GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2015
S 2
SENATE BILL 14
House Committee Substitute Favorable 2/20/15
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Short Title: Acad. Standards/Rules Review/Coal Ash/Funds. |
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Sponsors: |
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Referred to: |
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February 2, 2015
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to provide funds for the litigation expenses of the rules review commission; to provide funds for the operating expenses of the academic standards review commission; to require that the academic standards review commission post certain public records on its web site; TO PROVIDE THAT A STATE OFFICER MAY SERVE ON THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP BOARD; to clarify coal ash MANAGEMENT COMMISSION appropriations; to clarify that the practice of engineering does not include the development of a dam emergency action plan; to extend the deadline for the submission of emergency action plans for dams not associated with coal combustion residuals surface impoundments to december 31, 2015; AND TO LIMIT THE USE OF FUNDS APPROPRIATED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES FOR HEALTH INFORMATION EXCHANGE.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1. Of the funds appropriated to the Department of Public Instruction for the 2014‑2015 fiscal year, the Department shall transfer the sum of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) to the Office of Administrative Hearings to be allocated to the Rules Review Commission, created by G.S. 143B‑30.1, to pay for any litigation costs incurred in the defense of North Carolina State Board of Education v. The State of North Carolina and The Rules Review Commission, Wake County Superior Court, File No. 14 CVS 14791 (filed November 7, 2014). These funds shall not revert at the end of the 2014‑2015 fiscal year but shall remain available during the 2015‑2016 fiscal year for expenditure in accordance with this section.
SECTION 2. Of the funds appropriated to the Department of Public Instruction for the 2014‑2015 fiscal year, the Department shall transfer the sum of two hundred seventy‑five thousand dollars ($275,000) to the Department of Administration to support the operations of the Academic Standards Review Commission established in S.L. 2014‑78. From these funds, an amount equal to the total of all costs incurred by the Department of Administration prior to the enactment of this act to support the operations of the Commission shall be credited to the Department. Expenditure of the remainder of these funds shall be made upon authorization by the Commission, only for the following:
(1) Administrative assistance, including professional and clerical staff and any contracts for professional, clerical, and consultant services. Consultant services may include contracts with qualified experts on academic standards that may be used as an alternative to the Common Core Standards, including other state academic standards.
(2) Technical assistance, including meeting rooms, telephones, office space, equipment, and supplies provided by the Department of Administration in accordance with Section 2(f) of S.L. 2014‑78.
(3) Per diem, subsistence, and travel allowances provided to Commission members in accordance with G.S. 138‑5, 138‑6, or 120‑3.1, as appropriate.
SECTION 3. The funds transferred to the Department of Administration in Section 2 of this act shall not revert at the end of the 2014‑2015 fiscal year but shall remain available for expenditure in accordance with that section until the Commission terminates on December 31, 2015, or upon the filing of its final report, whichever occurs first. Any unexpended, unencumbered balance of these funds shall revert to the General Fund on June 30, 2016.
SECTION 4. The General Assembly finds that considerable resources have already been expended to allow teachers and members of the public to make known their opinions and concerns surrounding adoption of academic standards. Specifically, the General Assembly finds that (i) on March 20, 2014, a Legislative Research Commission committee heard more than two hours of comment from stakeholders and interested members of the public on the subject; and (ii) on October 20, 2014, the Department of Public Instruction surveyed every public school teacher in the State on the subject. Accordingly, funds transferred pursuant to Section 2 of this act shall not be used by the Academic Standards Review Commission to conduct any survey related to the adoption of academic standards or to contract for the performance of such a survey by any third party.
SECTION 5. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Academic Standards Review Commission is subject to the Public Records Act, Chapter 132 of the General Statutes, and the Open Meetings Law, Article 33C of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes. Additionally, the Commission shall have the duty to comply with all of the following:
(1) All minutes, agendas, handouts, and presentations created during the course of the Commission's work, and any audio recordings of the Commission's meetings, shall be published on the Commission's Web site.
