A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to provide for the partisan election of the members of the cherokee and rutherford county boards of education.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.(a)  Section 8 of Chapter 502 of the 1975 Session Laws is repealed.
SECTION 1.(b)  Section 2 of Chapter 502 of the 1975 Session Laws reads as rewritten:
"Sec. 2.  The Board of Education of Cherokee County shall consist of seven members, all of whom shall be elected by the voters of the entire county."
SECTION 1.(c)  Section 10 of Chapter 502 of the 1975 Session Laws reads as rewritten:
"Sec. 10.  All vacancies occurring on the Board of Education of Cherokee County by death, resignation, removal from office, change of residence, or otherwise, for positions elected on a nonpartisan basis in 2012 or 2014 shall be filled within 20 days of such vacancy by the remaining members of said board of education and for the unexpired term."
SECTION 1.(d)  Beginning in 2016, the members of Cherokee County Board of Education shall be elected on a partisan basis at the time of the general election in each even‑numbered year as terms expire. Candidates for election to the Cherokee County Board of Education shall be nominated at the same time and manner as other county officers. Members elected shall take office and qualify on the first Monday in December of the year of their election and the terms of their predecessors shall expire at that same time. Vacancies on the Cherokee County Board of Education for positions elected on a partisan basis shall be filled in accordance with G.S. 115C‑37.1.
SECTION 1.(e)  This act does not affect the terms of office of any person elected in 2012 or 2014 to the Cherokee County Board of Education.
SECTION 2.(a)  Section 4 of Chapter 359 of the 1973 Session Laws, as amended by Chapter 1165 of the 1977 Session Laws, Chapter 95 of the 1983 Session Laws, S.L. 2006‑92, and S.L. 2006‑101, reads as rewritten:
"Sec. 4.  Each person desiring to be a candidate for the Board of Education shall file a notice of candidacy in accordance with Chapter 163 of the General Statutes. The election shall be  partisan."
SECTION 2.(b)  Section 5 of Chapter 359 of the 1973 Session Laws, as amended by Chapter 1165 of the 1977 Session Laws, Chapter 95 of the 1983 Session Laws, S.L. 2006‑92, and S.L. 2006‑101, reads as rewritten:
"Sec. 5.  On or before February 1 of each election year, the Rutherford County Board of Education shall deliver to the Chairman of the Rutherford County Board of Elections and cause to be posted on the courthouse door a map and description of the boundaries of the districts established in Section 3 of this act."
SECTION 2.(c)  Section 6 of Chapter 359 of the 1973 Session Laws, as amended by Chapter 1165 of the 1977 Session Laws, Chapter 95 of the 1983 Session Laws, S.L. 2006‑92, and S.L. 2006‑101, reads as rewritten:
"Sec. 6.  For positions elected on a nonpartisan basis in 2012 or 2014, vacancies in the Board of Education shall be filled by appointment by majority vote of the remaining members of the Board for the remainder of the unexpired term. If for any reason the remaining members of the Board are unable to agree upon an appointment to fill a vacancy within 60 days after the vacancy occurs, the Clerk of Superior Court of Rutherford County shall fill the vacancy. A person appointed to fill a vacancy must reside in the district he is appointed to represent. If any person elected or appointed to the Board ceases to reside in the district he was elected or appointed to represent, the remaining members of the Board may declare his office vacant and proceed to fill the vacancy."
SECTION 2.(d)  Beginning in 2016, the members of Rutherford County Board of Education shall be elected on a partisan basis at the time of the general election in each even‑numbered year as terms expire. Candidates for election to the Rutherford County Board of Education shall be nominated at the same time and manner as other county officers. Members elected shall take office and qualify on the first Monday in December of the year of their election and the terms of their predecessors shall expire at that same time. Vacancies on the Rutherford County Board of Education for positions elected on a partisan basis shall be filled in accordance with G.S. 115C‑37.1.
SECTION 2.(e)  This act does not affect the terms of office of any person elected in 2012 or 2014 to the Rutherford County Board of Education.
SECTION 3.(a)  G.S. 115C‑37.1(d) reads as rewritten:
"(d)	This section shall apply only in the following counties: Alleghany, Brunswick, Cherokee, Graham, Guilford, Harnett, Lee, New Hanover, Rutherford, Vance, and Washington."
SECTION 3.(b)  This section becomes effective the first Monday in December of 2016.
SECTION 4.  Except as otherwise provided, this act is effective when it becomes law.