AN ACT to allow up to two members of the board of trustees of isothermal community college to be members of the boards of county commissioners and to require trustees to maintain their county of residence.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 115D‑12(a), as amended by Section 1 of S.L. 2015‑243, reads as rewritten:
"(a)	Each community college established or operated pursuant to this Chapter shall be governed by a board of trustees consisting of 15 members, 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 Two – 10 trustees, elected as follows:
(1)	Seven members elected by the Rutherford County Commissioners as follows:
a.	The appointment of two trustees for terms commencing July 1, 2016, and quadrennially thereafter.
b.	The appointment of two trustees for terms commencing July 1, 2017, and quadrennially thereafter.
c.	The appointment of one trustee for a term commencing July 1, 2018, and quadrennially thereafter.
d.	The appointment of two trustees for a term commencing July 1, 2019, and quadrennially thereafter.
The Rutherford County Commissioners shall ensure that among the members elected, at least one trustee has experience in a small business, one trustee has private sector experience in accounting or budgeting, and one trustee has private sector experience in building maintenance or equipment. One trustee may be a member of the Rutherford County Commissioners.
(2)	Three members elected by the Polk County Commissioners, as follows:
a.	The appointment of one trustee for a term commencing July 1, 2017, and quadrennially thereafter.
b.	The appointment of one trustee for a term commencing July 1, 2018, and quadrennially thereafter.
c.	The appointment of one trustee for a term commencing July 1, 2019, and quadrennially thereafter.
The Polk County Commissioners shall ensure that among the members elected, at least one trustee has experience in a small business. One trustee may be a member of the Polk County Commissioners.
No more than two trustees from Group Two may be members of boards of county commissioners as provided for in this subsection. Should 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 – four trustees, appointed by the Governor.
Group Four – 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."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 115D‑12(b) reads as rewritten:
"(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. A trustee shall remain a resident of the county in which the trustee was a resident at the time of appointment for the trustee's term of office on the board of trustees."
SECTION 3.  This act applies only to Isothermal Community College.
SECTION 4.  This act is effective when it becomes law and applies to appointments to terms beginning on or after July 1, 2021.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 23rd day of June, 2021.

	s/	 Phil Berger
	 President Pro Tempore of the Senate

	s/	 Tim Moore
	 Speaker of the House of Representatives