A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to provide freedom from tolls and liberty of movement for the citizens of southwestern North carolina by removing the authority of the North Carolina Turnpike authority to construct toll‑supported highways in certain areas.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 136‑89.183(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	The Authority shall have all of the powers necessary to execute the provisions of this Article, including the following:
(1)	The powers of a corporate body, including the power to sue and be sued, to make contracts, to adopt and use a common seal, and to alter the adopted seal as needed.
(2)	To study, plan, develop, and undertake preliminary design work on up to eight Turnpike Projects. At the conclusion of these activities, the Turnpike Authority is authorized to design, establish, purchase, construct, operate, and maintain the following projects:
a.	Triangle Expressway, including segments also known as N.C. 540, Triangle Parkway, Western Wake Freeway in Wake and Durham Counties, and Southeast Extension in Wake and Johnston Counties, except that no portion of the Southeast Extension shall be located north of an existing protected corridor established by the Department of Transportation circa 1995, except in the area of Interstate 40 East.
b.	Gaston East‑West Connector, also known as the Garden Parkway, provided that the Authority shall not construct any project that would be located entirely or partially west of the Catawba River and south of the current route of the U.S. 74 highway.
c.	Monroe Connector/Bypass.
d.	Cape Fear Skyway.
e.	A bridge of more than two miles in length going from the mainland to a peninsula bordering the State of Virginia, pursuant to G.S. 136‑89.183A.
Any other project proposed by the Authority in addition to the projects listed in this subdivision must be approved by the General Assembly prior to construction.
A Turnpike Project selected for construction by the Turnpike Authority shall be included in any applicable locally adopted comprehensive transportation plans and shall be shown in the current State Transportation Improvement Plan prior to the letting of a contract for the Turnpike Project.
…."
SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law.