Conference report to the 3rd edition makes the following changes. Makes conforming changes to the act’s long and short titles. Makes organizational changes.

Adds the following content. 

Part I.

Authorizes Hertford County, in SL 1965-988 as amended, to establish a rural development authority.

Establishes the Transylvania Rural Development Authority (Authority) as a separate and independent body corporate and politic with all the powers and duties granted to an Authority under SL 1965-988, as amended, except that the Board of Commissioners of Transylvania County has no authority over the Authority. Provides for nine members of the Authority to serve five-year, staggered terms, to be appointed by the Transylvania Economic Alliance (Alliance). Provides for initial staggered terms by appointing the initial members as follows: one member to serve a term of two years, one member to serve a term of three years, and one member to serve a term of five years. Provides for the filling of vacancies. Specifies that members will not receive compensation, but be allowed reimbursement for necessary expenses, including travel. Provides for a chair and other officers. Requires the Authority to adopt rules. Provides for removal of a member of the Authority by the Alliance for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or misconduct in office upon notice and a hearing. Requires the Authority to appoint the Alliance to operate the Authority, within the limits of available funds. Sets forth conflict of interest rules. Requires incorporation of the Authority in the State upon the filing of a copy of the act as passed. Provides immunity to Transylvania County, any other county, the State of North Carolina, or any other governmental unit that provides funds to the Authority or collaborates with the Authority on a development project or other project for environmental issues, known or unknown, related to that project solely because of providing funds or collaborating with the Authority. Specifies that Section 1.2 applies only to Transylvania County.

Part II.

Revises and consolidates the Charter of the Town of Boiling Springs to now provide the following.

Provides for the Town of Boiling Springs (Town)'s incorporation, grants the Town general powers, and sets out the Town's corporate boundaries.

Sets the Town Council and mayor as the Town’s governing body. Establishes the five-member Town Council (Coard) who will serve staggered four-year terms with the mayor elected to serve a four-year term. Includes mayor and member residency requirements. Sets forth the duties of the Mayor. Requires the Council to select a Mayor Pro Tempore from among its members and details their powers. Provides for Council meetings and filling of vacancies.

Provides for non-partisan municipal elections in odd-numbered years. Requires the Council and mayor be elected on a non-partisan basis, with the election results determined using the non-partisan plurality method.

Establishes the Town's operation under the council-manager form of government in accordance with Part 2 of Article 7 of GS Chapter 160A. Allows the Council to appoint a Town Manager, with duties as prescribed by general law. Requires the Manager to appoint a Town Clerk, Finance Officer, Tax Collector, and Chief of Police. Requires the Council to appoint a Town Attorney.

Specifies the legislative purpose and intent of the act to consolidate the Town Charter. Specifies that this does not repeal or affect any acts concerning the property, affairs, or government of public schools or any acts validating official actions, proceedings, contracts, or obligations.

Repeals specified local acts, which have served their purpose or have been consolidated into this act.  

Specifies that this does not affect any rights or interests that arose under any provisions repealed.

Provides for the continued validity of all existing ordinances, resolutions, and other provisions of the Town not inconsistent with this part. Includes a severability clause.

Amends Part II of SL 2006-148 by amending the 3% occupancy tax so that it applies to gross receipts derived from the rental of an accommodation within the town (was, rental of a room, lodging, or accommodation furnished by a hotel, motel, inn, tourist camp, or similar place in the town). Removes the exclusion for accommodations furnished by non-profit charitable, educational, or religious organizations. No longer requires the Town to remit the tax proceeds to the Boiling Springs Tourism Development Authority (Authority) and removes provisions that established the Authority. Effective July 1, 2025. Requires any funds not expended by the Authority as of July 1, 2025, to be remitted to the Council to be used for the same purposes as those authorized for the Authority.

Authorizes the Town of Mills River to adopt unified development ordinances as initiated by the Town Council in October 2024 notwithstanding specified state law. Directs that the adoption must occur on or before July 1, 2026.

Amends Article XI of the Mooresville Charter, SL 1975-239, as amended, by allowing the Mooresville Board of Commissioners, with or without consideration, and upon such terms as it deems wise, to convey real property owned by the Town for one or more of the following purposes: (1) affordable housing for low- and moderate-income persons, (2) housing for veterans (as defined), and (3) housing for emergency responders (as defined). Prohibits conveying real property acquired by the exercise of eminent domain. Allows a deed conveying the real property to contain a restriction which provides that the real property will revert to the Town if it is no longer used for increasing the supply of housing before the expiration of the time period established by the Board of Commissioners. Requires the conveyance to be made pursuant to a resolution adopted by the Board of Commissioners and sets out requirements for the adoption of the resolution. Also requires posting the resolution on the Town's website at least 10 calendar days before the conveyance is executed.

Amends Section 13.8 of the Wilmington City Charter, concerning Conditions and Restrictions on the Sale of Property, to allow the city to make any sale, exchange, or transfer of property in any manner authorized by general or local law. Current law is limited to methods in GS 160A-268 through 160A-271 allowing for advertisement for sealed bids, negotiating offers and advertising for upset bids, public auction, and exchange of property.

Adds subsection (b), allowing the city council to convey real property with restrictions including by public sale or private negotiated sale in addition to other authorized means. Requires the transfer be in furtherance of adopted city policies or plans for the area. Allows the city to attach covenants, conditions, and/or restrictions to the conveyance. Permits consideration received by the city to reflect the restricted use of the property resulting from covenants, conditions, or restrictions. Authorizes the city to invite bids or written proposals for purchases. Allows transactions made pursuant to this section to be contingent upon necessary re-zoning. Requires the conveyance to be made only pursuant to city council resolution. Details notice by publication requirements for transactions. Clarifies that authority in this section does not limit any other authority granted by the charter, general law, or local law.

