Section 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 two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) annually at the beginning of each state fiscal year. The state Comptroller shall transfer moneys from the General Fund to the emergency fund annually at the beginning of each state fiscal year. The emergency fund shall not exceed a total accumulated amount of two million dollars ($2,000,000). The moneys in the 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 the fund for the emergency needs shall be automatically replenished and are hereby appropriated from the General Fund annually to the extent of two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) per year at the beginning of each state fiscal year until the two million dollars ($2,000,000) 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. All moneys appropriated under this section shall be conditional and subject to approval of the Governor.