OMNIBUS LOCAL ELECTIONS. (NEW)

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View NCGA Bill Details2023-2024 Session
House Bill 88 (Local) Filed Thursday, February 9, 2023
AN ACT TO CLARIFY THE FILLING OF VACANCIES ON THE GUILFORD COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION; TO PROVIDE FOR PARTISAN ELECTIONS FOR MEMBERS OF VARIOUS COUNTY BOARDS OF EDUCATION; AND TO PROVIDE FOR EVEN-YEAR ELECTIONS IN THE TOWNS OF MAYSVILLE AND POLLOCKSVILLE.
Intro. by Hardister, Faircloth.

Status: Ch. SL 2023-4 (Mar 16 2023)

SOG comments (1):

Long title change

Senate committee substitute to the 3rd edition changed the long title.  Original title was AN ACT TO CLARIFY THE FILLING OF VACANCIES ON THE GUILFORD COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION.

Bill History:

H 88/S.L. 2023-4

Bill Summaries:

  • Summary date: Mar 16 2023 - View Summary

    AN ACT TO CLARIFY THE FILLING OF VACANCIES ON THE GUILFORD COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION; TO PROVIDE FOR PARTISAN ELECTIONS FOR MEMBERS OF VARIOUS COUNTY BOARDS OF EDUCATION; AND TO PROVIDE FOR EVEN-YEAR ELECTIONS IN THE TOWNS OF MAYSVILLE AND POLLOCKSVILLE. SL 2023-4. Enacted March 16, 2023. Effective March 16, 2023, except as otherwise provided.


  • Summary date: Mar 8 2023 - View Summary

    Senate amendment to the 4th edition makes the following changes.

    Amends Section 6 of SL 1991-78, to require when filling vacancies on the Guilford County Board of Education, that when the vacating Board member being replaced was elected from within a single member district, the individual appointed (was, the Board must appoint an individual) must be a resident of the district where the vacancy exists. Makes an additional technical change.


  • Summary date: Mar 2 2023 - View Summary

    Senate committee substitute to the 3rd edition makes the following changes.

    Section 1

    Deletes the provisions amending Section 6 of SL 1991-78, as amended, to require that vacancies on the Guilford County Board of Education be filled in accordance with GS 115C-37.1 and that required a person appointed to fill a vacancy to serve until the next election of members of the Board, at which time the remaining unexpired term of the office in which the vacancy occurs must be filled by election. Instead, requires vacancies to be filled as follows: (1) requires the individual appointed to fill a vacancy to be a qualified voter of Guilford County; (2) requires, when the vacating Board member being replaced was elected from within a single member district, the Board to appoint a resident of the district where the vacancy exists;  (3) requires, when the vacating Board member was elected as the nominee of a political party, the Board to consult with the county executive committee of that political party which must provide the name of a qualified individual in writing within 30 days of the occurrence of the vacancy to the Superintendent of Schools of Guilford County, with the person taking the oath of office at the next regular Board meeting; (4) requires, when the county executive committee of the political party of which the vacating Board member is a member fails to provide the name of a qualified individual within 30 days vacancy, that the Board fill the vacancy by vote of a majority of the remaining members of the Board present and voting at the next regular Board meeting after 30 days of the occurrence of the vacancy; and (5) requires any person appointed to fill a vacancy to serve until the next election of Board members, at which time the remaining unexpired term of the office in which the vacancy occurred must be filled by election. 

    Amends GS 115C-37.1 (Vacancies in offices of county boards elected on partisan basis), by removing Guilford County from those to which the statute applies.

    Adds the following content and makes conforming changes the act's titles.

    Section 2

    Amends Section 1 of SL 1995-128, as amended, as follows. Specifies that the Ashe County Board of Education has nine members and requires that they be elected on a partisan basis instead of the current nonpartisan basis. Requires candidates for the Board to be nominated at the same time and manner as other county officers and requires members to serve staggered four-year terms. Requires vacancies to be filled according to GS 115C-37.1.

    Specifies that this does not impact the terms of office of any person elected in 2020 or 2022 to the Ashe County Board of Education. Requires vacancies on the Board for a member elected in 2020 or 2022 to be filled by the remaining Board members. Requires Board members elected in 2020 or 2022, or any member appointed by the remaining Board members to fill a vacancy of a member elected in 2020 or 2022, to serve until a successor has been elected and qualified.

    Section 3

    Amends Sections 1 and 2 of SL 1989-102, as amended, as follows. Requires the Cabarrus County Board of Education to be elected on a partisan basis instead of the current nonpartisan basis. Requires vacancies to be filled according to GS 115C-37.1. Removes outdated language and makes clarifying changes. Repeals Section 3.1, which required that when an election is to be held to fill a vacancy for the remainder of the unexpired term, and the election is at the same time as for full terms, the elections must be held together on the same ballot.

    Specifies that this does not impact the terms of office of any person elected in 2020 or 2022 to the Cabarrus County Board of Education. Requires vacancies on the Board for a member elected in 2020 or 2022 to be filled by the remaining Board members. Requires Board members elected in 2020 or 2022, or any member appointed by the remaining Board members to fill a vacancy of a member elected in 2020 or 2022, to serve until a successor has been elected and qualified.

