Title: H1173 [Edition 1]
Category: Introduced Bill 2003

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA	SESSION 2003

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2003
H	1
HOUSE BILL 1173

Short Title:	Economic Development District. | (Public)
Sponsors: | Representative Creech.
Referred to: | Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House.
April 10, 2003

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to provide economic development and training districts.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Article 16 of Chapter 153A of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Part to read:
"Part 3. Economic Development and Training Districts.
"§ 153A-317.11. Purpose for which districts may be created.
The board of commissioners of any county may define a county economic development and training district to finance, provide, and maintain for the district a skills training center in cooperation with its community college branch in or for the county to prepare residents of the county to perform manufacturing, research and development, and related service and support jobs in the pharmaceutical, biotech, life sciences, chemical, telecommunications, and electronics industries, and allied, ancillary, and subordinate industries, to provide within the district any of the education, training, and related services, facilities, or functions that a county or a city is authorized by general law to provide, finance, or maintain, and to promote economic development in the county. The skills training center and related services shall be financed, provided, or maintained in the district either in addition to or to a greater extent than training facilities and services are financed, provided, or maintained in the entire county.
"§ 153A-317.12. Definition of economic development and training district.
(a)	Standards. – The board of commissioners may by resolution establish an economic development and training district for an area or areas of the county that, at the time the resolution is adopted, meet the following standards:
(1)	All of the real property in the district primarily is being used for, or is subject to, a declaration of covenants, conditions, and restrictions that limits its use primarily to biotech processing, chemical manufacturing, pharmaceutical manufacturing, electronics manufacturing, telecommunications manufacturing, and any allied, ancillary, or subordinate uses including, without limitation, any research and development facility, headquarters or office, temporary lodging facility, restaurant, warehouse, or transportation or distribution facility.
(2)	The district includes at least two pharmaceuticals manufacturing or bio-processing facilities occupying sites in the district containing in the aggregate at least 425 acres owned by publicly held corporations.
(3)	The bio-processing and pharmaceuticals manufacturing facilities in the district employ in the aggregate at least 1,600 persons.
(4)	The district includes an additional noncontiguous parcel of at least 60 acres now or formerly owned by an airport authority and containing an industrial park.
(5)	The district's zoning classifications permit the uses listed above.
(6)	All real property in the district is either unimproved or is being used primarily for pharmaceutical, biotech, life sciences, chemical, telecommunications, or electronics manufacturing or processing or allied, ancillary, or subordinate uses.
(7)	The district includes a skills training center situated on a tract containing not less than 25 acres, which facility shall be designed and staffed to provide relevant training to prepare existing or prospective employees of targeted industries for jobs in one or more of the pharmaceutical, biotech, life sciences, chemical, telecommunications, and electronics industries and allied, ancillary, or subordinate industries, or in the alternative, the board of commissioners shall have resolved to develop and finance a skills training center as described above.
(8)	At the date of creation, no part of the district lies within the boundaries of any incorporated city or town.
(9)	There exists a uniform set of covenants, conditions, restrictions, and reservations that applies to all real property in the district other than property owned by the federal, State, or local government.
(10)	There exists in the district an association of owners and tenants to which owners of real property representing at least fifty percent (50%) of the assessed value of real property in the district belong, which association can make the recommendations provided for in G.S. 
153A-317.13.
(11)	A petition requesting creation of the district signed by owners of real and personal property in the district who own real and personal property representing at least fifty percent (50%) of the total assessed value of the real and personal property in the district has been presented to the board of commissioners. In determining the assessed value of real and personal property in the district and the owners of real property, there shall be excluded: (i) real property exempted from taxation and real property classified and excluded from taxation and (ii) the owners of such exempted or classified and excluded property. Assessed value shall mean the most recent values determined by the county for the imposition of taxes on real and personal property.
(b)	Findings. – The board of commissioners may establish an economic development and training district if, upon the information and evidence it receives, the board determines that:
(1)	The proposed district meets the standards set forth in subsection (a) of this section;
