| 12 | 13 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1 |
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| 13 | 14 | | AN ACT TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS TO IMPROVE ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN SCHOOLS 2 |
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| 14 | 15 | | IN LOCAL SCHOOL ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS, TO POWER SCHOOLS WITH 3 |
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| 15 | 16 | | SOLAR ENERGY, AND TO REPLACE COMBUSTION -POWERED SCHOOL BUSES 4 |
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| 16 | 17 | | WITH ELECTRIC-POWERED SCHOOL BUSES. 5 |
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| 17 | 18 | | The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 6 |
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| 18 | 19 | | SECTION 1. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of 7 |
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| 19 | 20 | | Public Instruction for the 2025-2026 fiscal year the sum of one billion five hundred million 8 |
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| 20 | 21 | | dollars ($1,500,000,000) in nonrecurring funds to be allocated to local school administrative units 9 |
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| 21 | 22 | | on the basis of average daily membership to make improvements to public school buildings as 10 |
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| 22 | 23 | | follows: 11 |
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| 23 | 24 | | (1) One billion dollars ($1,000,000,000) to make needed improvements to all 12 |
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| 24 | 25 | | school buildings for energy efficiency, including the following: 13 |
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| 25 | 26 | | a. Installing high-efficiency lighting. 14 |
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| 26 | 27 | | b. Replacing pipe insulation. 15 |
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| 27 | 28 | | c. Weatherizing doors, windows, and other internal and external 16 |
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| 28 | 29 | | openings. 17 |
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| 29 | 30 | | d. Repairing, replacing, and upgrading heating, ventilation, and air 18 |
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| 30 | 31 | | conditioning systems, including programmable thermostats, chillers, 19 |
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| 31 | 32 | | boilers, and fuel-switching systems. 20 |
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| 32 | 33 | | e. Upgrading plug load management systems. 21 |
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| 33 | 34 | | f. Repairing, replacing, and upgrading water and wastewater systems 22 |
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| 34 | 35 | | and controls. 23 |
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| 35 | 36 | | g. Upgrading electric water coolers. 24 |
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| 36 | 37 | | h. Installing open-platform, internet-based controls for building 25 |
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| 37 | 38 | | management systems. 26 |
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| 38 | 39 | | (2) Two hundred fifty million dollars ($250,000,000) to install solar photovoltaic 27 |
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| 39 | 40 | | panels on each school building that would benefit from solar photovoltaic 28 |
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| 40 | 41 | | panels and to make necessary roof repairs to support the installation of solar 29 |
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| 41 | 42 | | photovoltaic panels. 30 |
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| 42 | 43 | | (3) Two hundred fifty million dollars ($250,000,000) to replace all qualifying 31 |
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| 43 | 44 | | school buses with new school buses that are operated exclusively on electric 32 |
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| 44 | 45 | | fuel and assembled in the State. For purposes of this subdivision, a qualifying 33 |
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| 45 | 46 | | school bus is a school bus owned by a local school administrative unit that 34 |
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