Summary — HB 592: College of the Albemarle / Health Science Lab

Note: Several different bills in multiple states share the designation “HB 592.” This summary addresses the North Carolina bill titled “College of the Albemarle/Health Science Lab” (session filing dated April 2023), which appears in the provided materials.

Main purpose

To provide a dedicated capital appropriation to fund construction and furnishing of a new Health Science Expansion and Simulation Laboratory at the College of the Albemarle (a North Carolina community college), expanding local health-care training capacity.

Key provisions

• Appropriation: Authorizes a nonrecurring General Fund appropriation of $12,500,000 to the North Carolina Community Colleges System Office for the 2023–2024 school year.
• Use of funds: The System Office shall allocate the full amount to the College of the Albemarle specifically for construction and furnishing of a new Health Science Expansion and Simulation Laboratory.
• Effective date: The act becomes effective July 1, 2023 (per the bill text).

Who is affected

• Primary recipient: College of the Albemarle — will receive capital funds to build and equip the health science facility.
• Oversight/administrator: North Carolina Community Colleges System Office — responsible for allocating the appropriation.
• Beneficiaries: Current and future community college students (nursing, allied health, simulation training), local health-care employers, and the regional health workforce pipeline (including Pasquotank County and surrounding areas).
• State finances: General Fund reduction (nonrecurring), one-time capital outlay.

Fiscal and policy impacts

• Direct fiscal effect: A one-time $12.5 million General Fund outlay in FY 2023–24 (nonrecurring).
• Expected programmatic effects: Expanded simulation and clinical training capacity, potential to increase enrollment/completions in health programs, improved local workforce supply for hospitals, clinics, and long‑term care.
• Economic: Construction-related jobs and procurement during the project; longer-term workforce and community health benefits from increased training capacity.

Implementation and timeline

• Funding is designated for the 2023–2024 school year and becomes effective July 1, 2023.
• The Community Colleges System Office will allocate funds to the College of the Albemarle for project execution (design, construction, furnishing) under standard state capital project procedures.

If you want, I can:
- Extract the bill’s legislative status and final disposition from the mixed actions provided; or
- Draft a short impact memo estimating likely increases in health‑program capacity (students/graduates) based on typical simulation lab sizes.