(2)	Economic development of the county will be served by providing selected skills training in a facility designed specifically to address the needs of targeted industries such as pharmaceuticals, biotech processing, telecommunications, electronics, and allied, ancillary, or subordinate supplies or services to induce existing industries and targeted industries to improve and expand their facilities and new industries to locate facilities in the district, thereby providing employment opportunities for the residents of the county;
(3)	It is impossible or impractical to provide training facilities and services on a countywide basis to all existing and future employers in the county to the same extent as such training services are intended to be furnished within the district; and
(4)	It is economically feasible to provide the proposed training facilities and services in the district without unreasonable or burdensome tax levies.
(c)	Report. – Before the public hearing required by subsection (c) of this section, the board of commissioners shall cause to be prepared a report containing:
(1)	A map of the proposed district showing its proposed boundaries;
(2)	A statement showing that the proposed district meets the standards set out in subsection (a) of this section; and
(3)	A plan for providing the skills training center and training services to the district.
The report shall be available for public inspection in the office of the clerk to the board for at least four weeks before the date of the public hearing.
(d)	Hearing and Notice. – The board of commissioners shall hold a public hearing before adopting any resolution defining a district under this section. Notice of the hearing shall state the date, hour, and place of the hearing and its subject and shall include a map of the proposed district and a statement that the report required by subsection (c) of this section is available for public inspection in the office of the clerk to the board. The notice shall be published at least once not less than one week before the date of the hearing. In addition, it shall be mailed at least four weeks before the date of the hearing by any class of U.S. mail which is fully prepaid to the owners as shown by the county tax records as of the preceding January 1 (and at the address shown thereon) of all property located within the proposed district. The person designated by the board to mail the notice shall certify to the board that the mailing has been completed, and the certificate shall be conclusive in the absence of fraud.
(e)	Effective Date. – The resolution creating a district shall take effect at the beginning of a fiscal year commencing after its passage, as determined by the board of commissioners.
"§ 153A-317.13. Advisory committee.
The board of commissioners, in the resolution establishing an economic development and training district, shall also provide for an advisory committee for the district. Such a committee shall have at least five members, serving terms as set forth in the resolution. The resolution shall provide for the appointment or designation of a chair. The board of commissioners shall appoint the members of the advisory committee. Before making the appointments, the board shall request the association of owners and tenants, required by G.S. 153A‑317.12(a)(10), to submit a list of persons to be considered for appointment to the committee; the association shall submit at least two names for each appointment to be made. Except as provided in the next two sentences, the board of commissioners shall make the appointments to the committee from the list of persons submitted. The board of commissioners may make two additional appointments of such other persons as the board of commissioners deems appropriate. Whenever a vacancy occurs on the committee in a position filled by appointment by the board of commissioners, the board, before filling the vacancy, shall request the association to submit the names of at least two persons to be considered for the vacancy; and the board shall fill the vacancy by appointing one of the persons so submitted, except that if the vacancy is in a position appointed by the board of commissioners under the preceding sentence of this section, the board of commissioners shall fill the vacancy with such person as the board of commissioners deems appropriate.
Each year, before adopting the budget for the district and levying the tax for the district, the board shall request recommendations from the advisory committee as to the type and level of services, facilities, or functions to be provided for the district for the ensuing years. The board of commissioners shall, to the extent permitted by law, expend the proceeds of any tax levied for the district in the manner recommended by the advisory committee.
"§ 153A-317.14. Extension of economic development and training districts.
(a)	Standards. – A board of commissioners may by resolution annex territory to an economic development and training district upon finding that:
(1)	The conditions, covenants, restrictions, and reservations required by G.S. 153A317.12(a)(1) that apply to all real property in the district, other than property owned by the federal, State, or local government, also apply or will apply to the property, other than property owned by the federal government, to be annexed.
(2)	One hundred percent (100%) of the owners of real property in the area to be annexed have petitioned for annexation.
(3)	The district, following the annexation, will continue to meet the standards set out in G.S. 153A-317.12(a).
(4)	The reasonably anticipated training needs of the existing companies in the area to be annexed and of new companies that may locate within the expanded area can be met by the skills training facility located in the district.
