A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to change the funding formula for cities regarding appropriations for municipal streets, to include cities and counties in transportation corridor MAPPING, to conform statutes to county authority AUTHORIZED by the GENERAL assembly, and to clarify the definition of the state highway system.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 136‑41.1(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	There is annually appropriated out of the State Highway Fund a sum equal to the net amount after refunds that was produced during the fiscal year by a one and three‑fourths cents (1 3/4¢) tax on each gallon of motor fuel taxed under Article 36C of Chapter 105 of the General Statutes and on the equivalent amount of alternative fuel taxed under Article 36D of that Chapter. The amount appropriated shall be allocated in cash on or before October 1 of each year to the cities and towns of the State in accordance with this section. In addition, as provided in G.S. 136‑176(b)(3), revenue is allocated and appropriated from the Highway Trust Fund to the cities and towns of this State to be used for the same purposes and distributed in the same manner as the revenue appropriated to them under this section from the Highway Fund. Like the appropriation from the Highway Fund, the appropriation from the Highway Trust Fund shall be based on revenue collected during the fiscal year preceding the date the distribution is made.
Seventy‑five percent (75%) of the funds appropriated for cities and towns shall be distributed among the several eligible municipalities of the State in the percentage proportion that the population of each eligible municipality bears to the total population of all eligible municipalities according to the most recent annual estimates of population as certified to the Secretary of Revenue by the State Budget Officer. This annual estimation of population shall include increases in the population within the municipalities caused by annexations accomplished through July 1 of the calendar year in which these funds are distributed. Twenty‑five percent (25%) of said fund shall be distributed among the several eligible municipalities of the State in the percentage proportion that the mileage of public streets in each eligible municipality which does not form a part of the State highway system bears to the total mileage of the public streets in all eligible municipalities which do not constitute a part of the State highway system.
It shall be the duty of the mayor of each municipality to report to the Department of Transportation such information as it may request for its guidance in determining the eligibility of each municipality to receive funds under this section and in determining the amount of allocation to which each is entitled. Upon failure of any municipality to make such report within the time prescribed by the Department of Transportation, the Department of Transportation may disregard such defaulting unit in making said allotment.
Beginning in fiscal year 2011, the  funds to be allocated under this section may be paid in cash to the various eligible municipalities biannually in two equal payments on or before December 1 and June 1 of each year. Should the total yearly allocation for a municipality be less than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), the Department shall pay the entire amount in one payment before November 1 of that year. Provided that eligible municipalities are authorized within the discretion of their governing bodies to enter into contracts for the purpose of maintenance, repair, construction, reconstruction, widening, or improving streets of such municipalities at any time after January 1 of any calendar year in total amounts not to exceed ninety percent (90%) of the amount received by such municipality during the preceding fiscal year, in anticipation of the receipt of funds under this section during the next fiscal year, to be paid for out of such funds when received.
The Department of Transportation may withhold each year an amount not to exceed one percent (1%) of the total amount appropriated for distribution under this section for the purpose of correcting errors in allocations: Provided, that the amount so withheld and not used for correcting errors will be carried over and added to the amount to be allocated for the following year.
The word "street" as used in this section is hereby defined as any public road maintained by a municipality and open to use by the general public, and having an average width of not less than 16 feet. In order to obtain the necessary information to distribute the funds herein allocated, the Department of Transportation may require that each municipality eligible to receive funds under this section submit to it a statement, certified by a registered engineer or surveyor of the total number of miles of streets in such municipality. The Department of Transportation may in its discretion require the certification of mileage on a biennial basis."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 136‑44.50(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	A transportation corridor official map may be adopted or amended by any of the following:
(1)	The governing board of any local government for any thoroughfare included as part of a comprehensive plan for streets and highways adopted pursuant to G.S. 136‑66.2 or for any proposed public transportation corridor included in the adopted long‑range transportation plan.
(2)	The Board of Transportation, or the governing board of any county, for any portion of the existing or proposed State highway system or for any public transportation corridor, to include rail, that is in the Transportation Improvement Program.
