A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to enforce constitutional or statutory limitations on government.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Chapter 1 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Subchapter and Article to read:
"subchapter xvi. standing.
"Article 53.
"Taxpayer Standing Act.
"§ 1‑635.  Standing to challenge unlawful taxation or expenditure; remedies.
(a)	Standing. – An individual or corporation that pays taxes to a taxing jurisdiction of this State has standing to sue the taxing jurisdiction in the General Court of Justice on the grounds that the taxing jurisdiction has violated a constitutional provision or statute concerning appropriate methods, purposes, and amounts of taxation or expenditure by:
(1)	Misusing or misappropriating public funds; or
(2)	Authorizing an unlawful tax exemption, deduction, or credit.
(b)	Remedies. – A plaintiff who brings an action under this Article is entitled to seek any appropriate equitable remedy, including, but not limited to, injunctive and declaratory relief. In addition, the plaintiff may obtain a judgment for the return to the jurisdiction of any money that was misused or misappropriated or a judgment for the collection of revenues owed."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 105‑241.17 reads as rewritten:
"§ 105‑241.17.  Civil action challenging statute as unconstitutional.
A taxpayer who claims that a statute imposing a tax is unconstitutional may bring a civil action in the Superior Court of Wake County to determine the taxpayer's liability under that statute if all of the conditions in this section are met. In filing an action under this section, a taxpayer must follow the procedures for a mandatory business case set forth in G.S. 7A‑45.4(b) through (f). The conditions for filing a civil action are:
(1)	The taxpayer exhausted the prehearing remedy by receiving a final determination after a review and a conference.
(2)	The taxpayer commenced a contested case at the Office of Administrative Hearings.
(3)	The Office of Administrative Hearings dismissed the contested case petition for lack of jurisdiction because the sole issue is the constitutionality of a statute and not the application of a statute.
(4)	The taxpayer has paid the amount of tax, penalties, and interest the final determination states is due.
(5)	The civil action is filed within two years of the dismissal."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 105‑241.19 reads as rewritten:
"§ 105‑241.19.  Declaratory judgments, injunctions, and other actions prohibited.
The remedies in G.S. 105‑241.11 through G.S. 105‑241.18 set out the exclusive remedies for disputing the denial of a requested refund, a taxpayer's liability for a tax, or the constitutionality of a statute imposing a tax. Any other action is barred. Neither an action for declaratory judgment, an action for an injunction to prevent the collection of a tax, nor any other action is allowed."
SECTION 4.  Section 1 of this act becomes effective October 1, 2013, and applies to actions filed on or after that date. The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law.