(5)	The area to be annexed is either contiguous to a lot, parcel, or tract of land in the district or at least 500 acres in the aggregate counting all parcels proposed for annexation. A property shall, for purposes of this section, be deemed to be contiguous notwithstanding that it may be separated from other property by a street, road, highway, right-of-way, or easement.
(b)	Report. Before the public hearing required by subsection (c) of this section, the board shall cause to be prepared a report containing:
(1)	A map of the district and the territory proposed to be annexed showing the present and proposed boundaries of the district; and
(2)	A statement that the area to be annexed meets the standards and requirements of subsection (a) of this section.
The report shall be available for public inspection in the office of the clerk to the board for at least four weeks before the date of the public hearing.
(c)	Hearing and Notice. – The board shall hold a public hearing before adopting any resolution extending the boundaries of a district. Notice of the hearing shall state the date, hour, and place of the hearing and its subject and shall include a statement that the report required by subsection (b) of this section is available for inspection in the office of the clerk to the board. The notice shall be published at least once not less than four weeks before the hearing. In addition, the notice shall be mailed at least four weeks before the date of the hearing by any class of U.S. mail which is fully prepaid to the owners as shown by the county tax records as of the preceding January 1 (and at the address shown thereon) of all property located within the area to be annexed. The person designated by the board to mail the notice shall certify to the board that the mailing has been completed, and the certificate shall be conclusive in the absence of fraud.
(d)	Effective Date. – The resolution extending the boundaries of the district shall take effect at the beginning of a fiscal year commencing after its passage, as determined by the board.
"§ 153A-317.15. Required provision or maintenance of skills training center.
(a)	New District. –  When a county creates a district, it shall provide, maintain, or let contracts for the skills training center for which the district is being taxed within a reasonable time, not to exceed one year, after the effective date of the creation of the district.
(b)	Extended District. – When a territory is annexed to a district, the county shall provide, maintain, or let contracts for any necessary additions to the skills training center to provide the same training provided throughout the district to existing and new industries in the area annexed to the district within a reasonable time, not to exceed one year, after the effective date of the annexation.
"§ 153A-317.16. Abolition of economic development and training districts.
A board of county commissioners may by resolution abolish a district upon finding that (i) a petition requesting abolition, signed by at least fifty percent (50%) of the owners of real property in the district who own at least fifty percent (50%) of the real and personal property in the district based upon the most recent valuation thereof, has been submitted to the board; and (ii) there is no longer a need for such district. In determining the total real and personal property in the district and the number of owners of real and personal property, there shall be excluded: (1) property exempted from taxation and real classified and excluded from taxation and (2) the owners of such exempted or classified and excluded property. The board shall hold a public hearing before adopting a resolution abolishing a district. Notice of the hearing shall state the date, hour, and place of the hearing and its subject and shall be published at least once not less than one week before the date of the hearing. The abolition of any district shall take effect at the end of a fiscal year following passage of the resolution, as determined by the board.
"§ 153A-317.17. Taxes authorized; rate limitation.
A county may levy property taxes within an economic development and training district, in addition to those levied throughout the county, in order to finance, provide, or maintain for the district a skills training center provided therein in addition to or to a greater extent than worker training facilities provided for the entire county. In addition, a county may allocate to a district any other revenues whose use is not otherwise restricted by law. The proceeds of taxes within a district may be expended only to pay annual debt service on up to one million two hundred thousand dollars ($1,200,000) of the capital costs of a skills training center provided for the district and any other services or facilities provided by a county in response to a recommendation of an advisory committee.
Property subject to taxation in a newly established district or in an area annexed to an existing district is subject to taxation by the county as of the preceding January 1.
Such additional property taxes may not be levied within any district established pursuant to this Article in excess of a rate of eight cents (8¢) on each one hundred dollars ($100.00) value of property subject to taxation."
SECTION 2.  No municipality may annex pursuant to Part 2 or 3 of Article 4A of Chapter 160A of the General Statutes or under any procedure other than Part 1 or 4 of that Article any or all of the real property within an economic development and training district established under Part 3 of Article 16 of Chapter 153A of the General Statutes.
SECTION 3.  This act is effective when it becomes law.

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