§9-3-10.1. Emergency Forest Fire, Insect and Disease Fund; creation; annual automatic appropriation; ceiling on amount; expenditures; replenishment; Governor's approval.

(a) There is hereby established an Emergency Forest Fire, Insect and Disease Fund into which there is automatically appropriated $180,000.00 annually at the beginning of each state fiscal year. The state Comptroller shall transfer said moneys from the General Fund to such emergency fund annually at the beginning of each state fiscal year. Said emergency fund shall not exceed a total accumulated amount of $1,000,000.00. The moneys in said fund may be expended from time to time to meet emergency forest fire, insect and disease needs as deemed necessary by the State Forester and Governor. The moneys expended from said fund for such emergency needs shall be automatically replenished and are hereby appropriated from the General Fund annually to the extent of $180,000.00 per year at the beginning of each state fiscal year until the said $1,000,000.00 ceiling is reached. The state Comptroller shall make the transfer to replenish the funds within a period of one week following the commencement of each state fiscal year.

(b) The moneys appropriated herein may be expended for salaries, capital expenditures or any other category of expenditures deemed necessary by the State Forester for emergency forest fire, insect and disease suppression and control. This money shall be conditional upon approval of the Governor.

(Acts 1979, No. 79-830, p. 1566, §§1, 2; Acts 1987, No. 87-821, §1.)