The General Assembly hereby finds as follows:

(1) From time to time, the General Assembly has authorized the State and State entities to acquire or lease assets and has structured the acquisition or leasing of those assets in ways that obligate the State to make payments similar to the obligation of the State to make payments for borrowed money.

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Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes 142-15.15

  • Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
  • property: shall include all property, both real and personal. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
  • state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories, so called; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the said district and territories and all dependencies. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3

(2) Some of these arrangements have been made pursuant to specific legislative authorization of the General Assembly, such as the financing of assets pursuant to the State Capital Facilities Finance Act, the State Energy Conservation Act, and the State and Local Government Revenue Bond Act, while other arrangements have been entered into pursuant to broader and more general legislative authorization, such as general powers to lease property.

(3) Depending upon the terms, some arrangements may be treated as similar to obligating the State to make payments for borrowed money and, therefore, have an impact on the State’s credit ratings, the future debt affordability, the ability to address budgetary shortfalls, the ability to enforce its contract rights regarding the quality, the durability and performance of the assets acquired, the management of federal income tax compliance requirements, the management of federal securities law compliance, and on the other matters of State finances.

(4) Due to these consequences, the General Assembly enacts this Article to set forth limitations on the ability of State entities to enter into financing arrangements that constitute State-supported financing arrangements in order to assure that the General Assembly is involved in reviewing and authorizing these transactions and that the transactions are properly managed by State departments and officials. (2016-94, s. 37.8(a).)