GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2019

SESSION LAW 2019-138

SENATE BILL 535

AN ACT to authorize the addition of Pisgah view state park to the state parks system and to clarify the statutes dealing with conservation corps north carolina.

Whereas, Section 5 of Article XIV of the North Carolina Constitution states that it shall be a proper function of the State of North Carolina to acquire and preserve park, recreational, and scenic areas and, in every other appropriate way, to preserve as a part of the common heritage of this State its open lands and places of beauty; and

Whereas, the General Assembly enacted the State Parks Act in 1987, declaring that the State of North Carolina offers unique archaeological, geological, biological, scenic, and recreational resources, and that such resources are part of the heritage of the people of the State to be preserved and managed by those people for their use and for the use of their visitors and descendants; and

Whereas, areas within southwest Buncombe County and Haywood County support a number of unique habitats and natural communities, contain high‑quality cliffs, coves, and upland forests, and are home to several rare or uncommon plant and animal species; and

Whereas, this region possesses biological, geological, scenic, and recreational resources of statewide significance; Now, therefore,

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  The General Assembly authorizes the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources to add Pisgah View State Park in Buncombe and Haywood Counties to the State Parks System as provided in G.S. 143B‑135.54(b).

SECTION 2.  The State may receive donations of appropriate land and may purchase other needed lands for Pisgah View State Park with existing funds in the Clean Water Management Trust Fund, the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund, the federal Land and Water Trust Fund, and other available sources of funding.

SECTION 3.  G.S. 143‑58.7 reads as rewritten:

"§ 143‑58.7.  Contracts with Youth Conservation Corps.

State departments, institutions, and agencies may contract with the North Carolina Youth Conservation Corps North Carolina to perform trail construction and maintenance, invasive species removal, and other conservation projects in State parks, State forests, and other State‑owned facilities where the projects provide direct public benefits to the citizens of the State and offer youth and young adults of the State a structured program that connects them to natural resources and teaches job skills, leadership, community service, and personal responsibility. Contracts under this section are exempt from the competitive bidding procedures described in this Article and the rules adopted under it."

SECTION 4.  This act is effective when it becomes law.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 9^th day of July, 2019.

                                                                    s/  Ralph E. Hise

                                                                         Presiding Officer of the Senate

                                                                    s/  Tim Moore

                                                                         Speaker of the House of Representatives

                                                                    s/  Roy Cooper

                                                                         Governor

Approved 1:41 p.m. this 19^th day of July, 2019