A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT requiring cities to file certified charters and boundary maps and counties to file certified boundary maps with the secretary of state.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 160A‑22 reads as rewritten:
"§ 160A‑22.  Map of corporate limits; filing of maps and charters.
(a)	The current city boundaries shall at all times be drawn on a map, or set out in a written description, or shown by a combination of these techniques. This delineation shall be retained permanently in the office of the city clerk. Alterations in these established boundaries shall be indicated by appropriate entries upon or additions to the map or description made by or under the direction of the officer charged with that duty by the city charter or by the council. Copies of the map or description reproduced by any method of reproduction that gives legible and permanent copies, when certified by the city clerk, shall be admissible in evidence in all courts and shall have the same force and effect as would the original map or description. The council may provide for revisions in any map or other description of the city boundaries. A revised map or description shall supersede for all purposes the earlier map or description that it is designated to replace.
(b)	On or before December 1, 2006, the city clerk shall file with the Secretary of State a certified true copy of the map required under subsection (a) of this section showing the boundaries of the city as they existed on January 1, 2006.
(c)	On or before July 1 of the year preceding each decennial federal census, the city clerk shall file with the Secretary of State a certified true copy of a map showing the boundaries of the city as they existed on January 1 of the year preceding the decennial federal census. All maps required by this subsection shall conform to rules adopted by the Secretary of State. Prior to adopting the rules, the Secretary of State shall consult with the North Carolina League of Municipalities, the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners, the North Carolina Property Mappers Association, the North Carolina Chapter of the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association, and the Statewide Mapping Advisory Council. The rules shall provide for the Secretary to accept GIS maps or others created by electronic means.
(d)	The city clerk shall file with the Secretary of State a certified true copy of the city's charter as it existed on January 1, 2006, including acts of the General Assembly, orders of the Municipal Board of Control, any changes made under Part 4 of Article 5 of this Chapter, changes made under G.S. 160A‑496, or changes made under any local act. For cities with a population of 1,000 or more according to the 2000 decennial federal census, or cities incorporated on or after January 1, 2000, the filing shall be on or before December 1, 2006. For cities with a population of less than 1,000 according to the 2000 decennial federal census, the filing shall be on or before December 1, 2007.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a city charter filed with the Secretary of State under this subsection shall not be relied upon or offered as evidence in any administrative or judicial proceeding as proof of the charter."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 153A‑17 reads as rewritten:
"§ 153A‑17.  Existing boundaries.
(a)	The boundaries of each county shall remain as presently established, until changed in accordance with law.
(b)	On or before July 1, 2006, the county manager or, where there is no county manager, the chairman of the board of commissioners shall file with the Secretary of State a certified true copy of the map showing the boundaries of the county as they existed on January 1, 2006.
(c)	On or before July 1 of the year preceding each decennial federal census, the manager or chairman shall file with the Secretary of State a certified true copy of the map showing the boundaries of the county as they existed on January 1 of the year preceding the decennial federal census. All maps required by this subsection shall conform to rules adopted by the Secretary of State. Prior to adopting the rules, the Secretary of State shall consult with the North Carolina League of Municipalities, the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners, the North Carolina Property Mappers Association, the North Carolina Chapter of the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association, and the Statewide Mapping Advisory Council. The rules shall provide for the Secretary to accept GIS maps or others created by electronic means."
SECTION 3.  This act is effective when it becomes law.