Part III.

Provides that the net proceeds of Buncombe County’s local sales and use tax collected under Article 39 of Chapter 105 will be distributed to the County using the ad valorem method. Requires that the County use 50% of those proceeds for local school administrative unit capital outlay purposes (defined) or to retire any indebtedness incurred by the County for these purposes, and for school operating expenses. Requires the Board of Commissioners of Buncombe County (Board) to allow both the Buncombe County and City of Asheville Boards of Education to present at a public meeting on the impact of not using any of the designated 50% of the net proceeds of Buncombe County’s local sales and use tax collected under Article 39 of Chapter 105 distributed to the County using the ad valorem method for school capital projects, prior to any of those funds being used for local school administrative unit operating expenses. Directs the School Capital Fund Commission for Buncombe County (Commission) to advise the County Commissioners for school capital outlay purposes by considering the capital needs of both the Buncombe County School System and the Asheville City School System, prioritizing those needs, and recommending projects to be funded, with ultimate control of the use of the funds to be with the County Commissioners. Requires the remaining 50% of the funds to be used for any public purpose. Specifies, to the extent Buncombe County receives any federal or State disaster funding as revenue replacement, that the county return a proportionate share to the School Capital Fund Commission for Buncombe County (Commission) up to the amount of diverted funds. Directs that the proportionate share be equal to the amount of revenue replacement received divided by the county’s total revenue loss multiplied by the amount of diverted funds. Permits any remaining funds to be used for any purposes allowed by the granting entity. Defines revenue replacement, total revenue loss, and diverted funds. 

Applies to net proceeds allocated to Buncombe County by the Secretary of Revenue under Article 39 of GS Chapter 105 that occur on or after July 1, 2025, and until June 30, 2027.

Rewrites and recodifies SL 1983-134, as amended, as subsections (b)-(m) of Section 16.2 of the act, with the following changes. Removes the requirement that any other capital funds appropriated by Buncombe County estimated to cost more than $100,000 at any one location apply before those funds are apportioned among the Asheville City Board of Education and the Buncombe County Board of Education. Now requires that all funds in the Public School Capital Needs Fund be used to finance new public school construction, to finance public school improvement and renovation projects that exceed $100,000, or to retire any indebtedness incurred by the county for these purposes (was, Funds were to be used to finance new public school of any amount, construction, to finance public school improvement and renovation projects that $100,000, estimated to cost in excess of $100,000 at any one location, or to retire any indebtedness incurred by the county after July 1, 1983 for these purposes). Makes a technical change.

Authorizes the Mitchell County Sheriff's Office and Yancy County Sheriff’s Office (Offices) to enter into MOUs with the Unicoi County, Tennessee, Sheriff's Office to engage in law enforcement special operations and cooperative law enforcement actions across state lines. Directs that the MOU must address the manner in which liability claims for damage to persons or property will be shared or assigned, while limiting the liability of the State and the counties to the greatest extent possible while ensuring public safety. Requires that any MOU entered into that year be reported to the Department of Justice by November 1 of each year.  

Amends GS 160D-602 as follows, applicable to Onslow County only. Authorizes the governing board to delegate to the planning board the authority to conduct the required hearing and make the final decision on zoning map amendment proposals, including the adoption of a consistency statement, as required under Article 6. Allows for the prescription of hearings procedures consistent with the Article. Requires final decisions of the planning board to be made by majority vote. Provides for appeal of final decisions of the planning board to the governing board. Requires written notice of appeal within 15 days of the final decision; failure to do so deems the decision of the planning board a final decision of the governing board. Requires a de novo review. Provides for the initial delegation of authority and subsequent modification or rescission of the delegation to be made by ordinance. 

Part IV (was Section 1).

Removes provisions requiring a successor for a vacancy of a member of the Columbus County Board of Education, Johnston County Board of Education, or the Gaston County Board of Education who was elected in 2024 to be selected from the residency district of the vacating member.

Adds the following content.

Amends Section 4 of SL 1963-707 to require the members of the Scotland County Board of Education (BOE) to serve staggered four-year terms. Specifies that a person cannot file for candidacy or run unless they are a qualified voter and resident of the residency district in which the candidate seeks to be elected. Notwithstanding GS 115C-37 (providing for nonpartisan biennial elections of county board members), directs that all members of the BOE will be elected by the qualified voters of Scotland County on a partisan basis at the time of the general election in even-numbered years. Removes provisions setting filing deadlines for notice of candidacy at the specified time on the tenth Tuesday before the primary election. Removes requirement that the candidate certify information about their residency with the notice of candidacy. Sets the time of candidate nomination as the same time as other county officers. Sets the start-date of a BOE term as the first Monday in December following the election, with the member to serve until their successor is elected and qualified. Clarifies that the act does not affect the term of any BOE member elected in 2024. Applicable to BOE members in residency districts elected in 2024, requires vacancies to be filled by the appointment of the remaining BOE members. Specifies that a person filling a vacancy caused by a BOE member elected in 2024 will serve until a successor has been elected and qualified. Makes conforming changes to GS 115C-37.1.

Part V.

Changes the act’s effective date to when it becomes law, unless otherwise provided. (Was, effective the first Monday in December 2026, with elections in 2026 and thereafter conducted accordingly.)