Republican state lawmakers on Wednesday took quick and decisive steps toward repealing annexations in the works by Wilmington, Southport and other municipalities across the state and making it more difficult for cities and towns to annex residents involuntarily.
Two separate annexation bills were approved by two state Senate committees on Wednesday – the opening day in this year’s short legislative session. The bills were expected to be considered by the full, 50-member Senate as early as Thursday. The House also would have to approve them.
One bill would repeal annexations of nine areas across the state, including the Monkey Junction annexation by the city of Wilmington and Southport’s annexation of two adjacent areas. Under the legislation, Wilmington and Southport couldn’t attempt to take in those areas again for 12 years.
The other measure would modify state law to require a simple majority vote of registered voters inside a proposed annexation area to turn back an annexation attempt, making it easier for residents to thwart annexation attempts by municipalities.
“It effectively ends forced annexation, period,” said state Sen. Thom Goolsby, R-New Hanover, who supports both bills.
The proposed legislation wouldn’t stop voluntary annexations by developers or other property owners who want to become part of a municipality.
Both bills are opposed by the N.C. League of Municipalities and other proponents of the rights of cities to annex.
Kelli Kukura, a lobbyist for the League, wrote in a letter to senators that an annexation election that didn’t allow existing city residents to vote would allow a determined minority of residents of an area to kill an annexation favored by the majority. She agreed that the measure would “virtually stop all city-initiated annexations.”
“This is patently unfair to our current city residents,” Kukura wrote in a letter to senators. “At a time when our economies are struggling to regain solid footing, this decision will drastically reduce the quality of life for city residents, will subject city taxpayers to rising tax bills and will make North Carolina less attractive to business owners and innovators.”
The proposed referendum vote would replace the petition process enacted as part of last year’s annexation reform legislation. That process, which required 60 percent of property owners to sign petitions to nullify annexations, was successful in denying annexations across the state last year, including the Monkey Junction and Southport-area attempts. But a Wake County Superior Court judge recently deemed the petition process unconstitutional after several cities sued the state challenging it. That decision led Wilmington to declare the Monkey Junction annexation effective and begin providing police and other services to residents and businesses there.
State Rep. Susi Hamilton, D-New Hanover, who opposes both bills, said existing city residents should have a say in whether nearby areas should be annexed because they carry the tax burden for those who live just outside the city limits but use city roads and other amenities.
But a Republican bill sponsor made it clear that only registered voters of the annexation areas and not the whole municipality would be allowed to vote.
Dallas Woodhouse, state director for the conservative group Americans for Prosperity, said the bills should send a clear message to cities that sued over the new annexation laws not to mess with the Republican-controlled General Assembly, which has the power to draw municipal boundaries.
“It should be a humbling defeat for (Wilmington Mayor) Bill Saffo,” Woodhouse said.
But Sen. Bill Purcell, D-Scotland, warned that eliminating cities’ annexation powers could lead to declining cities that become a burden on the state.
“Each of these bills nibbles away at the various authorities that keep cities healthy,” he said.
In other first-day developments at the General Assembly:
Vehicle inspections
A transportation committee Wednesday decided not to recommend exempting the three newest model-year vehicles from state safety and emissions inspections, meaning it’s likely dead for the short session.
Sen. Bill Rabon, R-Brunswick, said the proposal still needs work.
Supporters of exempting the inspections said it would save motorists with newer cars money when they might need it most. Opponents argued that not requiring inspections could pose dangers on the roads harm the small businesses that perform the inspections.
Bills introduced
Legislation introduced Wednesday included:
House Bill 947 would provide $50,000 payments for the living victims of the state’s former eugenics movement, which sterilized residents against their will during parts of the 20th century.
House Bill 962 would eliminate increased ferry tolls from the state budget until at least July 2013.
Spotted in the hallway
Pender County Sheriff Carson Smith was in town for the annual sheriffs’ day at the General Assembly. Smith said he hopes lawmakers address the issue of metal theft, particularly copper. He said bills are being considered that would require buyers of metal to have permits or a waiting period before metal can be destroyed by buyers. That would give police more time to investigate thefts before the evidence is destroyed.
“As far as property crime, it is our biggest problem,” Smith said.
Former state Sen. Patrick Ballantine also was seen around the legislative complex. Ballantine, who represented New Hanover County in the state Senate for a decade before running for governor in 2004, is now president of Wilmington-based Ballantine Co., a lobbying and consulting firm.
He said he has a few lobbying clients and is looking for more.
“Just trying to get established,” he said.
Ballantine has no plans to run for office again.
“My wife would vote for my opponent if I ran for anything,” he said.
By Patrick Gannon
Published: Wednesday, May 16, 2012 at 8:01 p.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, May 16, 2012 at 8:01 p.m.
