GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA SESSION 2025 H 1 HOUSE BILL 273 Short Title: Create/Fund Brushy Mtns. State Natural Area. (Public) Sponsors: Representative Eddins. For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site. Referred to: Appropriations, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House March 5, 2025 *H273 -v-1* A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1 AN ACT TO CREATE AND FUND THE BRUSHY MOU NTAINS STATE NATURAL AREA 2 IN ALEXANDER, CALDWE LL, AND WILKES COUNTIES. 3 The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 4 SECTION 1. Creation. – The General Assembly authorizes the Department of 5 Natural and Cultural Resources to create Brushy Mountains State Natural Area (BMSNA) in 6 Alexander County, Caldwell County, and Wilkes County and to add BMSNA to the State Parks 7 System, as provided in G.S. 143B-135.54(b). The State may receive donations of appropriate 8 land and may purchase other needed lands for BMSNA with existing funds in the NC Land and 9 Water Fund, the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund, the federal Land and Water Conservation 10 Fund, and other available sources of funding. 11 SECTION 2. Funding. – There is appropriated from the General Fund to the 12 Department of Natural and Cultural Resources the sum of two hundred fifty thousand dollars 13 ($250,000) in nonrecurring funds and two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) in recurring 14 funds for the 2025-2026 fiscal year to be allocated for initial land acquisition and site 15 development and associated operating costs at BMSNA. 16 SECTION 3. Effective Date. – Section 2 of this act becomes effective July 1, 2025. 17 The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law. 18