§ 66-58. Sale of merchandise or services by governmental units.
Article 11.
Government in Business.
§ 66‑58. Sale ofmerchandise or services by governmental units.
(a) Except as may beprovided in this section, it shall be unlawful for any unit, department oragency of the State government, or any division or subdivision of the unit,department or agency, or any individual employee or employees of the unit,department or agency in his, or her, or their capacity as employee or employeesthereof, to engage directly or indirectly in the sale of goods, wares ormerchandise in competition with citizens of the State, or to engage in theoperation of restaurants, cafeterias or other eating places in any buildingowned by or leased in the name of the State, or to maintain serviceestablishments for the rendering of services to the public ordinarily andcustomarily rendered by private enterprises, or to provide transportationservices, or to contract with any person, firm or corporation for the operationor rendering of the businesses or services on behalf of the unit, department oragency, or to purchase for or sell to any person, firm or corporation anyarticle of merchandise in competition with private enterprise. The leasing orsubleasing of space in any building owned, leased or operated by any unit,department or agency or division or subdivision thereof of the State for thepurpose of operating or rendering of any of the businesses or services hereinreferred to is hereby prohibited.
(b) The provisions ofsubsection (a) of this section shall not apply to:
(1) Counties and municipalities.
(2) The Department ofHealth and Human Services or the Department of Agriculture and ConsumerServices for the sale of serums, vaccines, and other like products.
(3) The Department ofAdministration, except that the agency shall not exceed the authority grantedin the act creating the agency.
(4) The State hospitalsfor the mentally ill.
(5) The Department ofHealth and Human Services.
(6) The North CarolinaSchool for the Blind at Raleigh.
(6a) The Department ofJuvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
(7) The North CarolinaSchools for the Deaf.
(8) The University ofNorth Carolina with regard to:
a. The University'sutilities and other services operated by it prior to January 1, 2005.
b. The sale of articlesproduced incident to the operation of instructional departments, articlesincident to educational research, articles of merchandise incident to classroomwork, meals, books, or to articles of merchandise when sold to members of theeducational staff or staff auxiliary to education or to duly enrolled studentsor occasionally to immediate members of the families of members of theeducational staff or of duly enrolled students.
c. The sale of meals ormerchandise to persons attending meetings or conventions as invited guests.
d. The operation by theUniversity of North Carolina of an inn or hotel and dining and other facilitiesusually connected with a hotel or inn.
e. The hospital andMedical School of the University of North Carolina.
f. The Coliseum ofNorth Carolina State University at Raleigh, and the other schools and collegesfor higher education maintained or supported by the State.
g. The CentennialCampus of North Carolina State University at Raleigh.
h. The Horace WilliamsCampus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
i. A Millennial Campusof a constituent institution of The University of North Carolina.
j. The comprehensivestudent health services or the comprehensive student infirmaries maintained bythe constituent institutions of the University of North Carolina.
k. Agreements by theUniversity of North Carolina School of the Arts to the use of that school'sfacilities, equipment, and services of students, faculty, and staff for thecreation of commercial materials and productions that may be unrelated toeducational purposes, so long as the proceeds from those agreements are usedfor the benefit of the educational mission of the University of North CarolinaSchool of the Arts.
l. Activities thatfurther the mission of the University as stated in G.S. 116‑1.
m. Activities that servestudents or employees of the University or members of the immediate families orguests of students or employees.
n. Activities thatprovide University‑related services or market University‑relatedmerchandise to alumni of the University and members of their immediatefamilies.
o. Activities thatenable the community in which the constituent institution or other Universityentity is located, or the people of the State to utilize the University'sfacilities, equipment, or expertise. If the University proposes to engage in anew type of activity under this subdivision, then the University shall provideelectronic notice of the proposal to the persons who have requested to beincluded in the registry created pursuant to subdivision (j)(2) of this sectionprior to engaging in the new type of activity.
(8a) The University ofNorth Carolina with regard to the operation of gift shops, snack bars, and foodservice facilities physically connected to any of The University of NorthCarolina's public exhibition spaces, including the North Carolina Arboretum,provided that the resulting profits are used to support the operation of thepublic exhibition space.
(9) The Department ofEnvironment and Natural Resources, except that the Department shall not construct,maintain, operate or lease a hotel or tourist inn in any park over which it hasjurisdiction. The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission may sellwildlife memorabilia as a service to members of the public interested inwildlife conservation.
(10) Child‑caringinstitutions or orphanages receiving State aid.
(11) Highlands School inMacon County.
