N.C.

Senate to take up Oak Level repeal bill By Geoffrey Cooper Wednesday, April 6, 2011

A bill that repeals the citys annexation of the Oak Level community has been approved in the N.C. House and now heads to the N.C. Senate. The Republican-backed House Bill 56 which calls for the repeal of the Rocky Mount City Councils decision to annex the Oak Level subdivision passed a third reading Monday evening in the House by a 67-48 vote. Five House members did not vote on the bill. N.C. Rep. Jeff Collins, R-Nash, is the bills primary sponsor. The bill is an alternative to a lawsuit that was filed against the city by members of the Oak Level Community Against Forced Annexation. The group has been fighting the City Councils decision to incorporate the community into city limits since last January. If approved by both chambers of the N.C. General Assembly, House Bill 56 would supersede the pending court case. The bill would not affect other annexations approved by the Rocky Mount City Council at the same time as the Oak Level annexation. Bob Hornick, a Chapel Hill attorney with the Brough Law Firm who represents residents of the Oak Level community, said in a telephone interview he remains positive the bill will make more headway this session. Were certainly hopeful. This is a real positive step for us, Hornick said, but it wont be over until its over. (House Bill 56) still has to get through the Senate. The bill was introduced Tuesday in the Senate and was referred to the Senate Standing Committee for Rules and Operations. Proponents of the bill might run into a problem when it comes to the Senate hearing and passing the bill this session. Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, has said he is less favorable of de-annexation bills that focus solely on a particular municipality. Berger has made it clear to senators to focus on a comprehensive bill that would reform the states outdated annexation laws, which date back more than 50 years.

The Senate passed Senate Bill 27, an involuntary annexation moratorium, last month. The Senates bill would halt annexations until July 1, 2012, in order to give lawmakers more time to study comprehensive reform measure. Senate Bill 27 has been in the House Standing Committee on Rules, Calendar and Operations since early March. Collins said in a telephone interview that he remains unsure about the future of his bill in the Senate. He said he recently spoke with N.C. Sen. Buck Newton, R-Wilson, about the bill, and was told by Newton that he would do what he could to champion the local repeal in the Senate. I have so little contact and knowledge with whats going on (in the Senate), Collins said. I dont know what the Senates feelings are about getting a local deannexation bill passed before a reform bill. Right now its hard to speculate. N.C. Rep. Angela Bryant, D-Nash, a Rocky Mount native who has criticized House Bill 56, spoke against the bill once more Monday on the House floor. She said Rocky Mount officials already have incurred more than $1 million in legal expenses, and that the city followed all legal requirements in enacting the annexation. Im representing those citizens who would appreciate allowing the legal process to take its course, and that we look at annexation reforms on a broader scale, Bryant said. N.C. Rep. Jean Farmer-Butterfield, D-Wilson, also opposed the bill, saying local de-annexation bills should not be the approach to a reform package. We are doing piecemeal annexation. I ask that we do it from a comprehensive approach and take the time to do it right, Farmer-Butterfield said. Jep Rose, the citys attorney, left a voicemail for the Telegram Wednesday saying the states court system should continue to work on resolving the legal issue between Rocky Mount and Oak Level residents. The respective rights of Oak Level and the city should be determined under the law as it existed on the date the annex ordinance was adopted. Not some law adopted after the annexation has already been completed, Rose said. The N.C. Court of Appeals can and should make this decision. Its pending litigation. It seems to me a matter of fundamental fairness.

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