AN ACT to create the local confinement technology modernization fund and to appropriate funds.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  Chapter 153A of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Article to read:

Article 25.

Local Confinement Technology Modernization Fund.

§ 153A‑480.  Creation of fund; administration.

(a)        There is created the Local Confinement Technology Modernization Fund. The fund shall be used to assist county governments in modernization of local confinement facilities as defined by G.S. 153A‑217 to improve methods and detainee monitoring inside each facility.

(b)        The fund will be administered by the Department of Public Safety, Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice.

(c)        The fund will be funded by the General Fund.

§ 153A‑481.  Allocation of fund; expenditures.

(a)        The Department of Public Safety, Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice, shall award grants from the Local Confinement Technology Modernization Fund to counties to assist with the counties' technology needs in accordance with the following priorities:

(1)        Counties with greater need and less ability to generate sales tax and property tax revenue.

(2)        Counties with a high debt‑to‑tax revenue ratio.

(3)        The extent to which a project will address critical technology deficiencies in local confinement facilities.

(b)        Counties shall utilize funds received under this section for modernizing local confinement facilities for one or more of the following technological systems:

(1)        Mobile detainee tracking, including mobile devices.

(2)        Integrated detainee monitoring software.

(3)        Electronic jail management systems.

(4)        Integrated cloud‑based recordkeeping.

(5)        Security camera systems with enhanced features, including facial recognition software.

(c)        A county receiving funds pursuant to this Article shall enter into an agreement with the Department of Public Safety, Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice, detailing the use of grant funds.

§ 153A‑482.  Matching requirements for fund.

(a)        An eligible county awarded a grant under this Article shall provide local matching funds from county funds, other non‑State funds, or a combination of these sources for the grant as provided in this section.

(b)        An eligible county is a county with an adjusted market value of taxable real property of less than forty billion dollars ($40,000,000,000). The adjusted market value of taxable property in a county is equal to the county's assessed taxable real property value, using the latest available data published by the Department of Revenue, divided by the county's sales assessment ratio determined under G.S. 105‑289(h).

(c)        The amount of matching funds for a county awarded a grant under this Article shall be published annually by the Department of Public Safety, Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice, prior to any application period.

(d)       The local match requirement applied to the project shall be based on the match requirement effective at the time of the grant award. The local match requirement is calculated as follows:

Adjusted Market Value of Taxable Real Property                              Percentage Match

Over                                       Up to

$0                                           $2 billion                                                      0%

$2 billion                                $10 billion                                                    5%

$10 billion                              $20 billion                                                    15%

$20 billion                              $30 billion                                                    25%

$30 billion                              $40 billion                                                    35%

(e)        Grant funds awarded pursuant to this Article shall be used only for the expenditures listed in G.S. 153A‑481 and shall not be used for the retirement of indebtedness or for product leases.

(f)        Grant funds shall be disbursed in a series of payments based on the progress of the project for which the grant was awarded. To obtain a payment, the grantee shall submit a request for payment along with documentation of the expenditures for which the payment is requested and evidence that the matching requirement contained in subsection (d) of this section has been met.

SECTION 2.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Local Confinement Technology Modernization Fund in the Department of Public Safety the sum of fifty million dollars ($50,000,000) in nonrecurring funds to be used in accordance with the provisions of Article 25 of Chapter 153A of the General Statutes.

SECTION 3.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2022.