AN ACT to appropriate funds for the Pitt Community College Reentry Program.

Whereas, according to the United States Department of Justice, reentry programs are designed to help returning citizens successfully reenter society following their incarceration, thereby reducing recidivism, improving public safety, and saving taxpayer money; and

Whereas, Pitt County reentry programs were administered by STRIVE/Life of NC, a nonprofit organization that was dissolved in August 2020; and

Whereas, Pitt Community College assumed administrative responsibility for Pitt County reentry programming in 2021, where it will manage funds, develop and implement policies, engage participants, leverage existing workforce development infrastructure, and provide overall direction for the work; Now, therefore,

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Public Safety the sum of four hundred thousand dollars ($400,000) in nonrecurring funds for the 2022‑2023 fiscal year to be provided as a grant to Pitt Community College to support the Pitt County Reentry Program (Program), which assists ex‑offenders who have recently been released from a correctional institution by working to facilitate their transition into the community and reduce recidivism. Funds shall be used for related programming and the purchase, lease, repair, or renovation of any building or property needed by the Program. Funds appropriated pursuant to this section shall not revert at the end of the 2022‑2023 fiscal year but shall remain available until expended.

SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2022.