| 13 | 13 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1 |
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| 14 | 14 | | AN ACT TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS FOR THE REPAIR AND RECONSTRUCTION OF 2 |
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| 15 | 15 | | SHORT-LINE RAILROADS IMPACTED BY HURRICANE HELENE. 3 |
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| 16 | 16 | | The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 4 |
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| 17 | 17 | | SECTION 1.(a) The State Controller shall transfer the sum of sixteen million three 5 |
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| 18 | 18 | | hundred ninety-two thousand one hundred seventy-six dollars ($16,392,176) in nonrecurring 6 |
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| 19 | 19 | | funds for the 2025-2026 fiscal year from funds available in the State Emergency Response and 7 |
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| 20 | 20 | | Disaster Relief Reserve to the Department of Transportation's Rail Division (Division) for the 8 |
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| 21 | 21 | | Freight Rail & Rail Safety Improvement Fund (Rail Fund) established by G.S. 124-5.1, and those 9 |
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| 22 | 22 | | funds are appropriated from the Rail Fund for the purposes set forth in subsection (b) of this 10 |
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| 23 | 23 | | section. 11 |
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| 24 | 24 | | SECTION 1.(b) The Division shall use the funds transferred and appropriated 12 |
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| 25 | 25 | | pursuant to this section to provide grants for recovery and repair of the following short-line 13 |
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| 26 | 26 | | railroads damaged by Hurricane Helene: 14 |
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| 27 | 27 | | (1) Fourteen million dollars ($14,000,000) to the Blue Ridge Southern Railroad, 15 |
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| 28 | 28 | | LLC, for line restoration. 16 |
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| 29 | 29 | | (2) Two million three hundred ninety-two thousand one hundred seventy-six 17 |
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| 30 | 30 | | dollars ($2,392,176) for track rehabilitation, facility repairs, and revenue loss 18 |
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| 31 | 31 | | to the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad, LLC. 19 |
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| 32 | 32 | | SECTION 2. This act becomes effective July 1, 2025. 20 |
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