GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1993

H	1 

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 181

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Sponsors: Representatives Jack Hunt; Lutz and Bowman.

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Referred to:  Rules, Calendar and Operations of the House.

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February 18, 1993

A JOINT RESOLUTION HONORING THE DELEGATES TO THE NORTH CAROLINA CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF 1868 AND THE FIRST COUNTY COMMISSIONERS, INCLUDING THOSE OF RUTHERFORD COUNTY, ELECTED UNDER THE CONSTITUTION OF 1868 UPON THE 125TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 1868 NORTH CAROLINA CONSTITUTION, WHICH ESTABLISHED THE COUNTY COMMISSIONER FORM OF GOVERNMENT IN NORTH CAROLINA.
Whereas, delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1868 met from January to March 1868 to draft a new Constitution for North Carolina; and
Whereas, the delegates were familiar with progressive local government systems in other states; and
Whereas, the delegates drafted a new and more democratic Constitution for North Carolina, which was ratified by the people of the State in April of 1868; and
Whereas, the Constitution of 1868 reformed the system of county government in North Carolina; and
Whereas, the Constitution of 1868 eliminated the county Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions, created townships, and assigned administrative duties to a new board of county commissioners in each county; and
Whereas, the Constitution of 1868 provided for the direct election of county officials by popular vote; and
Whereas, the Constitution of 1868 established a uniform, progressive, and democratic system of county and township government in North Carolina; and
Whereas, Rutherford County was one of the first counties to elect county commissioners under the system established by the Constitution of 1868; and
Whereas, the people of Rutherford County elected B.W. Andrews, John M. Allen, Calvin J. Sparks, and H.H. Hopper as their first county commissioners under the Constitution of 1868; and
Whereas, the first County Commissioners of Rutherford County and their counterparts across the State participated in a new and more democratic plan of organization for counties; and
Whereas, the county commissioner form of government, first introduced by the Constitution of 1868, has successfully served the people of North Carolina for 125 years;
Now, therefore, be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring:
Section 1.  The General Assembly honors the memory of the members of the Constitutional Convention of 1868 and the first county commissioners in the State, including those of Rutherford County, elected under the Constitution of 1868, upon the 125th anniversary of the Constitution of 1868, which established the county commissioner form of government in North Carolina.
Sec. 2.  The Secretary of State shall transmit a certified copy of this resolution to the chair of each board of county commissioners of the State and to the President of the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners.
Sec. 3.  This resolution is effective upon ratification.