Senate to eye new bill to allow area to de-annex
By Ty Johnson
Published in News on June 16, 2011 1:46 PM
Goldsboro's Phase 11 area will, essentially, be grandfathered into a bill in the General Assembly that outlines the process by which residents in an area to be annexed by a municipality can petition against the annexation.
House Bill 196, which contains language that would nullify the annexation of the Buck Swamp and Falling-brook areas, was written into House Bill 56 while in the Senate along with similar bills detailing de-annexation for eight areas from Asheville to Wilmington.
H.B. 56 passed its second reading Wednesday afternoon and will be available for changes during the Senate session today. If it passes a third reading, it will then return to the House for it to be passed as amended.
"Since it was originally a House bill, it comes back as a Senate substitute," said Rep. Efton Sager of Wayne County, the primary sponsor of H.B. 196.
Because it is considered a local bill, it does not require Gov. Beverly Perdue's signature to become law, and would become effective after the House's approval.
"I believe the bill will pass," Sager said, anticipating that it will receive its final approval either late tonight or tomorrow.
The next step for Phase 11, as dictated by the bill, would be for the Board of Elections to form a petition for property owners to sign showing opposition to the annexation. If 60 percent or more of eligible property owners in the area sign the petition, the annexation "shall be repealed effective immediately." The municipality would not be allowed to adopt any further resolution of consideration for the area for at least three years following the repeal.