GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2003

 

 

SESSION LAW 2003-259

SENATE BILL 652

 

 

AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE CERTAIN AIRPORT AUTHORITIES TO ENTER INTO INSTALLMENT CONTRACTS, TO EXTEND FROM TEN TO FIFTEEN YEARS THE MAXIMUM REPAYMENT PERIOD FOR DAM REPAIR ASSESSMENTS IN THE VILLAGE OF PINEHURST, and to allow the stanly county airport authority to enter into long-term leases with the united states.

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

 

SECTION 1.  G.S. 160A-20 reads as rewritten:

"§ 160A-20.  Security interests.

(a)       Units of local government, as defined in subsection (h), may purchase or finance the purchase of real or personal property by installment contracts that create in the property purchased a security interest to secure payment of the purchase price to the seller or to an individual or entity advancing moneys or supplying financing for the purchase transaction.

(b)       Units of local government, as defined in subsection (h), may finance the construction or repair of fixtures or improvements on real property by contracts that create in the fixtures or improvements, or in all or some portion of the property on which the fixtures or improvements are located, or in both, a security interest to secure repayment of moneys advanced or made available for such construction or repair.

(c)       Units of local government, as defined in subsection (h), may use escrow accounts in connection with the advance funding of transactions authorized by this section, whereby the proceeds of such advance funding are invested pending disbursement.

(d)       No contract entered into under this section may contain a nonsubstitution clause that restricts the right of a unit of local government to:

(1)       Continue to provide a service or activity; or

(2)       Replace or provide a substitute for any fixture, improvement, project, or property financed or purchased pursuant to such contract.

(e)       A contract entered into under this section is subject to approval by the Local Government Commission under Article 8 of Chapter 159 of the General Statutes if it:

(1)       Meets the standards set out in G.S. 159-148(a)(1), 159-148(a)(2), and 159-148(a)(3), or involves the construction or repair of fixtures or improvements on real property; and

(2)       Is not exempted from the provisions of that Article by one of the exemptions contained in G.S. 159-148(b).

(e1)     A nonprofit corporation or association operating or leasing a public hospital may only enter into a contract pursuant to this section if the nonprofit corporation or association will have an ownership interest in the property being financed, including a leasehold interest, and the security interest granted in such property being financed shall only be to the extent of such property interest. In addition, any contract entered into by a nonprofit corporation or association operating or leasing a public hospital pursuant to this section is subject to the approval of the city, county, hospital district, or hospital authority which owns such hospital. Approval of the city, county, hospital district, or hospital authority may be withheld only under one or more of the following circumstances:

(1)       The contract would cause the city, county, hospital district, or hospital authority to breach or violate any covenant in an existing financing instrument entered into by such entity.

(2)       The contract would restrict the ability of the city, county, hospital district, or hospital authority to incur anticipated bank eligible indebtedness under federal tax laws.

(3)       The entering into of the contract would have a material adverse impact on the credit ratings of the city, county, hospital district, or hospital authority or otherwise materially interfere with an anticipated financing by such entity.

(f)        No deficiency judgment may be rendered against any unit of local government in any action for breach of a contractual obligation authorized by this section, and the taxing power of a unit of local government is not and may not be pledged directly or indirectly to secure any moneys due under a contract authorized by this section.

(g)       Before entering into a contract under this section involving real property, a unit of local government shall hold a public hearing on the contract. A notice of the public hearing shall be published once at least 10 days before the date fixed for the hearing.

(h)       As used in this section, the term "unit of local government" means any of the following:

(1)       A county.

(2)       A city.

(3)       A water and sewer authority created under Article 1 of Chapter 162A of the General Statutes.

(3a)     A metropolitan sewerage district created under Article 5 of Chapter 162A of the General Statutes.

(3b)     A sanitary district created under Part 2 of Article 2 of Chapter 130A of the General Statutes.

(4)       An airport authority whose situs is entirely within a county that has (i) a population of over 120,000 according to the most recent federal decennial census and (ii) an area of less than 200 square miles.

(5)       An airport authority in a county in which there are two incorporated municipalities with a population of more than 65,000 according to the most recent federal decennial census.

(5a)     An airport board or commission authorized by agreement between two cities pursuant to G.S. 63-56, one of which is located partially but not wholly in the county in which the jointly owned airport is located, and where the board or commission provided water and wastewater services off the airport premises before January 1, 1995, except that the authority granted by this subdivision may be exercised by such a board or commission with respect to water and wastewater systems or improvements only.

(5b)     A local airport authority that was created pursuant to a local act of the General Assembly.

(6)       A local school administrative unit whose board of education is authorized to levy a school tax.

(6a)     Any other local school administrative unit, but only for the purpose of financing energy conservation measures acquired pursuant to Part 2 of Article 3B of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes.

(6b)     A community college, but only for the purpose of financing energy conservation measures acquired pursuant to Part 2 of Article 3B of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes.

(7)       An area mental health, developmental disabilities, and substance abuse authority, acting in accordance with G.S. 122C-147.

(8)       A consolidated city-county, as defined by G.S. 160B-2(1).

(9)       Repealed by Session Laws 2001-414, s. 52, effective September 14, 2001.

(10)     A regional natural gas district, as defined by Article 28 of this Chapter.

(11)     A regional public transportation authority or a regional transportation authority created pursuant to Article 26 or Article 27 of this Chapter.

(12)     A nonprofit corporation or association operating or leasing a public hospital as defined in G.S. 159-39."

SECTION 2.(a)  G.S. 160A-232 reads as rewritten:

"§ 160A-232.  Payment of assessments in cash or by installments.

The owners of assessed property shall have the option, within 30 days after the publication of the notice that the assessment roll has been confirmed, of paying the assessment either in cash or in not more than 10 15 annual installments, as may have been determined by the council in the resolution directing the project giving rise to the assessment to be undertaken. With respect to payment by installment, the council may provide

(1)       That the first installment with interest shall become due and payable on the date when property taxes are due and payable, and one subsequent installment and interest shall be due and payable on the same date in each successive year until the assessment is paid in full, or

(2)       That the first installment with interest shall become due and payable 60 days after the date that the assessment roll is confirmed, and one subsequent installment and interest shall be due and payable on the same day of the month in each successive year until the assessment is paid in full."

SECTION 2.(b)  This section applies only to assessments for repair and rehabilitation of a dam in the Village of Pinehurst.

SECTION 3.  Section 4(12) of Chapter 419 of the 1971 Session Laws reads as rewritten:

"Sec. 4.  The Airport Authority shall constitute a body, both corporate and politic, and shall have the following powers and authority:

. . .

(12)     To lease for a term not to exceed 25 years, and for purposes not inconsistent with the grants and agreements under which the airport is held, real or personal property under the supervision of or administered by the Airport Authority.Authority, except the Airport Authority may execute leases with the United States of America, its agencies, departments, boards, and military (including reserves and national guard) for terms not to exceed 50 years.

. . . ."


SECTION 4.  This act is effective when it becomes law.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 18th day of June, 2003.

 

 

                                                                    s/ Beverly E. Perdue

                                                                         President of the Senate

 

 

                                                                    s/ Richard T. Morgan

                                                                         Speaker of the House of Representatives

 

 

                                                                    s/ Michael F. Easley

                                                                         Governor

 

 

Approved 12:49 p.m. this 26th day of June, 2003