GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2013

H                                                                                                                                                    1

HOUSE BILL 86

Short Title:        Restore Wallace to Wilmington Railroad.		(Public)
Sponsors:	Representatives Hamilton, Shepard, R. Moore, and Catlin (Primary Sponsors). For a complete list of Sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly Web Site.
Referred to:	Transportation, if favorable, Appropriations.

February 11, 2013

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT to restore the railroad from wallace to Castle Hayne, to make capital improvements to the railroad from Castle Hayne to wilmington, and to study additional improvements to military TRANSPORTATION.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  The Department of Transportation shall seek funding in the sum of sixty-five million two hundred thousand dollars ($65,200,000) to be used for the following economic development projects to improve rail access to the North Carolina State Port at Wilmington:

(1)        Fifty million dollars ($50,000,000) of that sum shall be used to revitalize and restore the existing rail connection between Wallace and Castle Hayne.

(2)        Fifteen million two hundred thousand dollars ($15,200,000) of that sum shall be used to make capital improvements from Wilmington to Castle Hayne.

The Department shall investigate any and all options for a source of this funding, including, but not limited to, investment in the project or dividends from the North Carolina Railroad Company, any available economic development funds, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the U.S. Department of Defense. The Department shall report options to fund the rail projects described in this section to the Joint Legislative Transportation Oversight Committee no later than November 1, 2013.

SECTION 2.  The Joint Legislative Transportation Oversight Committee shall study additional improvements that could be made to the State's transportation infrastructure that would improve military transportation throughout the State, including moving military personnel and equipment from bases to North Carolina facilities, such as the North Carolina State Ports, that could be used for overseas deployment. The Transportation Oversight Committee shall report its findings to the 2014 Regular Session of the 2013 General Assembly.

SECTION 3.  This act is effective when it becomes law.