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The North Carolina League of Municipalities
<br />Alcoholic Beverage Control
<br />Page 3 of 16
<br />Modifications were made to several statutes relating to alcoholic beverages. HB 267-ABCLaw
<br />CJ:ar:ges (SL 2007-402) allows the ABC Commission to issue off-premises malt beverage and unfortified
<br />wine permits to establishments located in any incorporated municipality that has voted to permit the sale of
<br />mixed beverages. The ABC election law was amended in SB 661-ABCElechon -Cities iu T'wo
<br />Counties (SL 2007-386) to allow a city located in two or more counties to hold a mixed beverage election
<br />if the city has at least 500 voters and a municipality in either county in which the city is located operates
<br />an ABC store. '
<br />Annexation
<br />More than two dozen bills were introduced to restrict, modify or eliminate authority for city-initiated
<br />annexations. A few were local bills requiring referenda or prohibiting cross-county annexations in specific
<br />counties; most were statewide bills requiring referenda with a favorable vote by residents proposed for
<br />annexation or.changing the service requirements or development criteria: HB 32, HB 56, HB 60, HB 86,
<br />HB 87, HB 104, HB 243, HB 315, HB 378, IIB 379, HB 457, HB 549, HB 741, HB 921, HB 1495, HB
<br />1608,HB1893,HB1958,SB214,SB255,SB479,SB571,SB572,SB647,SB650.
<br />In June, a subcommittee of House Rules held a hearing on one of the bills, HB 86 - Strrdy Municipal
<br />Annexation. More than 200 showed up for the late afternoon hearing, with annexation opponents citing
<br />violations in the current law and asking legislators to limit or end city-initiated annexations.
<br />The General Assembly did not enact the annexation study, nor any of the other annexation-related bills.
<br />As far as the League staff can determine, these bills are not eligible for consideration in the 2008 session.
<br />However, annexation remains a volatile and divisive issue that we will see again. We urge you to continue
<br />discussions with your legislators and others regarding the importance of annexation to your city or town.
<br />Elections
<br />A number of bills affecting election laws were considered by the General Assembly. HB 1743 -Election
<br />Anze~:diner:ts (SL 2007-391) is an omnibus bill that makes numerous changes to the election laws.
<br />Among those is a new provision requiring that the results of all municipal elections be reported to the State
<br />Board of Elections within 30 days of the certification of the election. HB I SI7- Yoter--Owned Electior:s
<br />Pilot establishes a pilot program to provide certain candidates for council of state offices with the option of
<br />financing their campaigns from a publicly supported fund. The act applies to elections for Auditor,
<br />Superintendent of Public Instruction, and Commissioner of Insurance in 2008 and thereafter. Under HB
<br />91-Registration and Yotirzg at One-Stop Sites (SL 2007-253) an individual may now register in person
<br />and then vote at a one-stop voting site in the person's county of residence during the period for one-stop
<br />voting. SB 12I8 - Car:didate Felony Disclosure (SL 2007-369) requires a candidate (including a
<br />candidate for municipal office) to file with the notice of candidacy a statement as to whether he or she has
<br />ever been convicted of a felony. If so, the candidate must name the offense, the date of conviction, the
<br />date of restoration of citizenship rights, and the county and state of conviction. A conviction need not be
<br />disclosed if it was dismissed as a result of reversal on appeal or resulted in a pardon of innocence or
<br />expungement. The disclosure is to be available as a public record in the office~of the board of elections.
<br />The act becomes effective January 1, 2008.
<br />Environment
<br />Grants-SB I468 - Pr•onzote Ii:rzovative Water Protection: Efforts allows the Clean Water Management
<br />Trust Fund to finance innovative efforts, including pilot projects, to improve stormwater management, to
<br />reduce pollutants entering the state's waterways, to improve water quality, and to research alternative
<br />solutions to the state's water quality problems. HB I370 -Clean Water Grazzts (SL 2007-185) specifies
<br />that a Clean Water Management Trust Fund planning grant or technical assistance grant for a regional
<br />wastewater collection system or regional wastewater treatment works is not subject to the high-unit-cost
<br />threshold.
<br />Interbasin Transfer-Legislation to revise the state's approval process for the transfer of surface water
<br />between river basins was ratified in the waning hours of the session. HB 820 -Amend Literbasin
<br />Transfer Laws began as a bill on an entirely different subject. Once it passed the House, the text was
<br />replaced by the Senate with substantive provisions on interbasin transfer that had previously been
<br />approved in Senate committee. The House refused to concur in the changes and a conference committee
<br />worked out the final version. A number of municipalities had positions on the issue, both pro and con, and
<br />the League's Board of Directors, acting on a recommendation from a League legislative action committee,
<br />http://www.nclm.org/LegaUBulletin/2007/08-24-07.htm 8/28/2007
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