(2) All official meetings, as that term is defined in G.S. 143‑318.10, of the Commission shall be streamed live over the Internet in a manner that allows members of the public to listen to the proceedings.
SECTION 6. In implementing Section 2 of this act, the State Board of Education shall make reductions to the operating budget of the Department of Public Instruction and shall make no reduction to funding or positions for:
(1) The North Carolina Center for Advancement of Teaching.
(2) The Eastern North Carolina School for the Deaf, the North Carolina School for the Deaf, and the Governor Morehead School.
(3) Communities in Schools of North Carolina, Inc.
(4) Teach for America, Inc.
(5) Beginnings For Parents of Children Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing, Inc.
SECTION 7. G.S. 62‑302.1(d) reads as rewritten:
"§ 62‑302.1. Regulatory fee for combustion residuals surface impoundments.
…
(d) Use of Proceeds. – A special fund in the Office of
State Treasurer and the Coal Ash Management Commission is created. The fees
collected pursuant to this section and all other funds received by the Coal Ash
Management Commission shall be deposited in the Coal Combustion Residuals
Management Fund. The Fund shall be placed in an interest‑bearing account,
and any interest or other income derived from the Fund shall be credited to the
Fund. Moneys in the Fund shall only be spent pursuant to appropriation by
the General Assembly. Subject to appropriation by the General Assembly,
twenty‑six and one‑half percent (26.5%) of the moneys in the Fund
shall be used by the Coal Ash Management Commission and the remainder shall be
used by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. The Commission
shall be subject to the provisions of the State Budget Act, except that no
unexpended surplus of the Coal Combustion Residuals Management Fund shall
revert to the General Fund. All funds credited to the Fund shall be used only
to pay the expenses of the Coal Ash Management Commission and the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources in providing oversight of coal combustion
residuals."
SECTION 8. Sections 15(c) through 15(e) of S.L. 2014‑122 read as rewritten:
"SECTION 15.(c) Twenty‑fiveUp to
twenty‑five receipt‑supported positions are created in the
Department of Environment and Natural Resources to carry out the duties in Part
2I of Article 9 of Chapter 130A of the General Statutes. There is appropriated
from the Coal Combustion Residuals Management Fund the sum of one million seven
hundred fifty thousand dollars ($1,750,000) to the Department of Environment
and Natural Resources to support the positions for the 2014‑2015 fiscal
year.
SECTION 15.(d) Five receipt‑supported positions
are created in the Division of Emergency Management of the Department of Public
Safety to carry out the duties in G.S. 130A‑309.202. The funds
remaining in the Coal Combustion Residuals Management Fund after the
appropriation to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources are
appropriated to the Department of Public Safety for the 2014‑2015 fiscal
year. There is appropriated from the Coal Combustion Residuals
Management Fund the sum of six hundred thirty thousand dollars ($630,000) to
the Department of Public Safety to support the positions for the 2014‑2015
fiscal year. These positions shall be used to provide assistance to the
Coal Ash Management Commission established by G.S. 130A‑309.202, as
enacted by Section 3(a) of this act. The positions shall be assigned in the
following manner: one of the positions shall be the executive director of the
staff, two positions shall be assigned as analysts, one position shall be
assigned as a technician, and one position shall be assigned as administrative.
The Division of Emergency Management in the Department of Public Safety shall
consult with the Chair of the Commission in hiring the staff for the Coal Ash
Management Commission. The Division of Emergency Management in the Department
of Public Safety shall provide support to the Commission until the staff of the
Commission is hired, including the designation of an individual to serve as an
interim executive director of the staff.
SECTION 15.(e) If the moneys in the Coal Combustion Residuals Management Fund are insufficient to support the appropriations set out in subsection 15(c) and subsection 15(d) of this section for the 2014‑2015 fiscal year, then each appropriation is hereby reduced on a proportional basis.
