§ 143C-6-9.  Use of lapsed salary savings.

(a) Lapsed salary savings may be expended only for nonrecurring purposes or line items.

(b) Lapsed salary savings shall not be used to pay for litigation services provided by private counsel. As used in this subsection, litigation services and private counsel are as defined in G.S. 147-17(c1) and G.S. 114-2.3(d). This subsection does not apply to litigation services provided by private counsel retained by the Judicial Department for the defense of an official or employee of the Department in any action arising from conduct undertaken in the course of the official's or employee's official duties and in which the Attorney General has declined to provide the litigation services.

(c) Until otherwise provided by the General Assembly, the Office of State Budget and Management (OSBM) in conjunction with State agencies, as defined in G.S. 143C-1-1(d)(24), shall report on the use of lapsed salary funds at the end of each fiscal year. State agencies shall report to the OSBM on the use of lapsed salary, including all of the following:

(1) The total amount of accrued lapsed salary funds by funding source.

(2) The total number of full-time equivalent positions comprising the lapsed salary funds.

(3) The total expenditure of lapsed salaries by purpose.

(4) The legal authorization to expend lapsed salary funds.

The OSBM shall report by October 1 of each year on the use of lapsed salary funds to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committees on Health and Human Services, Education, Justice and Public Safety, Transportation, Information Technology, General Government, and Agriculture and Natural and Economic Resources and the Fiscal Research Division. (2006-203, s. 3; 2017-57, s. 6.7; 2020-78, s. 20.1; 2021-180, s. 16.10(b).)