A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to require approval of involuntary annexations by the board of COMMISSIONERS of the county in which the property is located.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 160A‑37(e) reads as rewritten:
"(e)	Passage of the Annexation Ordinance. – The municipal governing board shall take into consideration facts presented at the public hearing and shall have authority to amend the report required by G.S. 160A‑35 to make changes in the plans for serving the area proposed to be annexed so long as such changes meet the requirements of G.S. 160A‑35. At any regular or special meeting held no sooner than the tenth day following the public hearing and not later than 90 days following such public hearing, the governing board shall have authority to adopt an ordinance extending the corporate limits of the municipality to include all, or such part, of the area described in the notice of public hearing which meets the requirements of G.S. 160A‑36 and which the governing board has concluded should be annexed, but only if the board of commissioners of the county where the property is located has adopted a resolution approving the annexation. If the property is located in more than one county, the approval of the boards of commissioners of all the counties where the property is located is required. The ordinance shall:
(1)	Contain specific findings showing that the area to be annexed meets the requirements of G.S. 160A‑36. The external boundaries of the area to be annexed shall be described by metes and bounds. In showing the application of G.S. 160A‑36(c) and (d) to the area, the governing board may refer to boundaries set forth on a map of the area and incorporate same by reference as a part of the ordinance.
(2)	A statement of the intent of the municipality to provide services to the area being annexed as set forth in the report required by G.S. 160A‑35.
(3)	A specific finding that on the effective date of annexation the municipality will have funds appropriated in sufficient amount to finance construction of any water and sewer lines found necessary in the report required by G.S. 160A‑35 to extend the basic water and/or sewer system of the municipality into the area to be annexed, or that on the effective date of annexation the municipality will have authority to issue bonds in an amount sufficient to finance such construction. If authority to issue such bonds must be secured from the electorate of the municipality prior to the effective date of annexation, then the effective date of annexation shall be no earlier than the day following the statement of the successful result of the bond election.
(4)	Fix the effective date for annexation. The effective date of annexation may be fixed for any date not less than 40 days nor more than 400 days from the date of passage of the ordinance."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 160A‑49(e) reads as rewritten:
"(e)	Passage of the Annexation Ordinance. – The municipal governing board shall take into consideration facts presented at the public hearing and shall have authority to amend the report required by G.S. 160A‑47 to make changes in the plans for serving the area proposed to be annexed so long as such changes meet the requirements of G.S. 160A‑47, provided that if the annexation report is amended to show additional subsections of G.S. 160A‑48(c) or (d) under which the annexation qualifies that were not listed in the original report, the city must hold an additional public hearing on the annexation not less than 30 nor more than 90 days after the date the report is amended, and notice of such new hearing shall be given at the first public hearing. At any regular or special meeting held no sooner than the tenth day following the public hearing and not later than 90 days following such public hearing, the governing board shall have authority to adopt an ordinance extending the corporate limits of the municipality to include all, or such part, of the area described in the notice of public hearing which meets the requirements of G.S. 160A‑48 and which the governing board has concluded should be annexed, but only if the board of commissioners of the county where the property is located has adopted a resolution approving the annexation. If the property is located in more than one county, the approval of the boards of commissioners of all the counties where the property is located is required. The ordinance shall:
(1)	Contain specific findings showing that the area to be annexed meets the requirements of G.S. 160A‑48. The external boundaries of the area to be annexed shall be described by metes and bounds. In showing the application of G.S. 160A‑48(c) and (d) to the area, the governing board may refer to boundaries set forth on a map of the area and incorporate same by reference as a part of the ordinance.
(2)	A statement of the intent of the municipality to provide services to the area being annexed as set forth in the report required by G.S. 160A‑47.
(3)	A specific finding that on the effective date of annexation the municipality will have funds appropriated in sufficient amount to finance construction of any major trunk water mains and sewer outfalls and such water and sewer lines as required in G.S. 160A‑47(3)b found necessary in the report required by G.S. 160A‑47 to extend the basic water and/or sewer system of the municipality into the area to be annexed, or that on the effective date of annexation the municipality will have authority to issue bonds in an amount sufficient to finance such construction. If authority to issue such bonds must be secured from the electorate of the municipality prior to the effective date of annexation, then the effective date of annexation shall be no earlier than the day following the statement of the successful result of the bond election.
(4)	Fix the effective date for annexation. The effective date of annexation may be fixed for any date not less than 70 days nor more than 400 days from the date of passage of the ordinance."
SECTION 3.  This act becomes effective with respect to annexation ordinances adopted on or after October 1, 2003.