SECTION 15.(e)SECTION 15.(f) Subsection
(a) of this section becomes effective July 1, 2014, and expires April 1, 2030,
and applies to jurisdictional revenues earned on or after July 1, 2014, and
before April 1, 2030. The remainder of this section becomes effective July 1,
2014."
SECTION 9.(a) G.S. 89C‑3(6) reads as rewritten:
"§ 89C‑3. Definitions.
The following definitions apply in this Chapter:
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(6) Practice of engineering. –
a. Any service or creative work, the adequate performance of which requires engineering education, training, and experience, in the application of special knowledge of the mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences to such services or creative work as consultation, investigation, evaluation, planning, and design of engineering works and systems, planning the use of land and water, engineering surveys, and the observation of construction for the purposes of assuring compliance with drawings and specifications, including the consultation, investigation, evaluation, planning, and design for either private or public use, in connection with any utilities, structures, buildings, machines, equipment, processes, work systems, projects, and industrial or consumer products or equipment of a mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic or thermal nature, insofar as they involve safeguarding life, health or property, and including such other professional services as may be necessary to the planning, progress and completion of any engineering services.
A person shall be construed to practice or offer to practice engineering, within the meaning and intent of this Chapter, who practices any branch of the profession of engineering; or who, by verbal claim, sign, advertisement, letterhead, card, or in any other way represents the person to be a professional engineer, or through the use of some other title implies that the person is a professional engineer or that the person is licensed under this Chapter; or who holds the person out as able to perform, or who does perform any engineering service or work not exempted by this Chapter, or any other service designated by the practitioner which is recognized as engineering.
b. The term "practice of engineering" shall not be construed to permit the location, description, establishment or reestablishment of property lines or descriptions of land boundaries for conveyance. The term does not include the assessment of an underground storage tank required by applicable rules at closure or change in service unless there has been a discharge or release of the product from the tank. The term does not include the development of an Emergency Action Plan pursuant to G.S. 143‑215.31."
SECTION 9.(b) Section 8(b) of S.L. 2014‑122 reads as rewritten:
"SECTION 8.(b) Notwithstanding G.S. 143‑215.31, as amended by Section 8(a) of this act, the owners of all high‑hazard dams and intermediate‑hazard dams associated with coal combustion residuals surface impoundments, as defined by G.S. 130A‑309.201, in operation on the effective date of this act shall submit their proposed Emergency Action Plans to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Department of Public Safety no later than March 1, 2015. Notwithstanding G.S. 143‑215.31, as amended by Section 8(a) of this act, the owners of all high‑hazard dams and intermediate‑hazard dams not associated with coal combustion residuals surface impoundments, as defined by G.S. 130A‑309.201, in operation on the effective date of this act shall submit their proposed Emergency Action Plans to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Department of Public Safety no later than December 31, 2015."
SECTION 10. G.S. 143B-431.01(d)(2)(c) reads as rewritten:
"(d) Limitations. – Prior to contracting with a North Carolina nonprofit corporation pursuant to this section and in order for the North Carolina nonprofit corporation to receive State funds, the following conditions shall be met:
…
(2) The nonprofit corporation adheres to the following governance provisions related to its governing board:
…
c. No State officer or employee may serve on
the board.
…."
SECTION 11.(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the sum of two million dollars ($2,000,000) appropriated to the Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Central Management and Support, for the health information exchange for the 2014‑2015 fiscal year shall be nonrecurring. The Department shall not, under any circumstances, use any portion of this two million dollars ($2,000,000) in nonrecurring funds for any purpose not expressly authorized under section 12A.2 of S.L. 2014‑100, as amended by this act.
SECTION 11.(b) Section 12A.2 of S.L. 2014‑100 reads as rewritten:
"SECTION 12A.2.(a) It is the intent of
the General Assembly:
(1) To maximize receipt of federal funds for
administration and support of the statewide health information exchange network
(HIE Network).
