Identical to H 532, filed 3/26/25.

Amends GS 153A-311 to clarify a board of county commissioners may define a county research and production service district for any service or function that a city or county is authorized to maintain “in its territorial jurisdiction.” Specifies that the concurrent resolutions creating a multi-county district in GS 153A-313 must provide the number of advisory committee members, at least 10, and that the resolutions may allow the appointments to be divided among the counties proportionate to the respective size of the district. Adds new subsection (a1) to GS 153A-314 (Extension of service districts), allowing multi-county districts to annex territory wholly within one county with a resolution adopted by the board of county commissioners for that county.

Allows a county to designate the developer of a research and development park established as a research and production service district as an agent that may contract to provide services, including streets, parks, schools, utilities, and transportation systems, within the district by amending GS 153A-315(a).

Adds new subsection (a1) to GS 153A-316.1 [Urban research service district (URSD)], which permits the creation of a multi-county district even if the portion of the district lying in any one of the counties does not by itself meet the standards required for a district.

Amends GS 153A-316.2(a) to clarify the appointments of URSD advisory committee members shall be set forth in the resolution creating the committee, and that for multi-county districts the concurrent resolutions may allow the appointments to be divided among the counties proportionate to the respective size of the URSD. Amends subsection (b) to provide that for multi-county districts described in GS 153A-316.1(a1), discussed above, the board of commissioners for each county may make one additional appointment to the advisory committee.

Adds new subsection (a1) to GS 153A-316.3 (Extension of URSD), allowing multi-county districts to annex territory wholly within one county with a resolution adopted by the board of county commissioners for that county.

Amends GS 153A-316.5(a) to allow a county or counties to designate the developer of a development park where the URSD is located as an agent to provide services, including streets, parks, schools, utilities, and transportation systems, within the URSD.

Clarifies in GS 153A-317(a) that only services that counties and cities are authorized by law to provide may be provided within a district. Increases the limit on additional property taxes in subsection (b) to 20 cents per $100 and removes previous language providing a range between 10 cents and 20 cents.

Amends GS 153A-317.1(a) to add “counties and” to the restriction that only services authorized to be provided by counties and cities may be provided in the URSD. Amends subsection (c) to clarify that projects benefiting the URSD may be included in the calculation of debt service payments based on taxes levied by the county, and that a capital project does not have to be located wholly within the URSD to be considered benefitting the URSD.

Adds “such as a greenway, to the extent it supports a means of public conveyance,” to the definition of “Public Transportation” in GS 153A-149(c)(27).