    Section 4

    Requires that the Henderson County Board of Public Education consist of seven members elected on a partisan basis at the time of the general election in each even-numbered year as terms expire for staggered four-year terms. Requires elections to be conducted in accordance with GS Chapters 115C (Elementary and Secondary Education) and 163 (Elections and Election Law). Requires candidates to be nominated at the same time and manner as other county officers. Requires Board members to take office on the first Monday in December of the year of election, at which time the terms of their predecessors expire. Requires members to serve until a successor has been elected and qualified. Requires vacancies to be filled in accordance with GS 115C-37.1.

    Specifies that this does not impact the terms of office of any person elected in 2020 or 2022 to the Henderson County Board of Public Education. Requires vacancies on the Board for a member elected in 2020 or 2022 to be filled by the remaining Board members. Requires Board members elected in 2020 or 2022, or any member appointed by the remaining Board members to fill a vacancy of a member elected in 2020 or 2022, to serve until a successor has been elected and qualified.

    Section 5

    Amends Section 1 of SL 1987-322, as amended, to specify that the McDowell County Board of Education consists of nine members elected on a partisan basis instead of the current nonpartisan basis. Requires vacancies to be filled in accordance with GS 115C-37.1.

    Specifies that this does not impact the terms of office of any person elected in 2020 or 2022 to the McDowell County Board of Education. Requires any vacancy on the Board for a member elected in 2020 or 2022 to be filled by the remaining Board members in accordance with the specified plan and Session Law. Requires Board members elected in 2020 or 2022, or any member appointed by the remaining Board members to fill a vacancy of a member elected in 2020 or 2022, to serve until a successor has been elected and qualified.

    Section 6

    Specifies that the Mitchell County Board of Education consists of five members, elected on a partisan basis for staggered four-year terms. Requires elections to be conducted in accordance with GS Chapters 115C and 163. Requires vacancies to be filled according to GS 115C-37.1. Repeals SL 1987-55 under which elections to the Mitchell County Board of Education are nonpartisan.

    Specifies that this does not impact the terms of office of any person elected in 2020 or 2022 to the Mitchell County Board of Public Education. Requires vacancies on the Board for a member elected in 2020 or 2022 to be filled by the remaining Board members. Requires Board members elected in 2020 or 2022, or any member appointed by the remaining Board members to fill a vacancy of a member elected in 2020 or 2022, to serve until a successor has been elected and qualified.

    Section 7

    Makes conforming changes to GS 115C-37.1. Effective December 1, 2024.

    Section 8

    Amends Section 7 of the Maysville Town Charter, SL 1897-171, as amended, to require that regular municipal elections be held every four years. Requires that the mayor and commissioners be elected on a nonpartisan plurality basis and the results be determined according to GS 163-292. Requires the election to be conducted in accordance with the uniform municipal election laws in GS Chapter 163.

    Provides that the terms of office for the mayor and all commissioners serving on the section's effective date whose terms are set to expire in 2025 are to be reduced by one year and regular municipal elections must be conducted in even-numbered years beginning in 2024.

    Section 9

    Amends Section 3 of the Pollocksville Town Charter, SL 1907-410, as amended, by requiring that the mayor and commissioners be elected in regular municipal elections held at the time of the general election in even-numbered years. Requires that the mayor and commissioners be elected on a nonpartisan plurality basis and the results be determined according to GS 163-292. Requires the election to be conducted in accordance with the uniform municipal election laws in GS Chapter 163.

    Prohibits holding municipal election in Pollocksville in 2023. Extends by one year the terms of office for the three commissioners serving on the effective date of this section whose terms are set to expire in 2023. Extends by one year the terms of office for the two commissioners and mayor serving on the effective date of this act whose terms are set to expire in 2025. Requires regular municipal elections to be conducted in Pollocksville in even-numbered years beginning in 2024.

    Requires that in 2024 and quadrennially thereafter, three commissioners be elected to four-year terms and in 2026 and quadrennially thereafter, that two commissioners and a mayor be elected to four-year terms.


  • Summary date: Feb 15 2023 - View Summary

    House amendment to the 2nd edition amends Section 6 of SL 1991-78, as amended, by adding that any person appointed to fill a vacancy will serve until the next election of members of the Guilford County Board of Education. When that election occurs, the remainder of the unexpired term will be filled by election. 


  • Summary date: Feb 14 2023 - View Summary

    House committee substitute to the 1st edition makes a technical change to the lead in language in Section 1 of the act. 


  • Summary date: Feb 9 2023 - View Summary

    Amends Section 6 of SL 1991-78, as amended, to require that vacancies on the Guilford County Board of Education be filled in accordance with GS 115C-37.1, concerning vacancies in offices of county boards elected on a partisan basis in the specified counties (previously more narrowly pointed to a particular subsection of the statute that only listed the counties to which the statute applied). Also removes language requiring, when the member being replaced was elected from within a single member district, that the Board appoint a resident of the district where the vacancy exits. Removes outdated language.