(2) To allow the North Carolina Health
Information Exchange (NC HIE), the nonprofit corporation responsible for overseeing
and administering the HIE Network, to receive the State's share of available
federal funds for administration and support of the HIE Network in order to
reduce the operating costs of the HIE Network by an amount sufficient to allow
for the elimination or reduction of the participation fee the NC HIE currently
imposes on hospitals required to connect to the HIE Network pursuant to G.S. 90‑413.3A.
(3) Beginning with the 2015‑2016 fiscal
year, to make the Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Central
Management and Support, responsible for using State funds to draw down
available matching federal funds for administration and support of the HIE
Network.
SECTION 12A.2.(b) From the nonrecurring funds
appropriated in this act to the Department of Health and Human Services,
Division of Central Management and Support, for the health information exchange
for the 2014‑2015 fiscal year, the Department shall allocate to the North
Carolina Health Information Exchange, Exchange (NC HIE), a
nonprofit corporation, an amount determined by the Department and the State
Chief Information Officer (SCIO) to be sufficient to represent the State
share for the maximum amount of approved federal matching funds for allowable
Medicaid administrative costs related to the HIE Network.reasonably
necessary to fund the following monthly operating expenses incurred or
encumbered by the NCHIE during the period commencing February 1, 2015, and
ending June 30, 2015:
(1) Software vendor maintenance, hosting, and licensing costs due under the technology vendor contract currently in effect between NCHIE and Orion.
(2) NCHIE payroll costs.
(3) Contract labor costs and other expenses to sustain the current operations of the NC HIE and to complete the process of connecting to the HIE Network the 23 hospitals that, as of February 2015, had initiated the connection process. For the purpose of this section, "HIE Network" is as defined in G.S. 90‑413.3.
SECTION 12A.2.(b1) The NC HIE shall not use any portion of the funds allocated to the NC HIE pursuant to subsection (b) of this section for expenses incurred or encumbered prior to February 1, 2015, or for any other purpose not expressly authorized under subsection (b) of this section.
SECTION 12A.2.(b2) In addition to the allocations authorized under subsection (b) of this section, the Department may use these nonrecurring funds for the following purposes:
(1) To make debt payments on behalf of the NC HIE which are determined by the Department and the SCIO to be reasonably necessary to sustain the operations of the software vendor.
(2) To conduct the assessment required under Section 12A.2(c)(2) of this act.
SECTION 12A.2.(c) By March 1, 2015, the NC HIE
shall report to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human
Services, the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Information Technology,
and the Fiscal Research DivisionMay 1, 2015, the Department shall submit
both of the following to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and
Human Services, the Senate Appropriations Committee on Health and Human
Services, the Joint Legislative Oversight Committees on Health and Human
Services and Information Technology, and the Fiscal Research Division:
(1) A report on its use of (i)all
State appropriations allocated to or on behalf of the NC HIE pursuant to
this section and (ii) federal matching funds received by the NC HIE for
costs related to the HIE Network. The report shall include a detailed, audited
report of all State and federal funds received by the NC HIE and all expenditures
from these funds.section.
(2) In conjunction with the Office of the SCIO and the North Carolina Government Data Analytics Center, an assessment of the existing functionality, structure, and operation of the HIE Network.
SECTION 12A.2.(d) By September 1, 2015, the Department, in conjunction with the Office of the SCIO and the North Carolina Government Data Analytics Center, shall submit both of the following to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committees on Health and Human Services and Information Technology:
(1) An assessment of the best business model and operational structure for administering a statewide health information exchange network in this State.
(2) A recommendation as to whether the NC HIE should continue to oversee and administer this State's HIE Network."
SECTION 12. Sections 7 and 8 of this act become effective July 1, 2014. Section 9 of this act is effective retroactively to September 20, 2014. Section 11 of this act is effective when it becomes law or June 30, 2015, whichever is earlier. The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law.