AN ACT to help municipalities collect delinquent property taxes.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 161‑31 reads as rewritten:
"§ 161‑31.  Tax certification.
(a)	Tax Certification. – The board of commissioners of a county may, by resolution, require the register of deeds not to accept any deed transferring real property for registration unless the county tax collector has certified all of the following:
(1)	That no delinquent ad valorem county taxes are a lien on the property described in the deed.
(2)	That no delinquent ad valorem municipal taxes are a lien on the property described in the deed. If a county tax collector is not charged with collecting ad valorem municipal taxes for a municipality in the county, then the resolution shall direct how the county tax collector is to receive the certification from the tax collector charged with collecting ad valorem municipal taxes.
(3)	That no other taxes with which the collector is charged are a lien on the property described in the deed.
The county commissioners may describe the form the certification must take in its resolution.
(a1)	Exception to Tax Certification. – If a board of county commissioners adopts a resolution pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, notwithstanding the resolution, the register of deeds shall accept without certification a deed submitted for registration under the supervision of a closing attorney and containing this statement on the deed: "This instrument prepared by: ____ ______, a licensed North Carolina attorney. Delinquent taxes, if any, to be paid by the closing attorney to the county tax collector upon disbursement of closing proceeds.
(b)	Applicability. – This section applies only to Alexander, Anson, Beaufort, Bertie, Burke, Cabarrus, Camden, Carteret, Caswell, Catawba, Cherokee, Chowan, Clay, Cleveland, Currituck, Davidson, Davie, Duplin, Durham, Edgecombe, Forsyth, Gaston, Gates, Graham, Granville, Greene, Halifax, Harnett, Haywood, Henderson, Hertford, Hyde, Iredell, Jackson, Johnston, Jones, Lee, Lenoir, Lincoln, Macon, Madison, Martin, Montgomery, Nash, Northampton, Onslow, Pasquotank, Pender, Perquimans, Person, Pitt, Polk, Robeson, Rockingham, Rowan, Rutherford, Stanly, Surry, Swain, Transylvania, Tyrrell, Vance, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Wilson, and Yadkin Counties."
SECTION 2.  This act applies to Duplin County only.
SECTION 3.  This act is effective when it becomes law.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 28th day of June, 2010.

	s/	 Walter H. Dalton
	 President of the Senate

	s/	 Joe Hackney
	 Speaker of the House of Representatives