Bill
HB 408
Provide a one-time $869,000 from the General Fund in FY2025-26 to finish remaining Phase One/Two items at Fort Fisher State Historic Site, improving visitor facilities and earthwor
Status
- Introduced (House) March 13, 2025; Passed First Reading March 18, 2025; referred to Appropriations (House).
- Sponsor: Rep. Paula (last name Davis in bill text).
- Affects: Fort Fisher State Historic Site (New Hanover County); Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, Office of Archives and History.
- Effective date specified in the bill: July 1, 2025 (if enacted).
Purpose and intent
- To provide a one-time appropriation to complete remaining items from Phase One and Phase Two of capital improvements at the Fort Fisher State Historic Site, the State’s most‑visited historic site, so the site’s visitor facilities and reconstructed earthworks are finished and usable for the public.
Key provisions
- Appropriation: $869,000 in nonrecurring funds is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, Office of Archives and History, for the 2025–2026 fiscal year.
- Use of funds: Complete items not covered by prior appropriations for Phase One and Phase Two. Specific items called out in the bill include:
- Visitor center tower sign
- Interior partitions and doors in the visitor center
- Various gun carriages (presumably for the reconstructed earthworks/gun emplacements)
- An ammunition magazine inside the reconstructed earthworks
- Timing: The appropriation is for FY 2025–2026; the bill states it becomes effective July 1, 2025.
Who is affected / impact
- Direct fiscal impact: one-time nonrecurring General Fund expenditure of $869,000 to DNCR (Archives & History).
- Operational/visitor impact: completion of interpretive/visitor infrastructure and interpretive elements at Fort Fisher is intended to improve visitor experience, site interpretation, and preservation/display of reconstructed earthworks.
- Local impact: New Hanover County (Fort Fisher site) stands to benefit from completed facilities that support tourism and historic interpretation.
- No recurring maintenance or ongoing programmatic costs are specified in the bill; future operating or maintenance costs (if any) would depend on DNCR planning and budgets.
Other notes
- The bill text emphasizes that Phase One (new visitor center, parking, maintenance facility) and Phase Two (reconstructed earthworks and gun chambers) are already largely completed; this funding covers additional, previously unfunded items to finish those phases.
- The appropriation is nonrecurring and tied to the 2025–2026 fiscal year.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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