NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1971 SESSION

 

 

CHAPTER 858

HOUSE BILL 1374

 

 

AN ACT TO PROVIDE A PROCEDURE FOR THE DISSOLUTION OF A DISTRICT HEALTH DEPARTMENT.

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

 

Section 1.  Chapter 130 of the General Statutes is hereby amended by adding a new section to be designated G.S. 130-14.1, and to read as follows:

"§ 130-14.1.  Dissolution of a district health department. Whenever the boards of county commissioners, each by a majority vote, of all counties constituting a district health department, as that term is defined in G.S. 130-14, determine that such district health department is not operating in the best health interests of the residents of the respective counties, they may direct that all of the counties comprising the district be withdrawn from the district in order that they may operate as county health departments, as that term is defined in G.S. 130-13. In addition, whenever a board of county commissioners of any county which is a member of a district health department determines, by a majority vote, that such district health department is not operating in the best health interests of that county, it may withdraw from the district health department and operate as a county health department. Dissolution of any district health department or withdrawal from such district health department by any county shall take place only at the end of the fiscal year in which the action of dissolution or withdrawal transpired.

Any budgetary surplus available to a district health department at the time of complete dissolution of the district health department shall be distributed to those counties comprising the district on the same pro rata basis that such counties appropriated and contributed funds to the district health department budget.

Distribution to the counties shall be determined on the basis of an audit of the district health department financial records by an independent public accounting firm as selected by the district board of health. The same method of distribution of funds described above shall apply when one or more counties of a district health department withdraws from a district.

All ordinances and regulations adopted by a district board of health shall become void upon dissolution except that if two or more counties of the original district continue to operate as a district health department, those ordinances and regulations adopted by the original district board of health shall continue in effect. Also, any county or counties withdrawing from a district health department may retain any ordinances adopted by the original district board of health, such retention of ordinances or regulations being contingent upon the adoption of the same ordinances and regulations by the new county board of health."

Sec. 2.  This act shall become effective upon ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 14th day of July, 1971.