GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2017
SESSION LAW 2018-15
HOUSE BILL 12
AN ACT to modify the appointment method for The board of trustees of Cleveland Community College.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 2.(a) G.S. 115D‑12 reads as rewritten:
"§ 115D‑12. Each institution to have board of trustees; selection of trustees.
(a) Each community college
established or operated pursuant to this Chapter shall be governed by a board
of trustees consisting of 13 members, or of additional members if selected
according to the special procedure prescribed by the third second paragraph
of this subsection, who shall be selected by the following agencies. No member
of the General Assembly may be appointed to a local board of trustees for a
community college.
Group One – four trustees,
elected by the board of education of the public school administrative unit
located in the administrative area of the institution. If there are two or more
public school administrative units, whether city or county units, or both,
located within the administrative area, the trustees shall be elected jointly
by all of the boards of education of those units, each board having one vote in
the election of each trustee, except as provided in G.S. 115D‑59. No
board of education shall elect a member of the board of education or any person
employed by the board of education to serve as a trustee, however, any such
person currently serving on a board of trustees shall be permitted to fulfill
the unexpired portion of the trustee's current term.
Group Two One – four
eight trustees, elected by the board of commissioners of the county
in which the institution is located. Provided, however, if the administrative
area of the institution is composed of two or more counties, the trustees shall
be elected jointly by the boards of commissioners of all those counties, each
board having one vote in the election of each trustee. Provided, also, the
county commissioners of the county in which the community college has
established a satellite campus may elect an additional two members if the board
of trustees of the community college agrees. No more than one trustee from
Group Two One may be a member of a board of county commissioners.
Should the boards of education or the boards of commissioners involved
be unable to agree on one or more trustees the senior resident superior court
judge in the superior court district or set of districts as defined in
G.S. 7A‑41.1 where the institution is located shall fill the
position or positions by appointment.
Group Three Two –
four trustees, appointed by the Governor.General Assembly under G.S. 120‑121,
two of whom shall be appointed upon recommendation of the Speaker of the House
of Representatives and two of whom shall be appointed upon recommendation of
the President Pro Tempore of the Senate. Following consultation
with members of the House of Representatives whose districts include counties
within the administrative area of the community college, the Speaker of the
House of Representatives shall make recommendations to the General Assembly for
appointments to terms expiring in 2019 and 2021, and every four years
thereafter. Following consultation with members of the Senate whose districts
include counties within the administrative area of the community college, the
President Pro Tempore of the Senate shall make recommendations to the General
Assembly for appointments to terms expiring in 2018 and 2020, and every four
years thereafter.
Group Four Three –
the president of the student government or the chairman of the executive board
of the student body of each community college established pursuant to this
Chapter shall be an ex officio nonvoting member of the board of trustees of
each said institution.
(b) All trustees shall be
residents of the administrative area of the institution for which they are
selected or of counties contiguous thereto with the exception of members
provided for in subsection (a) of this section, Group Four.Three.
(b1) No person who has been employed full time by the community college within the prior 5 years and no spouse or child of a person currently employed full time by the community college shall serve on the board of trustees of that college.
(c) Vacancies occurring in Group Two shall be filled as provided in G.S. 120‑122. Vacancies occurring in any other group for whatever reason shall be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term by the agency or agencies authorized to select trustees of that group and in the manner in which regular selections are made. Should the selection of a trustee not be made by the agency or agencies having the authority to do so within 60 days after the date on which a vacancy occurs, whether by creation or expiration of a term or for any other reason, the Governor shall fill the vacancy by appointment for the remainder of the unexpired term."
SECTION 2.(b) Notwithstanding G.S. 115D‑12, as amended by this act, the current members serving on the board of trustees of any community college identified in subsection (c) of this section as of the effective date of this act shall serve the remainder of their terms. Thereafter, as terms expire, or when a vacancy occurs prior to the expiration of a term, the board of trustees members shall be appointed in accordance with G.S. 115D‑12, as amended by this act. If a vacancy occurs in a Group Two seat that was appointed by the Governor, the vacancy shall be filled as provided in G.S. 120-122. If that vacancy occurs in a term expiring in an odd year, and the General Assembly is not in a regular or extra session at the time of the vacancy, the Governor shall consult with the Speaker of the House before making the appointment as required by G.S. 120-122. If that vacancy occurs in a term expiring in an even year, and the General Assembly is not in a regular or extra session at the time of the vacancy, the Governor shall consult with the President Pro Tempore before making the appointment as required by G.S. 120-122. Notwithstanding G.S. 120-122, after receiving the written recommendation for the appointment to fill that vacancy, the Governor must within 30 days appoint the person recommended, and shall not reject the recommendation. Upon expiration of that term, the member shall be appointed in accordance with G.S. 115D‑12.
SECTION 2.(c) This section applies only to Cleveland Community College.
SECTION 4. This act is effective when it becomes law.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 20th day of June, 2018.
s/ Bill Rabon
Presiding Officer of the Senate
s/ Tim Moore
Speaker of the House of Representatives