NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1965 SESSION

CHAPTER 347

SENATE BILL 98

AN ACT TO DECLARE CAPE HATTERAS ELECTRIC MEMBERSHIP CORPORATION TO BE A PUBLIC AGENCY AND PROVIDE THAT IT SHALL BE EXEMPT FROM CERTAIN TAXATION.

The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact:

Section 1. Cape Hatteras Electric Membership Corporation, heretofore created and now existing under and by virtue of the provisions of Chapter 117 of the General Statutes of North Carolina, being presently engaged in supplying electric service to the inhabitants of Hatteras Island under circumstances peculiar to the island in that it is a sparsely settled area which is isolated from the mainland of the State of North Carolina and is without available electric service from any other source, necessitating exceptionally costly, small-scale generation of electric energy upon the island for distribution thereon, is hereby declared to be a public agency for the performance for its members of the services which the charter heretofore granted to such corporation authorizes and empowers it to perform.

Sec. 2. Cape Hatteras Electric Membership Corporation shall have the powers enumerated in the charter heretofore granted to it together with all other powers of any electric membership corporation created under and by virtue of the provisions of Chapter 117 of the General Statutes of North Carolina.

Sec. 3. All property owned by Cape Hatteras Electric Membership Corporation and used exclusively for the purpose of said corporation shall be held in the same manner and subject to the same taxes and assessments as property owned by any county or municipality of the State so long as said property is owned by said Cape Hatteras Electric Membership Corporation and is held and used by it solely for the furnishing of electric energy to consumers on Hatteras Island and Ocracoke Island.

Sec. 4. The provisions of this Act shall not affect the validity of any existing law or of any law that may hereafter be enacted which imposes or levies any tax, or which provides procedure with respect to taxation, and if any provision of this Act shall be deemed by a court of competent jurisdiction, in any action pending before such court, to affect adversely the constitutionality of any such law, or any part thereof, such court shall direct that the Cape Hatteras Electric Membership Corporation be made a party to such action and that it be afforded due opportunity to be heard upon such question, and if, upon hearing, the court concludes that such provision of this Act, if valid and in effect, would affect adversely the constitutionality of such other law, this entire Act shall be null and void and of no effect and the court shall so declare and adjudge.

Sec. 5. This Act shall be in full force and effect from and after its ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 28th day of April, 1965.