AN ACT to change the election method of the transylvania county board of education from nonpartisan to partisan.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  Section 1 of Chapter 157, Session Laws of 1975, as amended by Section 1 of Chapter 102, Session Laws of 1993, and Section 1 of Chapter 76, Session Laws of 1995, reads as rewritten:
"Section 1.  Beginning in 2018, the Board of Education of Transylvania County shall consist of five members who shall be elected on a partisan basis at the time of the general election in each even‑numbered year as terms expire. The primary and election shall be held and conducted in accordance with the general laws governing primaries and elections for county officers, except as otherwise provided herein. This section does not affect the terms of office of any person elected in 2014 or 2016 to the Board of Education of Transylvania County.
As the terms of the present members expire, beginning with the primary and election to be held in 2018, and every two years thereafter, members of the Board of Education shall be elected for terms of four years."
SECTION 2.  Section 3 of Chapter 157, Session Laws of 1975, as amended by Section 2 of Chapter 102, Session Laws of 1993, reads as rewritten:
"Sec. 3.  Vacancies in the membership of the Board of Education occurring for any reason shall be filled immediately by the Transylvania County Board of Education. Beginning in 2018, to be eligible for appointment to fill a vacancy for seats elected on a partisan basis, a person must be a member of the same political party as the member being replaced and must have been affiliated with that political party for at least 90 days as of the date of appointment. The person appointed to fill the vacancy shall serve until the next election for members of the Board of Education at which time a person shall be elected to fill the unexpired term or, if the term has expired, to a full term. However, if a vacancy occurs after the opening of the filing period under G.S. 163‑106 for the primary of a general election held after the first two years of the term for the vacant seat, the Board of Education shall appoint a person who is a member of the same political party as the member being replaced in accordance with this section for the remainder of the unexpired term."
SECTION 3.  The members of the Board of Education of Transylvania County elected in 2014 and 2016, or any member appointed to fill a vacancy until the next election for the members of the Board of Education for a member elected in 2014 or 2016, shall serve until a successor has been elected and qualified.
SECTION 4.  This act is effective when it becomes law.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 28th day of June, 2016.

	s/	 Daniel J. Forest
	 President of the Senate

	s/	 Paul Stam
	 Speaker Pro Tempore of the House of Representatives