(12) The North CarolinaState Fair.
(13) Rural electricmemberships corporations.
(13a) Repealed by SessionLaws 2006‑264, s. 8, effective August 27, 2006.
(13b) The Department ofAgriculture and Consumer Services with regard to its lessees at farmers'markets operated by the Department.
(13c) The Western NorthCarolina Agricultural Center.
(13d) Agricultural centersor livestock facilities operated by the Department of Agriculture and ConsumerServices.
(14) Nothing hereincontained shall be construed to prohibit the engagement in any of theactivities described in subsection (a) hereof by a firm, corporation or personwho or which is a lessee of space only of the State of North Carolina or any ofits departments or agencies; provided the leases shall be awarded by theDepartment of Administration to the highest bidder, as provided by law in thecase of State contracts and which lease shall be for a term of not less thanone year and not more than five years.
(15) The State Departmentof Correction is authorized to purchase and install automobile license tagplant equipment for the purpose of manufacturing license tags for the State andlocal governments and for such other purposes as the Department may direct.
TheCommissioner of Motor Vehicles, or such other authority as may exercise theauthority to purchase automobile license tags is hereby directed to purchasefrom, and to contract with, the State Department of Correction for the Stateautomobile license tag requirements from year to year.
Theprice to be paid to the State Department of Correction for the tags shall befixed and agreed upon by the Governor, the State Department of Correction, andthe Motor Vehicle Commissioner, or such authority as may be authorized topurchase the supplies.
(16) Laundry servicesperformed by the Department of Correction may be provided only for agencies andinstrumentalities of the State which are supported by State funds and forcounty or municipally controlled and supported hospitals presently being servedby the Department of Correction, or for which services have been contracted orapplied for in writing, as of May 22, 1973. In addition to the prior sentence,laundry services performed by the Department of Correction may be provided forVA Medical Centers of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, theGovernor Morehead School, and the North Carolina School for the Deaf.
Theservices shall be limited to wet‑washing, drying and ironing of flatwearor flat goods such as towels, sheets and bedding, linens and those uniformsprescribed for wear by the institutions and further limited to only flat goodsor apparel owned, distributed or controlled entirely by the institutions andshall not include processing by any dry‑cleaning methods; provided,however, those garments and items presently being serviced by wet‑washing,drying and ironing may in the future, at the election of the Department ofCorrection, be processed by a dry‑cleaning method.
(17) The North CarolinaGlobal TransPark Authority or a lessee of the Authority.
(18) The activities andproducts of private enterprise carried on or manufactured within a State prisonfacility pursuant to G.S. 148‑70.
(19) The North CarolinaJustice Academy.
(20) The Department ofTransportation, or any nonprofit lessee of the Department, for the sale ofbooks, crafts, gifts, and other tourism‑related items at visitor centersowned by the Department.
(21) Repealed by SessionLaws 2008‑134, s. 73(b), effective July 28, 2008.
(22) The North CarolinaState Highway Patrol.
(23) The North CarolinaState Lottery Commission.
(24) The North CarolinaNational Guard, for the operation of post exchanges.
(25) The gift or sale ofany craft items made by inmates in the custody of the Department of Correctionas part of a program or initiative established by the Division of Prisons.
(26) The North CarolinaZoological Park.
(27) The North CarolinaOffice of Economic Recovery and Investment and State agencies in theimplementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (PublicLaw 111‑5) funded projects.
(c) The provisions ofsubsection (a) shall not prohibit:
(1) The sale of productsof experiment stations or test farms.
(1a) The sale of productsraised or produced incident to the operation of a community collegeviticulture/enology program as authorized by G.S. 18B‑1114.4.
(1b) The sale by NorthCarolina State University at University‑owned facilities of dairyproducts, including ice cream, cheeses, milk‑based beverages, and the by‑productsof heavy cream, produced by the Dairy and Process Applications Laboratory, solong as any profits are used to support the Department of Food Science andCollege of Agriculture and Life Sciences at North Carolina State University.
(2) The sale of learnedjournals, works of art, books or publications of the Department of CulturalResources or other agencies, or the Supreme Court Reports or Session Laws ofthe General Assembly.
