A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to allow the board of commissioners of henderson county to standardize the ceiling on fire district taxes in henderson county.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 69‑25.1 reads as rewritten:
"Article 3A.
"Rural Fire Protection Districts.
"§ 69‑25.1.  Election to be held upon petition of voters.
Upon the petition of thirty‑five percent (35%) of the resident freeholders living in an area lying outside the corporate limits of any city or town, which area is described in the petition and designated as  "_________________________ Fire District," the board of
	(Here insert name)
county commissioners of the county shall call an election in said district for the purpose of submitting to the qualified voters therein the question of levying and collecting a special tax on all taxable property in said district, of not exceeding fifteen cents (15¢) on the one hundred dollars ($100.00) valuation of property, for the purpose of providing fire protection in said district. The county tax office shall be responsible for checking the freeholder status of those individuals signing the petition and confirming the location of the property owned by those individuals. Unless specifically excluded by other law, the provisions of Chapter 163 of the General Statutes concerning petitions for referenda and elections shall apply. If the voters reject the special tax under the first paragraph of this section, then no new election may be held under the first paragraph of this section within two years on the question of levying and collecting a special tax under the first paragraph of this section in that district, or in any proposed district which includes a majority of the land within the district in which the tax was rejected.
The Board of Commissioners of a county may by ordinance applicable to an area which has previously been established as a fire protection district and in which there has been authorized by a vote of the people a special tax not exceeding ten cents (10¢) on the one hundred dollars ($100.00) valuation of property within the area, increase the maximum allowable special tax for fire protection within said district from ten cents (10¢) on the one hundred dollars ($100.00) valuation to fifteen cents (15¢) on the one hundred dollars ($100.00) valuation on all taxable property within such district. "
SECTION 2.  This act applies to Henderson County only.
SECTION 3.  This act is effective when it becomes law.