AN ACT to provide that vacancies on the haywood county board of commissioners are filled in accordance with G.S. 153A‑27; to provide for the partisan election for members of the jackson county board of education; and to provide that the city of jacksonville shall exercise planning and development authority only within the city's contiguous corporate limits.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

Part i. modify process for filling vacancies on the haywood county board of commissioners

SECTION 1.(a)  G.S. 153A‑27.1(h), as amended by S.L. 2025‑3, reads as rewritten:

(h)      This section shall apply only in the following counties: Alamance, Alexander, Alleghany, Avery, Beaufort, Brunswick, Buncombe, Caldwell, Carteret, Caswell, Cherokee, Clay, Cleveland, Cumberland, Dare, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Graham, Guilford, Harnett, Haywood, Henderson, Hyde, Jackson, Lee, Lincoln, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mecklenburg, Moore, Onslow, Pender, Polk, Randolph, Rockingham, Rutherford, Sampson, Stanly, Stokes, Transylvania, and Yancey.

SECTION 1.(b)  This Part applies to Haywood County only.

SECTION 1.(c)  This Part is effective when it becomes law and applies to vacancies filled on or after that date.

part ii. provide for the partisan election of members of the Jackson County Board of Education

SECTION 2.(a)  Section 5(a) of S.L. 2024‑14 reads as rewritten:

SECTION 5.(a)  The Jackson County Board of Education shall consist of five members elected from five single‑member residency districts to serve staggered four‑year terms. One member shall be elected from each residency district by the qualified voters of the entire county. No person shall be eligible to file or be elected to the Jackson County Board of Education unless the person is a qualified voter and resident of the residency district in which the candidate seeks to be elected. Elections for the Jackson County Board of Education shall be held in even‑numbered years at the time of the general election with results determined by the nonpartisan plurality method in accordance with G.S. 163‑292. on a partisan basis as terms expire. Candidates for election to the Jackson County Board of Education shall be nominated at the same time and manner as other county officers. Members shall take office on the first Monday in December following the election. Members shall serve until a successor has been elected and qualified. Except as otherwise provided by this section, the election shall be conducted in accordance with the applicable provisions of Chapter 115C and 163 of the General Statutes. All vacancies on the Jackson County Board of Education shall be filled in accordance with G.S. 115C‑37.1.

SECTION 2.(b)  This Part does not affect the term of office of any person elected in 2024 to the Jackson County Board of Education. Any vacancy on the Jackson County Board of Education for a person elected in 2024 shall be filled by appointment by the remaining members of the Jackson County Board of Education to serve the remainder of the unexpired term. Each member of the Jackson County Board of Education elected in 2024, or any person appointed to fill a vacancy for a member elected in 2024, shall serve until a successor has been elected and qualified.

SECTION 2.(c)  G.S. 115C‑37.1(d), as amended by S.L. 2025‑3, reads as rewritten:

(d)      This section shall apply only to the Asheboro City Board of Education, the Hickory City Board of Education and the Newton‑Conover City Board of Education and in the following counties: Alleghany, Ashe, Beaufort, Brunswick, Burke, Cabarrus, Caldwell, Carteret, Catawba, Cherokee, Clay, Craven, Dare, Davie, Forsyth, Graham, Harnett, Henderson, Hyde, Iredell, Jackson, Lee, Lincoln, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, New Hanover, Onslow, Pamlico, Pender, Polk, Rutherford, Stanly, Stokes, Surry, Vance, Washington, and Yancey.

SECTION 2.(d)  This Part becomes effective the first Monday in December 2026. In order to implement this Part, the 2026 elections shall be conducted as if the provisions of this Part were already in effect.

part iii. Eliminate etj in the city of jacksonville

SECTION 3.(a)  Notwithstanding the provisions of G.S. 160D‑202, or any other provision of law, the City of Jacksonville shall not exercise any powers granted to cities in Chapter 160D of the General Statutes in any area beyond its contiguous corporate limits.

SECTION 3.(b)  The relinquishment of jurisdiction by the City of Jacksonville over the area beyond its contiguous corporate limits shall become effective on the date this section becomes law; provided, however, the City of Jacksonville's development regulations and powers of enforcement shall remain in effect in that area until the time provided in G.S. 160D‑202(h).

part iv. effective date

SECTION 4.  Except as otherwise provided, this act is effective when it becomes law.