§ 136-44.2. Budget and appropriations. - North Carolina Statutes

§ 136‑44.2.  Budget andappropriations.

The Director of the Budgetshall include in the "Current Operations Appropriations Act" anenumeration of the purposes or objects of the proposed expenditures for each ofthe construction and maintenance programs for that budget period for the Stateprimary, secondary, State parks road systems, and other transportation systems.The State primary system shall include all portions of the State highway systemlocated both inside and outside municipal corporate limits that are designatedby N.C., U.S. or Interstate numbers. The State secondary system shall includeall of the State highway system located both inside and outside municipalcorporate limits that is not a part of the State primary system. The Stateparks system shall include all State parks roads and parking lots that are notalso part of the State highway system. The transportation systems shall includeState‑maintained, nonhighway modes of transportation as well.

All construction andmaintenance programs for which appropriations are requested shall be enumeratedseparately in the budget. Programs that are entirely State funded shall belisted separately from those programs involving the use of federal‑aidfunds. Proposed appropriations of State matching funds for each of the federal‑aidconstruction programs shall be enumerated separately as well as the federal‑aidfunds anticipated for each program in order that the total constructionrequirements for each program may be provided for in the budget. Also, proposedState matching funds for the highway planning and research program shall beincluded separately along with the anticipated federal‑aid funds for thatpurpose.

Other program categories forwhich appropriations are requested, such as, but not limited to, maintenance,channelization and traffic control, bridge maintenance, public service andaccess road construction, transportation projects and systems, and ferryoperations shall be enumerated in the budget.

The Department ofTransportation shall have all powers necessary to comply fully with provisionsof present and future federal‑aid acts. No federally eligibleconstruction project may be funded entirely with State funds unless theDepartment of Transportation has first reported to the Joint Legislative Commissionon Governmental Operations. For purposes of this section, "federallyeligible construction project" means any construction project exceptsecondary road projects developed pursuant to G.S. 136‑44.7 and 136‑44.8eligible for federal funds under any federal‑aid act, whether or notfederal funds are actually available.

The "Current OperationsAppropriations Act" shall also contain the proposed appropriations ofState funds for use in each county for maintenance and construction ofsecondary roads, to be allocated in accordance with G.S. 136‑44.5 and 136‑44.6.State funds appropriated for secondary roads shall not be transferred nor usedexcept for the construction and maintenance of secondary roads in the countyfor which they are allocated pursuant to G.S. 136‑44.5 and 136‑44.6.

If the unreserved creditbalance in the Highway Fund on the last day of a fiscal year is greater thanthe amount estimated for that date in the Current Operations Appropriations Actfor the following fiscal year, the excess shall be used in accordance with thisparagraph. The Director of the Budget may allocate part or all of the excessamong reserves for access and public roads, for unforeseen events requiringprompt action, or for other urgent needs. The amount not allocated to any ofthese reserves by the Director of the Budget shall be credited to a reserve formaintenance. The Board of Transportation shall report monthly to the JointLegislative Transportation Oversight Committee and the Fiscal Research Divisionon the use of funds in the maintenance reserve.

The Department ofTransportation may provide for costs incurred or accrued for traffic controlmeasures to be taken by the Department at major events which involve a highdegree of traffic concentration on State highways, and which cannot be fundedfrom regular budgeted items. This authorization applies only to events whichare expected to generate 30,000 vehicles or more per day. The Department ofTransportation shall provide for this funding by allocating and reserving up toone hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) before any other allocations from theappropriations for State maintenance for primary, secondary, and urban roadsystems are made, based upon the same proportion as is appropriated to eachsystem.  (1973,c. 507, s. 3; 1977, c. 464, s. 7.1; 1981, c. 859, s. 84; 1983, c. 717, ss. 46,47; 1987, c. 830, s. 113(b); 1989, c. 799, s. 12(a); 1991 (Reg. Sess., 1992),c. 907, s. 2; c. 1044, s. 35; 1997‑443, s. 32.5; 2005‑276, s. 28.1;2005‑382, s. 1; 2009‑266, s. 19.)