| 13 | 13 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1 |
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| 14 | 14 | | AN ACT TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS FOR VARIOUS NEEDS OF THE CITY AND 2 |
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| 15 | 15 | | COUNTY OF DURHAM AND TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT OF 3 |
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| 16 | 16 | | TRANSPORTATION TO REEVALUATE THE FUNDING OF ROADS. 4 |
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| 17 | 17 | | The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 5 |
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| 18 | 18 | | SECTION 1. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Office of State 6 |
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| 19 | 19 | | Budget and Management the sum of one million dollars ($1,000,000) in nonrecurring funds for 7 |
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| 20 | 20 | | the 2025-2026 fiscal year to provide a directed grant to the City of Durham as follows: 8 |
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| 21 | 21 | | (1) Five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) for maintenance and equipment 9 |
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| 22 | 22 | | needs for city parks. 10 |
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| 23 | 23 | | (2) Five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) for expansion of landfills. 11 |
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| 24 | 24 | | SECTION 2. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Office of State 12 |
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| 25 | 25 | | Budget and Management the sum of thirty million dollars ($30,000,000) in nonrecurring funds 13 |
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| 26 | 26 | | for the 2025-2026 fiscal year to provide a directed grant to Durham County to be used to enhance 14 |
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| 27 | 27 | | and upgrade County wastewater utility infrastructure in the Research Triangle Park area to 15 |
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| 28 | 28 | | support economic development and growth. 16 |
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| 29 | 29 | | SECTION 3. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Office of State 17 |
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| 30 | 30 | | Budget and Management the sum of two hundred thirty-seven thousand dollars ($237,000) in 18 |
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| 31 | 31 | | nonrecurring funds for the 2025-2026 fiscal year to provide a directed grant to The Stagville 19 |
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| 32 | 32 | | Memorial Project to support the design and development of an art installation honoring the 20 |
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| 33 | 33 | | history of the Stagville descendants on a plot of land across from the Museum of Durham History 21 |
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| 34 | 34 | | in the City of Durham. 22 |
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| 35 | 35 | | SECTION 4. There is appropriated from the Highway Fund to the Department of 23 |
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| 36 | 36 | | Transportation for the 2025-2026 fiscal year the sum of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) 24 |
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| 37 | 37 | | in nonrecurring funds to be allocated to Durham County for the repair and improvement of 25 |
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| 38 | 38 | | orphan roads, in non-municipal areas of the county, to meet Department of Transportation 26 |
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| 39 | 39 | | minimum construction requirements for addition to the State highway system. 27 |
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| 40 | 40 | | SECTION 5. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Administrative 28 |
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| 41 | 41 | | Office of the Courts the sum of five hundred three thousand four hundred eighty-one dollars 29 |
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| 42 | 42 | | ($503,481) in nonrecurring funds for the 2025-2026 fiscal year and the sum of fourteen million 30 |
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| 43 | 43 | | four thousand three hundred ninety-three dollars ($14,004,393) in recurring funds for the 31 |
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| 44 | 44 | | 2025-2026 fiscal year to provide 219 total positions statewide for staffing needs to implement 32 |
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| 45 | 45 | | the eCourts system to maintain court efficiency, reduce case processing delays, prevent case 33 |
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| 46 | | - | backlog, and ensure timely service to citizens. 34 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 |
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| 47 | | - | Page 2 House Bill 927-First Edition |
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| 48 | | - | SECTION 6. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Office of State 1 |
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| 49 | | - | Budget and Management the sum of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) in nonrecurring 2 |
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| 50 | | - | funds for the 2025-2026 fiscal year to provide a directed grant to Durham County for staffing, 3 |
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| 51 | | - | operational costs, and legal resource materials needed to establish a legal support center, modeled 4 |
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| 52 | | - | after Wake County's center, to provide legal information, procedural guidance, and assistance 5 |
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| 53 | | - | with forms to litigants without legal representation for the purpose of enhancing access to justice, 6 |
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| 54 | | - | reducing court congestion and staff overload, and improving case processing efficiency. 7 |
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| 55 | | - | SECTION 7. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Office of State 8 |
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| 56 | | - | Budget and Management the sum of one hundred eighty thousand dollars ($180,000) in recurring 9 |
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| 57 | | - | funds for the 2025-2026 fiscal year to annually provide a directed grant to Durham County for 10 |
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| 58 | | - | salary enhancements and retention incentives for, and professional development of, court staff to 11 |
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| 59 | | - | increase retention of experienced personnel, improve institutional knowledge, and reduce hiring 12 |
