North Carolina § 115C-66 - 5. Merger of county school administrative units by the State Board of Education.

§ 115C-66. 5. Merger of county school administrative units by the State Board of Education.

Consolidation and Merger. - The State Board of Education shall have the authority to consolidate and merge contiguous county school administrative units or a group of county school administrative units in which each county unit is contiguous with at least one other county unit in the group. The State Board shall adopt a written plan setting forth the conditions of the merger. A merger of county units and reorganization of those units under this section shall not have the effect of abolishing any special taxes that may have been voted in any such units. Effective Date. - The merger shall become effective on July 1 immediately following the earlier of the thirty-first legislative day or the day of adjournment of the next regular session of the General Assembly that begins at least 25 days after the date the State Board approved the merger. If a bill that specifically disapproves the merger is introduced in either house of the General Assembly before the thirty-first legislative day of that session, the merger becomes effective on the July 1 immediately following the earlier of either the day an unfavorable final action is taken on the bill or the day that session of the General Assembly adjourns without ratifying a bill that specifically disapproves the merger. A merger that is specifically disapproved by a bill enacted into law before it becomes effective does not become effective. Legislative Disapproval of Merger. - A bill specifically disapproves a merger if it contains a provision that refers to the written plan of merger and states that the merger is disapproved. Notwithstanding any rule of either house of the General Assembly, any member of the General Assembly may introduce a bill during the first 30 legislative days of any regular session to disapprove a merger that has been approved by the State Board and that has not become effective. History (2015-241, s. 8A.5.) Editor's Note. - Session Laws 2015-241, s. 8A.5, made this section effective July 1, 2015. Session Laws 2015-241, s. 1.1, provides: "This act shall be known as 'The Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2015.'" Session Laws 2015-241, s. 33.4, provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 2015-2017 fiscal biennium, the textual provisions of this act apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 2015-2017 fiscal biennium." Session Laws 2015-241, s. 33.6, is a severability clause. Joint Legislative Study Committee on the Division of Local School Administrative Units. - Session Laws 2017-198, ss. 1-6, provide: "Section 1. There is established the Joint Legislative Study Committee on the Division of Local School Administrative Units (Committee). The Committee shall consist of five members of the Senate appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and five members of the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The President Pro Tempore and the Speaker of the House of the Representatives shall each appoint a cochair of the Committee from among its membership. The Committee and the terms of the members shall expire when the Committee submits a final report to the General Assembly. Members shall serve at the pleasure of the appointing officer. "Section 2. The Committee shall study and make recommendations on the following: "(1) The feasibility and advisability of enacting legislation to permit local school administrative units that were merged from separate units to be divided into separate local school administrative units once again. "(2) The varied and best ways by which the division of a local school administrative unit could be achieved. "(3) Whether legislation permitting the division of local school administrative units should require as a prerequisite to the division a majority vote of the qualified voters of the county through a referendum or election. "(4) Whether legislation permitting the division of local school administrative units should require as a prerequisite to the division a petition from a certain percentage of the qualified voters of the county and, if so, to what entity the petition should be delivered. "(5) Any other issue the Committee considers relevant to this study. "Section 3. The Committee shall meet upon the call of its cochairs. A quorum of the Committee is a majority of its members. No action may be taken except by a majority vote at a meeting at which a quorum is present. The Committee, while in the discharge of its official duties, may exercise all powers provided for under G.S. 120-19 and Article 5A of Chapter 120 of the General Statutes. The Committee may contract for professional, clerical, or consultant services, as provided by G.S. 120-32.02 . Members of the Committee shall receive per diem, subsistence, and travel allowance as provided in G.S. 120-3.1 . The expenses of the Committee shall be considered expenses incurred for the joint operation of the General Assembly. "Section 4. The Legislative Services Officer shall assign professional and clerical staff to assist the Committee in its work. The Director of Legislative Assistants of the House of Representatives and the Director of Legislative Assistants of the Senate shall assign clerical support to staff the Committee. "Section 5. The Committee shall submit a final report on the results of its study, including any proposed legislation, to the members of the Senate and the House of Representatives on or before May 1, 2018, by filing a copy of the report with the Office of the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, the Office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee, and the Legislative Library. The Committee shall terminate on May 1, 2018, or upon the filing of its final report, whichever occurs first. "Section 6. This act is effective when it becomes law [July 31, 2017]."