A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to condemn the leasehold interest in the dorothea dix campus property conveyed to the city of raleigh and allocate it to the department of health and human services for mental health purposes, as provided in the statute authorizing its acquisition and in the deeds conveying the property to the state, to provide for implementation of the 2007 state government master facilities master plan, including lease of a portion of the property at fair market value to the city of raleigh for a public park, and to provide for use of any lease proceeds for mental health purposes.
Whereas, on December 28, 2012, Governor Beverly Perdue executed a 75‑ to 99‑year below fair market value lease with the City of Raleigh for use of State property known generally as the "Dorothea Dix Property" as a city destination park; and
Whereas, the Dorothea Dix Property is used for Department of Health and Human Services operations and is the office site for 2,456 Department of Health and Human Services employees; and
Whereas, relocation of Department of Health and Human Services operations and employees off the Dorothea Dix Property will require significant planning and substantial commitment of State tax dollars or debt capacity; and
Whereas, the Department of Health and Human Services continues to face significant budget challenges as evidenced by the January 31, 2013, audit issued by the North Carolina State Auditor; and
Whereas, the Dorothea Dix Property has been the subject of multiple commercial appraisals and constitutes a significant State asset owned by and for the benefit of the people of this State; and
Whereas, authority for acquisition of the Dorothea Dix Property was granted in 1848 particularly for the benefit of North Carolinians with mental illness, a purpose given no attention in the December 28, 2012, lease; and
Whereas, G.S. 146‑28 requires the Department of Administration to investigate present and future State need for State land proposed for conveyance, lease, or rent; Now, therefore,
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Upon the effective date of this act, there is vested in the State of North Carolina, including the right of immediate possession by the State, all of the right, title, and interest, including without limitation leasehold interests, conveyed to the City of Raleigh by the State of North Carolina by lease approved by the Governor and Council of State and executed December 28, 2012. This includes those as described in Exhibit A of that lease and those in any of the exhibits, schedules, or attachments to that lease or in the Memorandum of Lease dated December 28, 2012. That lease covers approximately 325 acres as described in Section 1.8 of the lease and is shown as Dix Park, 307 acres +/‑, in Exhibit A of that lease. Section 10 of the lease specifically notes the power of the State to take by condemnation all or any part of the leasehold interest.
SECTION 2.  The property described in Section 1 of this act is allocated to the Department of Health and Human Services. Chapter 1 of the Laws of 1848‑49 authorized acquisition of that property in trust for the use and benefit of the North Carolina Hospital for the Insane; some or all of the deeds provided that the conveyance to the State was in trust for the use and benefit of the North Carolina Hospital for the Insane. While the property remains subject to the power of sale or lease by the State, any proceeds from sale or lease shall be used solely for mental health treatment purposes, which the General Assembly determines under the doctrine of cy pres to be as near as may be to the purpose of its acquisition of the property for charitable purposes.
SECTION 3.(a)  In compensation to the City of Raleigh for the taking in Section 1 of this act, the City is released from any obligations under such lease, and any funds paid by the City of Raleigh to the State of North Carolina under that lease shall be refunded to the City of Raleigh.
SECTION 3.(b)  If the City of Raleigh contests that just compensation has not been provided by subsection (a) of this section, it shall, within 60 days of the effective date of this act, file a special proceeding in the Superior Court of Wake County for a determination of just compensation. The rules of procedure for such action shall be determined by the judge presiding, unless the Supreme Court otherwise provides rules of procedure under Section 13 of Article IV of the Constitution, but shall generally be the same as for determining just compensation in actions under Article 9 of Chapter 136 of the General Statutes.
SECTION 4.(a)  The Department of Administration shall lease at fair market value a portion of the property identified in the 2007 State Government Facilities Master Plan as suitable for a public park.  The City of Raleigh shall have the right of first refusal as a lessee.
SECTION 4.(b)  It is the intent of the General Assembly that all revenues from leases of the Dorothea Dix Property under Section 4(a) be held in a special fund for appropriation by the General Assembly for mental health purposes consistent with the purposes in the underlying deeds transferring the Dix property to the State and in Chapter 1 of the Laws of 1848‑49 that authorized acquisition of the property.
SECTION 4.(c)  The Department of Administration and Department of Health and Human Services shall evaluate the recommended uses of the Dorothea Dix Property identified in the 2007 State Government Facilities Master Plan and report their findings to the General Assembly by March 15, 2014, along with any request for authority or appropriation to implement all or any portion of Section 8 of the 2007 State Government Facilities Master Plan.
SECTION 5.  This act is effective when it becomes law.