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| 60 | | - | and training costs for the purpose of ensuring high-quality service to the public. 13 |
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| 61 | | - | SECTION 8. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Office of State 14 |
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| 62 | | - | Budget and Management the sum of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) in nonrecurring 15 |
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| 63 | | - | funds for the 2025-2026 fiscal year to provide a directed grant to Durham County to the Durham 16 |
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| 64 | | - | County Special Proceedings and Estates courtroom with CRAVE hardware to provide for remote 17 |
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| 65 | | - | hearing capability, meet other system hardware and software needs, and train personnel to 18 |
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| 66 | | - | improve court efficiency for the purposes of modernizing the judiciary, improving data security, 19 |
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| 67 | | - | and reducing long-term administrative costs. 20 |
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| 68 | | - | SECTION 9. The Department of Transportation shall perform a study that 21 |
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| 69 | | - | reevaluates the procedures, policies, and criteria used in the funding of roadway projects and 22 |
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| 70 | | - | expansion in relation to rural counties and municipalities impacted by increases in population, 23 |
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| 71 | | - | residential development, and traffic congestion. The study shall include evaluating the need for 24 |
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| 72 | | - | improvements to how the Department and rural counties and municipalities work together, the 25 |
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| 73 | | - | need for increased State funding for new and existing construction and maintenance, and whether 26 |
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| 74 | | - | legislation is necessary to ensure that the State Transportation Improvement (STI) project 27 |
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| 75 | | - | funding formula recognizes that one size does not fit all and that projects in both rural and urban 28 |
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| 76 | | - | areas are prioritized and funded appropriately. 29 |
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| 77 | | - | SECTION 10. Sections 1 through 8 of this act become effective July 1, 2025. The 30 |
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| 78 | | - | remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law. 31 |
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| 46 | + | backlog, and ensure timely service to citizens. 34 |
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| 47 | + | SECTION 6. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Office of State 35 |
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| 48 | + | Budget and Management the sum of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) in nonrecurring 36 |
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| 49 | + | H.B. 927 |
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| 50 | + | Apr 10, 2025 |
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| 51 | + | HOUSE PRINCIPAL CLERK General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 |
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| 52 | + | Page 2 DRH30364-MCa-159A |
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| 53 | + | funds for the 2025-2026 fiscal year to provide a directed grant to Durham County for staffing, 1 |
|---|
| 54 | + | operational costs, and legal resource materials needed to establish a legal support center, modeled 2 |
|---|
| 55 | + | after Wake County's center, to provide legal information, procedural guidance, and assistance 3 |
|---|
| 56 | + | with forms to litigants without legal representation for the purpose of enhancing access to justice, 4 |
|---|
| 57 | + | reducing court congestion and staff overload, and improving case processing efficiency. 5 |
|---|
| 58 | + | SECTION 7. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Office of State 6 |
|---|
| 59 | + | Budget and Management the sum of one hundred eighty thousand dollars ($180,000) in recurring 7 |
|---|
| 60 | + | funds for the 2025-2026 fiscal year to annually provide a directed grant to Durham County for 8 |
|---|
| 61 | + | salary enhancements and retention incentives for, and professional development of, court staff to 9 |
|---|
| 62 | + | increase retention of experienced personnel, improve institutional knowledge, and reduce hiring 10 |
|---|
| 63 | + | and training costs for the purpose of ensuring high-quality service to the public. 11 |
|---|
| 64 | + | SECTION 8. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Office of State 12 |
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| 65 | + | Budget and Management the sum of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) in nonrecurring 13 |
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| 66 | + | funds for the 2025-2026 fiscal year to provide a directed grant to Durham County to the Durham 14 |
|---|
| 67 | + | County Special Proceedings and Estates courtroom with CRAVE hardware to provide for remote 15 |
|---|
| 68 | + | hearing capability, meet other system hardware and software needs, and train personnel to 16 |
|---|
| 69 | + | improve court efficiency for the purposes of modernizing the judiciary, improving data security, 17 |
|---|
| 70 | + | and reducing long-term administrative costs. 18 |
|---|
| 71 | + | SECTION 9. The Department of Transportation shall perform a study that 19 |
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| 72 | + | reevaluates the procedures, policies, and criteria used in the funding of roadway projects and 20 |
|---|
| 73 | + | expansion in relation to rural counties and municipalities impacted by increases in population, 21 |
|---|
| 74 | + | residential development, and traffic congestion. The study shall include evaluating the need for 22 |
|---|
| 75 | + | improvements to how the Department and rural counties and municipalities work together, the 23 |
|---|
| 76 | + | need for increased State funding for new and existing construction and maintenance, and whether 24 |
|---|
| 77 | + | legislation is necessary to ensure that the State Transportation Improvement (STI) project 25 |
|---|
| 78 | + | funding formula recognizes that one size does not fit all and that projects in both rural and urban 26 |
|---|
| 79 | + | areas are prioritized and funded appropriately. 27 |
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| 80 | + | SECTION 10. Sections 1 through 8 of this act become effective July 1, 2025. The 28 |
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| 81 | + | remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law. 29 |
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