| 13 | 13 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1 |
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| 14 | 14 | | AN ACT TO ESTABLISH THE ORPHAN ROADS MAINTENANCE PROGRAM GRANT. 2 |
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| 15 | 15 | | The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 3 |
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| 16 | 16 | | SECTION 1. This act shall be known as the "Orphan Roads Maintenance Program 4 |
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| 17 | 17 | | Grant." 5 |
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| 18 | 18 | | SECTION 2. The Orphan Roads Maintenance Program Grant Fund is established as 6 |
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| 19 | 19 | | a special fund within the Department of Transportation to be administered by the Department. 7 |
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| 20 | 20 | | SECTION 3. The purpose of this act is to award funds for the improvement of 8 |
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| 21 | 21 | | subdivision streets located within a county or a municipality that do not meet Department of 9 |
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| 22 | 22 | | Transportation minimum construction requirements for addition to the State highway system or 10 |
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| 23 | 23 | | municipal street system for maintenance. 11 |
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| 24 | 24 | | SECTION 4. There is appropriated from the Highway Fund to the Department of 12 |
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| 25 | 25 | | Transportation for the 2025-2026 fiscal year the sum of seventy-five million dollars 13 |
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| 26 | 26 | | ($75,000,000) in nonrecurring funds to be allocated to the Orphan Roads Maintenance Program 14 |
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| 27 | 27 | | Grant Fund established in Section 2 of this act. Subject to Section 5 of this act, unexpended funds 15 |
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| 28 | 28 | | shall not revert. 16 |
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| 29 | 29 | | SECTION 5. The Secretary of Transportation shall establish procedures and criteria 17 |
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| 30 | 30 | | and adopt rules for awarding funds under this act to a county or a municipality for the 18 |
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| 31 | 31 | | improvement of a subdivision street in accordance with all of the following requirements: 19 |
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| 32 | 32 | | (1) Once an orphan road meets Department standards, ownership shall be 20 |
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| 33 | 33 | | conveyed to the Department or to a local municipality. 21 |
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| 34 | 34 | | (2) The total aggregate amount of funds awarded to a subdivision shall not exceed 22 |
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| 35 | 35 | | two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000). 23 |
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| 36 | 36 | | (3) The required local share of matching funds by the county shall be twenty-five 24 |
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| 37 | 37 | | cents (25ยข) for every one dollar ($1.00) awarded. A county may satisfy this 25 |
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| 38 | 38 | | condition by financing the local share in accordance with G.S. 153A-205. 26 |
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| 39 | 39 | | (4) An award of funds under this act shall not be distributed to a county or a 27 |
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| 40 | 40 | | municipality until the Department or a municipality accepts the subdivision 28 |
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| 41 | 41 | | street to the State highway system or municipal street system for maintenance. 29 |
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| 42 | 42 | | SECTION 6. This act is repealed effective June 30, 2030. The Department shall 30 |
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| 43 | 43 | | close the Orphan Roads Maintenance Program Grant Fund after transferring any remaining 31 |
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| 44 | 44 | | balance to the Highway Fund for subsequent appropriation by the General Assembly. 32 |
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| 45 | 45 | | SECTION 7. This act becomes effective July 1, 2025. 33 |
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