A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to revise a statute to create a butner advisory council so as to elect all members at large in one multiseat race and eliminate staggered terms; to define the electoral jurisdiction of the council; and to amend the legislation in other needed ways.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 122C‑413 reads as rewritten:
"§ 122C‑413. Butner Advisory Council; created.
(a)	There is created a Butner Advisory Council to consist of seven members, to be elected by the residents of the Butner Advisory Council Jurisdiction, as shown on a map produced April 3, 2003, by the Information Systems Division of the North Carolina General Assembly and kept on file in the office of the Butner Town Manager and in the office of the Granville County Board of Elections. The Butner Advisory Council shall be elected at a nonpartisan election pursuant to G.S. 163-292 administered by the Granville County Board of Elections to be held in the first odd-numbered year after preclearance under section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 is obtained. The Granville County Board of Elections may change the dates of the candidate-filing period for the first election if preclearance is not obtained before the statutory filing period begins.
(b)	All members of the Butner Advisory Council shall be elected at large in one multiseat race, and the election shall be held in accordance with all applicable federal and State constitutional and statutory provisions, including the Voting Rights Act of 1965. For the purpose of elections under this Part, the jurisdiction shall be considered a city under Chapters 160A and 163 of the General Statutes. In accordance with North Carolina law, a candidate for the Butner Advisory Council must be a registered voter and a resident of the  Butner Advisory Council Jurisdiction, as shown on a map produced April 3, 2003, by the Information Systems Division of the North Carolina General Assembly and kept on file in the office of the Butner Town Manager and in the office of the Granville County Board of Elections.
(c)	The candidates for the Butner Advisory Council shall file their notices of candidacy with the Granville County Board of Elections. Absentee voting by qualified voters residing in the territorial jurisdiction shall be in accordance with G.S. 163‑302. The filing fee shall be the minimum set by G.S. 163-294.2(e).
(d)	The seven candidates receiving the highest numbers of votes shall be elected for  four-year terms.
		(d1)	The Department of Health and Human Services shall reimburse the Granville County Board of Elections for the actual cost of administering the election of the Butner Advisory Council according to the provisions of G.S. 163-284 as if Butner were a city.
(e)	The Chair of the Butner Advisory Council shall be elected from among its members, shall serve a one‑year term, may be reelected, and shall serve at the pleasure of the council.
(f)	The Butner Advisory Council shall comply with the applicable and relevant provisions of Parts 1, 2, and 3 of Article 5 of Chapter 160A of the General Statutes with respect to the filling of vacancies and the organization and procedures of the council as if it were a city."
SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law.