(3) The business operationof endowment funds established for the purpose of producing income foreducational purposes; for purposes of this section, the phrase "operationof endowment funds" shall include the operation by constituentinstitutions of The University of North Carolina of campus stores, the profitsfrom which are used exclusively for awarding scholarships to defray theexpenses of students attending the institution; provided, that the operation ofthe stores must be approved by the board of trustees of the institution, andthe merchandise sold shall be limited to educational materials and supplies,gift items and miscellaneous personal‑use articles. Provided furtherthat, notwithstanding this subsection, profits from a campus store operated bythe endowment of the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics are usedexclusively for student activities, athletics, and other programs to enhancestudent life. Provided further that sales at campus stores are limited toemployees of the institution and members of their immediate families, to dulyenrolled students of the campus at which a campus store is located and theirimmediate families, to duly enrolled students of other campuses of theUniversity of North Carolina other than the campus at which the campus store islocated, to other campus stores and to other persons who are on campus otherthan for the purpose of purchasing merchandise from campus stores. It is theintent of this subdivision that campus stores be established and operated forthe purpose of assuring the availability of merchandise described in thisArticle for sale to persons enumerated herein and not for the purpose ofcompeting with stores operated in the communities surrounding the campuses ofthe University of North Carolina.
(3a) The use of communitycollege personnel or facilities, with the consent of the trustees of thatcollege, in support of or by a private business enterprise located on acommunity college campus or in the service area of a community college for oneor more of the following specific services in support of economic development:
a. Small businessincubators. As used in this sub‑subdivision, the term "smallbusiness incubators" means sites for new business ventures in the servicearea of the community college that are in need of the support and assistanceprovided by the college; and, without which, the likelihood of success of thebusiness would be greatly diminished. The services of the small businessincubator shall not extend to any such new business venture for a period ofmore than 24 months.
b. Product testingservices.
c. Videoconferencingservices provided to the public for occasional use.
(3b) The operation of amilitary business center by a community college. For the purposes of thissubdivision, the term "military business center" means a facilitythat serves to coordinate and facilitate interactions between the United StatesArmed Forces; military personnel, veterans, and their families; and privatebusinesses.
(3c) The use of thepersonnel and facilities of Western Piedmont Community College, with theconsent of the trustees of the college, in support of economic developmentthrough the operation of the East Campus and its companion facilities as anevent venue.
(3d) The use of communitycollege facilities by a private business enterprise that has loaned or donatedinstructional equipment to the college to demonstrate that equipment tocustomers. This use of college facilities shall be in accordance with policiesadopted by the board of trustees of the college.
(3e) The use of personnel,equipment, and facilities relating to Interactive Three Dimensional (AdvancedVisualization) technology and Tele‑presence technology at FayettevilleTechnical Community College. Proceeds generated must be used either to continuethe function of this program or to support the educational mission of theschool.
(4) The operation oflunch counters by the Department of Health and Human Services as blindenterprises of the type operated on January 1, 1951, in State buildings in theCity of Raleigh.
(5) The operation of asnack bar and cafeteria in the State Legislative Building, and a snack bar inthe Legislative Office Building.
(6) The maintenance bythe prison system authorities of eating and sleeping facilities at units of theState prison system for prisoners and for members of the prison staff while onduty, or the maintenance by the highway system authorities of eating andsleeping facilities for working crews on highway construction or maintenancewhen actually engaged in such work on parts of the highway system.
(7) The operation bypenal, correctional or facilities operated by the Department of Health andHuman Services, the Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention,or by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, of dining rooms forthe inmates or clients or members of the staff while on duty and for theaccommodation of persons visiting the inmates or clients, and other bona fidevisitors.
(8) The sale by theDepartment of Agriculture and Consumer Services of livestock, poultry andpublications in keeping with its present livestock and farm program.
(9) The operation by thepublic schools of school cafeterias.
(9a) The use of a publicschool bus or public school activity bus for a purpose allowed under G.S. 115C‑242or the use of a public school activity bus for a purpose authorized by G.S.115C‑247.
(9b) The use of a publicschool activity bus by a nonprofit corporation or a unit of local government toprovide transportation services for school‑aged and preschool‑agedchildren, their caretakers, and their instructors to or from activities beingheld on the property of a nonprofit corporation or a unit of local government.The local board of education that owns the bus shall ensure that the persondriving the bus is licensed to operate the bus and that the lessee has adequateliability insurance to cover the use and operation of the leased bus.
(10) Sale by any Statecorrectional or other institution of farm, dairy, livestock or poultry productsraised or produced by it in its normal operations as authorized by the actcreating it.
(11) The sale oftextbooks, library books, forms, bulletins, and instructional supplies by theState Board of Education, State Department of Public Instruction, and localschool authorities.
(12) The sale of NorthCarolina flags by or through the auspices of the Department of Administration,to the citizens of North Carolina.
