AN ACT TO PROVIDE THAT REGULAR MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS IN THE TOWNS OF BLACK MOUNTAIN, BILTMORE FOREST, AND RONDA SHALL BE HELD IN EVEN‑NUMBERED YEARS.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.(a)  Section 4 of the Charter of the Town of Black Mountain, being Chapter 747 of the 1951 Session Laws, as amended by Section 2 of Chapter 1034 of the 1969 Session Laws, and Town Ordinance 0‑99‑14 passed on August 9, 1999, reads as rewritten:
"Sec. 4. Creation, Salary and Composition of Mayor and Board of Aldermen. Except as otherwise provided in this charter all powers of the town shall be vested in a board of Aldermen of 5 members and a mayor nominated and elected from the town at large in the manner hereinafter provided. The mayor and the board of aldermen shall be elected to serve four‑year staggered terms and until their successors are elected and qualified. In 2020, and quadrennially thereafter, three aldermen shall be elected to serve four‑year terms. In 2022, and quadrennially thereafter, the mayor and two aldermen shall be elected to serve four‑year terms. If a vacancy occurs in the office of mayor or alderman, it shall be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term by the remaining members of the board of aldermen. Each member of the board of aldermen shall receive a salary the amount of which shall be prescribed by ordinance. Provided, however, that the present mayor and members of the board of aldermen shall continue to receive the same salary until the same is changed as herein outlined. No ordinance fixing or changing the salary of members of the board of aldermen shall become effective during the current term of office of the members of the board of aldermen enacting such ordinance. Members of the board of aldermen shall be qualified electors of the town. A member of the board of Aldermen ceasing to possess any of the qualifications specified in this section shall immediately forfeit office."
SECTION 1.(b)  Section 12 of the Charter of the Town of Black Mountain, being Chapter 747 of the 1951 Session Laws, reads as rewritten:
"Sec. 12. Municipal Elections. In 2020, the regular election for the choice of mayor and members of the board of Aldermen shall be held on Tuesday following the first Monday in November in each even‑numbered year. The election shall be conducted on a nonpartisan basis and the results determined using the nonpartisan plurality method as provided in G.S. 163A‑1616. Notwithstanding G.S. 163A‑1620, the Buncombe County Board of Elections shall set the time period for candidates seeking municipal office to file notices of candidacy and shall notify the Town of the time period to file such notices of candidacy. The board of Alderman may by resolution order a special election, fix the time for holding the same, and provide all means for holding such special election."
SECTION 1.(c)  No municipal elections shall be conducted in the Town of Black Mountain in 2019. The terms of the three members of the Board of Aldermen elected in 2015 are extended until 2020, and the mayor and the two members of the Board of Aldermen elected in 2017 are extended until 2022. Regular municipal elections shall be conducted in the Town of Black Mountain in 2020.
SECTION 2.(a)  Section 3 of the Charter of the Town of Biltmore Forest, being Chapter 32 of the Session Laws of 1923, as amended by Town Ordinance adopted on June 21, 2011, reads as rewritten:
"Sec. 3. The officers of the Town of Biltmore Forest shall consist of a mayor and three commissioners who shall serve four‑year terms. In 2020, and quadrennially thereafter, the mayor and three commissioners shall each be elected for four‑year terms."
SECTION 2.(b)  Section 7 of the Charter of the Town of Biltmore Forest, being Chapter 32 of the Session Laws of 1923, as amended by Town Ordinance adopted on June 21, 2011, reads as rewritten:
"Sec. 7. In 2020, and quadrennially thereafter, an election shall be held in the Town on Tuesday after the first Monday in November in each even‑numbered year for the purpose of electing a mayor and three commissioners. The election shall be conducted on a nonpartisan basis and the results determined using the nonpartisan plurality method as provided in G.S. 163A‑1616. Notwithstanding G.S. 163A‑1620, the Buncombe County Board of Elections shall set the time period for candidates seeking municipal office to file notices of candidacy and shall notify the Town of the time period to file such notices of candidacy."
SECTION 2.(c)  No regular municipal elections shall be conducted in the Town of Biltmore Forest in 2019. The mayor and three commissioners whose terms expire in 2019 and are extended until 2020. Regular municipal elections shall be conducted in the Town of Biltmore Forest in 2020.
SECTION 3.(a)  Section 1 of Chapter 810 of the Session Laws of 1961 reads as rewritten:
"Section 1. Beginning in 2020, regular municipal elections shall be held in the Town of Ronda in Wilkes County on Tuesday following the first Monday in November in each even‑numbered year in accordance with the uniform municipal election laws of the State. Elections are conducted on a nonpartisan basis and the results determined using the nonpartisan plurality method as provided in G.S. 163A‑1616. Notwithstanding G.S. 163A‑1620, the Wilkes County Board of Elections shall set the time period for candidates seeking municipal office to file notices of candidacy and shall notify the Town of the time period to file such notices of candidacy. Officers for the Town shall consist of a mayor and five commissioners. The mayor shall serve for a term of four years, except that the mayor whose term expires in 2019 shall continue to serve until 2020. In 2020, and quadrennially thereafter, the mayor shall be elected for a term of four years and shall serve until the mayor's successor is elected and qualified. The two commissioners whose terms expire in 2019 shall continue to serve until 2020. In 2020, and quadrennially thereafter, as their terms of office expire, two commissioners shall be elected to fill the expired seats and shall serve four‑year terms. The three commissioners whose terms expire in 2021 shall continue to serve until 2022. In 2022, and quadrennially thereafter, as their terms of office expire, three commissioners shall be elected to fill the expired seats and shall serve four‑year terms. Commissioners shall serve until their successors are elected and qualified."
SECTION 3.(b)  No regular municipal elections shall be conducted in the Town of Ronda in 2019. Regular municipal elections shall next occur in the Town in 2020.
SECTION 4.  This act is effective when it becomes law and applies to elections held on or after that date.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 17th day of June, 2019.

	s/	 Philip E. Berger
	 President Pro Tempore of the Senate

	s/	 Tim Moore
	 Speaker of the House of Representative