(3)	Regional public transportation authorities created pursuant to Article 26 of Chapter 160A of the General Statutes or regional transportation authorities created pursuant to Article 27 of Chapter 160A of the General Statutes for any portion of the existing or proposed State highway system, or for any proposed public transportation corridor, or adjacent station or parking lot, included in the adopted long‑range transportation plan.
(4)	The North Carolina Turnpike Authority for any project being studied pursuant to G.S. 136‑89.183.
(5)	The Wilmington Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization for any project that is within its urbanized boundary and identified in G.S. 136‑179.
Before a city adopts a transportation corridor official map that extends beyond the extraterritorial jurisdiction of its building permit issuance and subdivision control ordinances, or adopts an amendment to a transportation corridor official map outside the extraterritorial jurisdiction of its building permit issuance and subdivision control ordinances, the city shall obtain approval from the Board of County Commissioners."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 136‑44.50(a1) reads as rewritten:
"(a1)	No property may be regulated under this Article until:
(1)	The governing board of the city, the county, the regional transportation authority, the North Carolina Turnpike Authority, or the Department of Transportation has held a public hearing in each county affected by the map on the proposed map or amendment. Notice of the hearing shall be provided:
a.	By publication at least once a week for four successive weeks prior to the hearing in a newspaper having general circulation in the county in which the transportation corridor to be designated is located.
b.	By two week written notice to the Secretary of Transportation, the Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners, and the Mayor of any city or town through whose corporate or extraterritorial jurisdiction the transportation corridor passes.
c.	By posting copies of the proposed transportation corridor map or amendment at the courthouse door for at least 21 days prior to the hearing date. The notice required in sub‑subdivision a. above shall make reference to this posting.
d.	By first‑class mail sent to each property owner affected by the corridor. The notice shall be sent to the address listed for the owner in the county tax records.
(1a)	The transportation corridor official map has been adopted or amended by the governing board of the city, the county, the regional transportation authority, the North Carolina Turnpike Authority, or the Department. 
(2)	A permanent certified copy of the transportation corridor official map or amendment has been filed with the register of deeds. The boundaries may be defined by map or by written description, or a combination thereof. The copy shall measure approximately 20 inches by 12 inches, including no less than one and one‑half inches binding space on the left‑hand side.
(3)	The names of all property owners affected by the corridor have been submitted to the Register of Deeds."
SECTION 4.  G.S. 136‑66.1(1) reads as rewritten:
"(1)	The State Highway System. – The State highway system inside the corporate limits of municipalities shall only consist of a system of major streets and highways necessary to move volumes of traffic efficiently and effectively from points beyond the corporate limits of the municipalities through the municipalities and to major business, industrial, governmental and institutional destinations located inside the municipalities. The Department of Transportation shall be responsible for the maintenance, repair, improvement, widening, construction and reconstruction of this system. These streets and highways within corporate limits are of primary benefit to the State in developing a statewide coordinated system of primary and secondary streets and highways. Each highway division shall develop an annual work plan for maintenance and contract resurfacing, within their respective divisions, consistent with the needs, inasmuch as possible, as identified in the report developed in accordance with G.S. 136‑44.3. In developing the annual work plan, the highway division shall give consideration to any special needs or information provided by the municipalities within their respective divisions. The plan shall be made available to the municipalities within the respective divisions upon request."
SECTION 5.  G.S. 136‑66.2 reads as rewritten:
"§ 136‑66.2.  Development of a coordinated transportation system and provisions for streets and highways in and around municipalities.
(a)	Each municipality, not located within a metropolitan planning organization (MPO) as recognized in G.S. 136‑200.1, with the cooperation of the Department of Transportation, shall develop a comprehensive transportation plan that will serve present and anticipated travel demand in and around the municipality. The plan shall be based on the best information available including, but not limited to, population growth, economic conditions and prospects, and patterns of land development in and around the municipality, and shall provide for the safe and effective use of the transportation system. In the development of the plan, consideration shall be given to all transportation modes including, but not limited to, the street system, transit alternatives, bicycle, pedestrian, and operating strategies. The Department of Transportation may provide financial and technical assistance in the preparation of such plans. Each MPO, with cooperation of the Department of Transportation, shall develop a comprehensive transportation plan in accordance with 23 U.S.C. § 134. In addition, an MPO may include projects in its transportation plan that are not included in a financially constrained plan or are anticipated to be needed beyond the horizon year as required by 23 U.S.C. § 134. For municipalities located within an MPO, the development of a comprehensive transportation plan will take place through the metropolitan planning organization. For purposes of transportation planning and programming, the MPO shall represent the municipality's interests to the Department of Transportation.
