A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to authorize the town of Emerald Isle to levy an additional one percent sales and use tax, the proceeds of which shall be used for beach Nourishment.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  This act applies to the Town of Emerald Isle only.
SECTION 2.  Subchapter VIII of Chapter 105 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Article to read:
"Article 48.
"One Percent Sales and Use Tax for Emerald Isle.
"§ 105‑544.  Short title.
This Article is the "One Percent Sales and Use Tax for Emerald Isle."
"§ 105‑545.  Definitions.
The following definitions apply in this Article:
(1)	Beach nourishment. – The placement of sand, from other sand sources, on a beach or dune by mechanical means, and other associated activities that are in conformity with the North Carolina Coastal Management Program, or which have otherwise been authorized by the General Assembly, along the North Carolina shorelines and connecting inlets for the purpose of widening the beach to benefit public recreational use and mitigating damage and erosion from storms to inland property and transportation routes. The term includes expenditures for the following:
a.	Costs directly associated with qualifying for projects either contracted through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers or otherwise permitted by all appropriate federal and State agencies.
b.	The nonfederal share of the costs required to construct these projects.
c.	The costs associated with providing enhanced public beach access.
d.	The costs of associated nonhardening activities such as the planting of vegetation, the building of dunes, and the placement of sand fences.
(2)	Net proceeds. – Defined in G.S. 105‑472.
"§ 105‑546.  Levy.
(a)	Authority. – If the majority of those voting in a referendum held pursuant to this Article vote for the levy of the tax, the municipality's board of commissioners may, by resolution and after 10 days' public notice, levy a local sales and use tax at a rate of one percent (1%).
(b)	Vote. – The municipality's board of commissioners may direct the county board of elections to conduct an advisory referendum on the question of whether to levy a local sales and use tax in the county as provided in this Article. The election shall be held on a date jointly agreed upon by the municipality's board of commissioners and the board of elections and shall be held in accordance with the procedures of G.S. 163‑287.
(c)	Ballot Question. – The form of the question to be presented on a ballot for a special election concerning the levy of the tax authorized by this Article shall be:
"[ ] FOR	[ ] AGAINST
Local sales and use tax at the rate of one percent (1%) in addition to all other State and local sales and use taxes for the sole purpose of beach nourishment."
"§ 105‑547. Administration.
Except as provided in this Article, the adoption, levy, collection, administration, and repeal of the additional taxes authorized by this Article shall be in accordance with Article 39 of this Chapter. References to "county" or "counties" within Article 39 of this Chapter shall be interpreted as referring to "municipality" or "municipalities," respectively, for purposes of the tax authorized by this Article. A tax levied under this Article does not apply to the sales price of food that is exempt from tax pursuant to G.S. 105‑164.13B.
"§ 105‑548. Distribution and use of taxes.
(a)	Distribution. – The Secretary shall, on a monthly basis, distribute to each taxing municipality for which the Secretary collects the tax the net proceeds of the tax collected in that municipality under this Article. If the Secretary collects local sales or use taxes in a month and the taxes cannot be identified as being attributable to a particular taxing municipality, the Secretary shall allocate the taxes among the taxing municipalities in proportion to the amount of taxes collected in each municipality under this Article during that month and shall include them in the monthly distribution. Amounts collected by electronic funds transfer payments are included in the distribution for the month in which the return that applies to the payment is received.
(b)	Use. – A municipality may use the net proceeds of a tax levied under this Article only for the sole purpose of beach nourishment."
SECTION 3.  This act is effective when it becomes law.