AN ACT to revise the method by which vacancies are filled for elective office in the town of rowland and TO extend the term of mayor from two to four years in the town of red springs.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.(a)  Section 2.4 of the Charter for the Town of Rowland, being S.L. 1998‑105, as amended by S.L. 2000‑45, reads as rewritten:
"Section 2.4.  Qualifications for Office; Compensation; Vacancies.  The qualifications and compensation of the Mayor and Commissioners shall be in accordance with general law. Vacancies that occur in any elective office of the Town shall be filled by appointment of the Board as provided in G.S. 160A‑63."
SECTION 1.(b)  Article 3 of the Charter for the Town of Rowland, being S.L. 1998‑105, as amended by S.L. 2000‑45, reads as rewritten:
"ARTICLE 3.  ELECTIONS.
"Section 3.l.  Regular Municipal Elections.  Regular municipal elections shall be held in each odd‑numbered year in accordance with the uniform municipal election laws of North Carolina. Elections shall be conducted on a nonpartisan basis and the results determined by a plurality as provided in G.S. 163‑292.
…
"
"Section 3.5.  Referenda.   Referenda may be held only as provided by general law or applicable local acts of the General Assembly."
SECTION 2.  Section 4 of the Charter of the Town of Red Springs, being Chapter 1252 of the Session Laws of 1949, as amended by Chapter 344 of the Session Laws of 1951, Chapter 457 of the Session Laws of 1957, and S.L. 2018‑126, reads as rewritten:
"Sec. 4. Creation, Salary, and Composition of the Mayor and Commission. – Except as otherwise provided in this charter, all powers of the town shall be vested in a mayor and a board of six commissioners who shall be nominated and elected from the town at large in the manner hereinafter provided. The terms of the members of the first board of commissioners elected after the ratification of this Act shall begin on May 10, 1949 and shall expire on July 1, 1951. Thereafter, the terms of office of members of the board of commissioners shall be for four years, and until their successors are elected and qualified. In 2021, and quadrennially thereafter, the Mayor shall be elected for a term of four years and shall serve until his or her successor is elected and qualified. The mayor and commissioners shall be qualified electors of the town and shall hold no other public office except that of notary public or member of the National Guard or Naval or Military Reserve. If the mayor or any member of the commission shall cease to possess any of these qualifications or those qualifications set out in Article VI of the North Carolina Constitution, his or her office shall immediately become vacant. If a vacancy occurs in the office of mayor or commission, it shall be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term by a majority vote of the remaining members of the commission. The board of commissioners may fix its own compensation and the compensation of the mayor and any other elected officers of the town as authorized by G.S. 160A‑64."
SECTION 3.  Section 1 of this act is effective when it becomes law and applies to vacancies occurring on or after that date. The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 16th day of June, 2021.

	s/	 Phil Berger
	 President Pro Tempore of the Senate

	s/	 Tim Moore
	 Speaker of the House of Representatives