GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1999

S	1 

SENATE BILL 206

Short Title:  Open Debate on Approps. Required.	(Public)

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Sponsors: Senators Allran; Carrington, Forrester, Foxx, Moore, Rucho, Shaw of Guilford, and Webster.

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Referred to:  Appropriations/Base Budget.

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March 2, 1999

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO ENSURE PUBLIC CONSIDERATION OF ITEMS CONTAINED IN APPROPRIATIONS ACTS.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  G.S. 143-15 reads as rewritten:
"§ 143-15. Reduction and increase of items by General Assembly.
The provisions of this Article shall continue to be the legislative policy with reference to the making of appropriations and shall be treated as rules of both branches of the General Assembly until and unless the same may be changed by the General Assembly either by express enactment or by rules adopted by either branch of the General Assembly.
The General Assembly may reduce or strike out such item in the Current Operations Appropriations Bill and the Capital Improvement Appropriations Bill as it may deem to be the interest of the public service, but neither House shall consider further or special appropriations until the Current Operations Appropriations Bill shall have been enacted in whole or part or rejected, unless the Governor shall submit and recommend an emergency appropriation bill or emergency appropriation bills, which may be amended in the manner set out herein, and such emergency appropriation bill, or bills, when enacted, shall continue in force only until the Current Operations Appropriations Bill and the Capital Improvement Appropriations Bill shall become effective, unless otherwise provided by the General Assembly. Provided that the Capital Improvement Appropriations Bill may be considered before the Current Operations Appropriations Bill has been adopted in whole or part or rejected.
The General Assembly may also increase any appropriation set out in the Current Operations Appropriations Bill and the Capital Improvement Appropriations Bill and may provide additional appropriations for other purposes if additional revenue or revenues, equal to the amount of such additional appropriations and increases, are provided for by corresponding amendment to the Budget Revenue Bill. No bill carrying an appropriation shall thereafter be enacted by the General Assembly, unless it be for an object or objects therein described and shall provide an adequate source of revenue for defraying such appropriation, or unless it appears from the budget report or the Budget Revenue Bill that there is sufficient revenue available therefor. The appropriation, or appropriations, in such bills shall be in accordance with the classification used in the budget.
The General Assembly shall not enact an appropriation for any  purpose unless the appropriation was submitted to the General Assembly by the Director in the budget report, the Current Operations Appropriations Bill, the Capital Improvement Appropriations Bill, or material accompanying the budget in accordance with G.S. 143-11(b), or unless the appropriation was debated by an appropriations subcommittee of the Senate or the House of Representatives in an open meeting and was contained in an introduced bill or in a request from a State agency.
Reports to or of the appropriations committees or their subcommittees indicate action by the general Assembly when they are used in preparation of or amendment to appropriations acts."
Section 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law.