GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1999

H	1 

HOUSE BILL 597*

Short Title:	Mecklenburg Stormwater Fees.	(Local)
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Sponsors:	Representatives Alexander; Earle, Easterling, Gulley, McMahan, Rayfield, and Saunders.
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Referred to:	Local Government I, if favorable, Finance.
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March 25, 1999

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO ALLOW MECKLENBURG COUNTY TO CONTINUE TO LEVY STORMWATER FEES IF REVENUE BONDS HAVE BEEN ISSUED AND ARE OUTSTANDING.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  G.S. 153A-277(a1) reads as rewritten:
"(a1)	Before it establishes or revises a schedule of rates, fees, charges, or penalties for structural and natural stormwater and drainage systems under this section, the board of commissioners shall hold a public hearing on the matter. A notice of the hearing shall be given at least once in a newspaper having general circulation in the area, not less than seven days before the public hearing. The hearing may be held concurrently with the public hearing on the proposed budget ordinance.
The fees established under this subsection must be made applicable throughout the area of the county outside municipalities. Schedules of rates, fees, charges, and penalties for providing structural and natural stormwater and drainage system service may vary according to whether the property served is residential, commercial, or industrial property, the property's use, the size of the property, the area of impervious surfaces on the property, the quantity and quality of the runoff from the property, the characteristics of the watershed into which stormwater from the property drains, and other factors that affect the stormwater drainage system. Rates, fees, and charges imposed under this subsection may not exceed the county's cost of providing a stormwater and drainage system.
No stormwater utility fee may be levied under this subsection whenever two or more units of local government operate separate structural and natural stormwater and drainage system services in the same area within a county, except that a unit of local government that has issued revenue bonds, including revenue bonds issued to refund prior revenue bonds, for which stormwater utility fees have been pledged under Article 5 of Chapter 159 of the General Statutes may continue to levy a stormwater utility fee under this subsection for the sole purpose of (i) paying principal, interest, or redemption premiums in accordance with the terms of the revenue bonds, (ii) funding any reserve requirements or similar obligations imposed by any documents, instruments, or agreements pursuant to which the revenue bonds are authorized or issued or securing the same or any related credit facility, liquidity facility, derivative agreement, or any other similar agreement, and (iii) paying any related cost, fees, and expenses until the revenue bonds have been retired.  However, two or more units of local government may allocate among themselves the functions, duties, powers, and responsibilities for jointly operating a single structural and natural stormwater and drainage system service in the same area within a county, provided that only one unit may levy a fee for the service within the joint service area. For purposes of this subsection, a unit of local government shall include a regional authority providing structural and natural stormwater and drainage system services."
Section 2.  This act applies to Mecklenburg County only.
Section 3.  This act is effective when it becomes law.