H97 - 2015 Appropriations Act, Sec. 6.19: Emergency and Disaster Response Funding Changes (SL 2015-241)

Overview: Sec. 6.19 of S.L. 2015-241 amends several sections of the North Carolina Emergency Management Act (Article 1A of Chapter 166A of the General Statutes) that govern how State emergency management and response is funded as follows:

• The State Emergency Response Account is renamed the State Emergency Response and Disaster Relief Fund and the statutes are amended to clarify that this Fund is the primary vehicle through which State emergency relief funds must be routed.
• The statutes are reorganized to clarify the circumstances under which Contingency and Emergency Funds and other appropriations may be used for emergency response purposes.
• Two additional prerequisites are added to the Governor's power to use funds appropriated to the various State agencies for emergency response purposes: (i) a state of emergency must have been declared and (ii) funds in the State Emergency Response and Disaster Relief Fund must be insufficient.
• Conforming statutory changes are made.

This section became effective July 1, 2015.