§ 158-41. Withdrawal; termination.

§ 158‑41.  Withdrawal; termination.

(a)        Withdrawal. – A county participating in the Region may, byresolution, withdraw from the Region. A resolution withdrawing from the Regionmay not become effective before the end of the fiscal year in which it is adopted.Upon adoption of a resolution withdrawing from the Region, the board ofcommissioners of the county shall provide a copy of the resolution to theSecretary of State, the Commission, the Authority, and every other countyparticipating in the Region. Withdrawal does not entitle a county to earlydistribution of its beneficial interest in Region assets, but a county that haswithdrawn retains its right to any distributions that may be made toparticipating counties pursuant to subsection (b) of this section on the samebasis as if it had not withdrawn. For all other purposes, a county that haswithdrawn from the Region no longer participates in the Region.

(b)        Termination. – The Commission may dissolve the Region andterminate its existence at any time. If the Region is dissolved and terminatedor is otherwise unable to expend the tax proceeds received pursuant to G.S. 158‑42,the Commission shall liquidate the assets of the Region to the extent possibleand distribute all Region assets to the counties of the Region in proportion tothe amount of tax collected in each county. The assets of the Region thatexceed the amount of tax collected by the counties and are attributable to anappropriation made to the Region by the General Assembly shall revert to the GeneralFund and may not be distributed to the counties. A county may use fundsdistributed to it pursuant to this subsection only for economic developmentprojects and infrastructure construction projects. In calculating the amount tobe refunded to each county, the Region shall first allocate amounts loaned andnot yet repaid as follows:

(1)        Amounts loaned for a project in a county will be allocatedto that county to the extent of its beneficial ownership of the principal ofthe trust account created under G.S. 158‑42 and the county will becomethe owner of the right to repayment of the amount loaned to the extent of itsbeneficial ownership of the principal of the trust account created under G.S.158‑42.

(2)        Amounts not allocated pursuant to subdivision (1) shall beallocated among the remaining counties in proportion to the amount of taxcollected in each county under G.S. 158‑42, and the remaining countiesshall become the owners of the right to repayment of the amounts loaned inproportion to the amount of tax collected in each county under G.S. 158‑42.

Notes and other instruments representing the right to repayment shall,upon dissolution of the Region, be held and collected by the State Treasurer,who shall disburse the collections to the counties as provided in thissubsection.

The Commission shall distribute those assets that it is unable toliquidate among the Region counties insofar as practical on an equitable basis,as determined by the Commission. Upon termination, the State of North Carolinashall succeed to any remaining rights, obligations, and liabilities of theRegion not assigned to the Region counties. (1993, c. 544, s. 1; 2005‑364, s. 1.)