AN ACT to MAKE CHANGES TO THE WORKFORCE HOUSING REVOLVING LOAN PROGRAM, TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS TO CREATE A CYBERSECURITY APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM, AND TO PROVIDE SALARY ENHANCEMENTS TO APPRENTICESHIP INSTRUCTORS.

Whereas, North Carolina continues to grow in population and industriousness, with thousands of new manufacturing jobs announced; and

Whereas, economic growth has outpaced the growth in workforce housing stock; and

Whereas, prospective businesses are anxious to hire North Carolina residents in areas of the State where housing for their workforce is readily available; and

Whereas, the demand for trained and talented labor from North Carolina's community colleges requires the retention of qualified apprenticeship instructors and new innovative apprenticeships; Now, therefore,

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 122A‑5.15(c) reads as rewritten:

(c)      A taxpayer allocated a federal low‑income housing tax credit under section 42 of the Code to construct or substantially rehabilitate a qualified North Carolina low‑income housing development is eligible for a loan under the Workforce Housing Loan Program if the taxpayer satisfies the loan criteria established by the Agency. The loan criteria shall support the financing of similar types of developments as provided in G.S. 105‑129.42 and shall be developed in partnership with developers of low‑income housing in the State who receive a federal low‑income housing tax credit under section 42 of the Code. The Agency shall take into consideration all eligible sources of funding for each development project, including whether there are other eligible sources of funding available for the development project. No loan made to a taxpayer under this section shall exceed two million dollars ($2,000,000) if the low‑income housing development is located either (i) in a low‑income county, as designated by the Agency; Agency, or (ii) within 4 miles of an industrial site certified under the Certified Sites Program; one million five hundred dollars ($1,500,000) in a moderate‑income county, as designated by the Agency; and two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) in a high‑income county, as designated by the Agency.

SECTION 2.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Community Colleges System Office the recurring sum of fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000) for each year of the 2023‑2025 fiscal biennium to provide salary enhancements to community college apprenticeship instructors.

SECTION 3.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Community Colleges System Office the nonrecurring sum of two million dollars ($2,000,000) for the 2023‑2024 fiscal year and the nonrecurring sum of two million dollars ($2,000,000) for the 2024‑2025 fiscal year to be used to develop and implement a cybersecurity apprenticeship program. The System Office shall consult with the Department of Information Technology on developing the program required under this section.

SECTION 4.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2023.