(b)	After completion and analysis of the plan, the plan shall be adopted by both the governing body of the municipality or MPO and the Department of Transportation as the basis for future transportation improvements in and around the municipality or within the MPO. The governing body of the municipality and the Department of Transportation shall reach agreement as to which of the existing and proposed streets and highways included in the adopted plan will be a part of the State highway system and which streets will be a part of the municipal street system. As used in this Article, the State highway system shall mean both the primary highway system of the State and the secondary road system of the State within municipalities that meet the functionality test established in subsection (c) of this section, or is mutually agreed upon.
(b1)	The Department of Transportation may participate in the development and adoption of a transportation plan or updated transportation plan when all local governments within the area covered by the transportation plan have adopted land development plans within the previous five years. The Department of Transportation may participate in the development of a transportation plan if all the municipalities and counties within the area covered by the transportation plan are in the process of developing a land development plan. The Department of Transportation may not adopt or update a transportation plan until a local land development plan has been adopted. A qualifying land development plan may be a comprehensive plan, land use plan, master plan, strategic plan, or any type of plan or policy document that expresses a jurisdiction's goals and objectives for the development of land within that jurisdiction. At the request of the local jurisdiction, the Department may review and provide comments on the plan but shall not provide approval of the land development plan.
(b2)	The municipality or the MPO shall provide opportunity for public comments prior to adoption of the transportation plan.
(b3)	Each county, with the cooperation of the Department of Transportation, may develop a comprehensive transportation plan utilizing the procedures specified for municipalities in subsection (a) of this section. This plan may be adopted by both the governing body of the county and the Department of Transportation. For portions of a county located within an MPO, the development of a comprehensive transportation plan shall take place through the metropolitan planning organization.
(b4)	To complement the roadway element of the transportation plan, municipalities and MPOs may develop a collector street plan to assist in developing the roadway network. The Department of Transportation may review and provide comments but is not required to provide approval of the collector street plan.
(c)	From and after the date that the plan is adopted, the streets and highways designated in the plan as the responsibility of the Department of Transportation must be functionally classified as major collectors, arterials, or interstate routes according to the most recent functional classification system map approved by both the Department and the Federal Highway Administration, and shall become a part of the State highway system and all such system streets shall be subject to the provisions of G.S. 136‑93, and all streets designated in the plan as the responsibility of the municipality shall become a part of the municipal street system.
(d)	For municipalities not located within an MPO, either the municipality or the Department of Transportation may propose changes in the plan that meet the eligibility requirements of subsection (c) of this section at any time by giving notice to the other party, but no change shall be effective until it is adopted by both the Department of Transportation and the municipal governing board. For MPOs, either the MPO or the Department of Transportation may propose changes in the plan at any time by giving notice to the other party, but no change shall be effective until it is adopted by both the Department of Transportation and the MPO.
(e)	Until the adoption of a comprehensive transportation plan that includes future development of the street system in and around municipalities, the Department of Transportation and any municipality shall reach an agreement as to which existing or proposed streets and highways within the municipal boundaries shall be added to or removed from the State highway system based on the most recent functional classification of the roadways within the municipal limits.
(f)	Streets within municipalities which are on the State highway system as of July 1, 1959, shall continue to be on that system until changes are made to comply with the eligibility requirements of subsection (c) of this section. These new agreements shall become effective on or before June 30, 2015. The Department shall bring all State‑maintained roads up to acceptable maintenance standards prior to placing them in the municipal system. 
(g)	The street and highway elements of the plans developed pursuant to G.S. 136‑66.2 shall serve as the plan referenced in G.S. 136‑66.10(a)."
SECTION 6.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2009.