(13) The operation by theDepartment of Correction of forestry management programs on State‑ownedlands, including the sale on the open market of timber cut as a part of themanagement program.
(14) The operation by theDepartment of Correction of facilities to manufacture and produce traffic andstreet name signs for use on the public streets and highways of the State.
(15) The operation by theDepartment of Correction of facilities to manufacture and produce paint for useon the public streets and highways of the State.
(16) The performance bythe Department of Transportation of dredging services for a unit of localgovernment.
(17) The sale by the StateBoard of Elections to political committees and candidate committees of computersoftware designed by or for the State Board of Elections to provide a uniformsystem of electronic filing of the campaign finance reports required by Article22A of Chapter 163 of the General Statutes and to facilitate the State Board'smonitoring of compliance with that Article. This computer software forelectronic filing of campaign finance reports shall not exceed a cost of one hundreddollars ($100.00) to any political committee or candidate committee without theState Board of Elections first notifying in writing the Joint LegislativeCommission on Governmental Operations.
(18) Repealed by SessionLaws 2009‑329, s. 2.2, effective July 24, 2009.
(19) The use of the NorthCarolina Museum of Art's conservation lab by the Regional Conservation ServicesProgram of the North Carolina Museum of Art Foundation for the provision ofconservation treatment services on privately owned works of art. However, whenproviding this service, the Regional Conservation Services Program shall givepriority to publicly owned works of art.
(d) A department,agency or educational unit named in subsection (b) shall not perform any of theprohibited acts for or on behalf of any other department, agency or educationalunit.
(e) Any person, whetheremployee of the State of North Carolina or not, who shall violate, orparticipate in the violation of this section, shall be guilty of a Class 1misdemeanor.
(f) Notwithstandingthe provisions of G.S. 66‑58(a), the operation by the Department ofCorrections of facilities for the manufacture of any product or the providingof any service pursuant to Article 14 of Chapter 148 of the General Statutesnot regulated by the provisions of subsection (c) of this section shall besubject to the prior approval of the Governor, with biennial review by theGeneral Assembly, at the beginning of each fiscal year commencing after October1, 1975. The Department of Correction shall file with the Director of theBudget quarterly reports detailing prison enterprise operations in such aformat as shall be required by the Director of the Budget.
(g) Repealed by SessionLaws 2006‑66, s. 9.11(x), effective July 1, 2007.
(h) Notwithstanding theprovisions of G.S. 66‑58(b)(8), The University of North Carolina, itsconstituent institutions, the Centennial Campus of North Carolina StateUniversity, the Horace Williams Campus of the University of North Carolina atChapel Hill, a Millennial Campus of a constituent institution of The Universityof North Carolina, or any corporation or other legal entity created or directlycontrolled by and using land owned by The University of North Carolina shallconsult with and provide the following information to the Joint LegislativeCommission on Governmental Operations before issuing debt or executing acontract for a golf course or for any transient accommodations facility,including a hotel or motel:
(1) Architecturalconcepts.
(2) Financial and debtservice projections.
(3) Business plans.
(4) Operating plans.
(5) Feasibililty studiesand consultant reports.
(i) The Board ofGovernors of The University of North Carolina shall establish a panel todetermine whether The University of North Carolina is authorized pursuant tosub‑subdivisions m., n., and o. of subdivision (8) of subsection (b) ofthis section to undertake an activity in competition with an existing orproposed nongovernmental entity. Pursuant to G.S. 138‑5, panel membersshall receive the same per diem and reimbursement for travel expenses asmembers of State boards and commissions. The University of North Carolina shallbe responsible for staffing and paying the expenses of the panel. The panelshall consist of nine members as follows:
(1) Two members who arefamiliar with the interests of the business community of the State appointed bythe Governor.
(2) Two members who arefamiliar with the interests of the business community of the State appointed bythe General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Speaker of the House ofRepresentatives under G.S. 120‑121.
(3) Two members who arefamiliar with the interests of the business community of the State appointed bythe General Assembly upon the recommendation of the President Pro Tempore ofthe Senate under G.S. 120‑121.
(4) Three members whoare not employees of The University of North Carolina appointed by the Board ofGovernors.
The panel may make thedetermination whether a proposed or ongoing activity undertaken under sub‑subdivisionsm. or n. of subdivision (8) of subsection (b) of this section is unauthorizedcompetition. The panel may also make a determination whether a proposed orongoing activity undertaken under sub‑subdivision o. of subdivision (8)of subsection (b) of this section is either unauthorized or unfair competition.The University will be bound by a decision of the panel that a proposed orongoing activity is not justified by the exceptions set out in sub‑subdivisionsm., n., or o. of subdivision (8) of subsection (b) of this section.
