting in lieu thereof the figure "7,400,000".
Sec. 3.  This act shall become effective upon its ratification.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 13th day of April, 1974.