The panel established by thissubsection shall report to the Joint Legislative Economic Development OversightCommittee. The panel shall report to the Committee by May 1 of each year on thenumber and types of determinations made during the preceding year.
(j) The Board ofGovernors shall establish and publish procedures to be used by the panelcreated under subsection (i) of this section in making determinations. Theprocedures shall:
(1) Include that adetermination may be initiated based on a request from any nongovernmentalentity in the State that is in or proposes to be in the same or a similar orcompeting business or based on a request from the constituent institution orother university system entity engaging in or proposing to engage in the activity.
(2) Require the panel tomaintain a registry of all parties that request to receive notification of thepanel's proceedings. The notification may be electronic and shall be given toall parties that have requested to be notified at least seven days prior to thepanel's meeting. The notice shall include the name of the constituentinstitution or other university system entity engaging in or proposing toengage in the activity and the nature of the activity. The panel shall providethe documents relating to any agenda item to anyone requesting them in advanceof the panel's proceedings.
(3) Provide that theagendas for the panel's meetings, the minutes of the meetings, and thedeterminations of the panel shall be posted on The University of North CarolinaWeb site.
(k) The University ofNorth Carolina and its employees may rely on a determination made by the panelcreated under subsection (i) of this section as to whether an activity violatesthis section, and a determination that an activity is authorized shall be anabsolute defense in any prosecution for any activity undertaken before acontrary determination is made by a court or by an opinion of the AttorneyGeneral. The panel shall not have the power to overrule a prior determinationof the Attorney General.
(l) The proceeds ofany activity undertaken under sub‑subdivisions m., n., or o. ofsubdivision (8) of subsection (b) of this section shall be placed in aninstitutional trust fund pursuant to G.S. 116‑36.1 and shall be used tocontinue to conduct the activity that generated the proceeds or to further themission of the constituent institution or other University entity engaging inthe activity. (1929,c. 221, s. 1; 1933, c. 172, s. 18; 1939, c. 122; 1941, c. 36; 1951, c. 1090, s.1; 1957, c. 349, ss. 6, 10; 1967, c. 996, s. 13; 1973, c. 476, ss. 48, 128,143; c. 671, s. 1; c. 965; c. 1262, s. 86; c. 1294; c. 1457, s. 7; 1975, c.730, ss. 2‑5; c. 840; c. 879, s. 46; 1977, cc. 355, 715; c. 771, s. 4;1979, c. 830, s. 4; 1981, c. 635, s. 3; 1983, c. 8; c. 476; c. 717, s. 13; c.761, s. 168; 1985, c. 589, s. 28; c. 757, s. 206(d); 1989, c. 727, s. 218(9);1989 (Reg. Sess., 1990), c. 1004, s. 1; 1991, c. 749, s. 7; 1991 (Reg. Sess.,1992), c. 902, s. 3; 1993, c. 539, s. 513; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 24, s. 14(c);1993 (Reg. Sess., 1994), c. 769, s. 17.15; c. 777, s. 4(e); 1995, c. 247, s. 2;c. 507, s. 13.1(a); 1997‑258, s. 1; 1997‑261, ss. 4‑6; 1997‑315,s. 1; 1997‑443, s. 11A.21; 1997‑456, s. 55.2A; 1997‑527, s.1; 1998‑202, s. 4(d), (e); 1998‑212, ss. 9.9, 13.3; 1999‑234,s. 9; 1999‑237, ss. 19.7, 27.23A; 2000‑137, ss. 4(f), 4(g); 2000‑148,s. 6; 2000‑177, s. 10; 2001‑41, s. 2; 2001‑127, s. 1; 2001‑368, s. 1; 2002‑102,s. 3; 2002‑109, s. 1; 2002‑126, ss. 9.15(a), 18.5; 2004‑124,ss. 8.17(b), 9.13; 2005‑20, s. 1; 2005‑63, s. 1; 2005‑247, s.1; 2005‑344, s. 5; 2005‑397, ss. 1, 2, 4; 2006‑66, ss.9.11(w), (x); 2006‑264, s. 8; 2007‑60, s. 1; 2007‑280, ss.4.1, 5; 2007‑398, s. 5; 2008‑134, s. 73(b); 2008‑192, s. 12;2009‑207, s. 1; 2009‑281, s. 1; 2009‑329, ss. 2.1, 2.2; 2009‑475,s. 9.)