Chapter 159B

This Chapter may be cited as the "Joint Municipal Electric Power and Energy Act." (1975, c. 186, s. 1.)

(a) The board of commissioners of a joint agency may create an executive committee by resolution. The board may provide for the composition and terms of office of, and the method of filling vacancies on, the executive committee. The executive committee may include representatives…

(a) Each joint agency shall have all of the rights and powers necessary or convenient to carry out and effectuate the purposes and provisions of this Chapter, including, but without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the rights and powers: (1) To adopt bylaws for the regul…

(a) Any municipality which is a member of the joint agency may contract to buy from the joint agency power and energy for its present or future requirements, including the capacity and output of one or more specified projects. As the creation of a joint agency is an alternative m…

A joint agency may sell or exchange the excess capacity or output of a project not then required by any of its members, for such consideration and for such period and upon such other terms and conditions as may be determined by the parties, to any person, firm, association, or co…

(a) A joint agency may issue bonds for the purpose of paying the cost of a project and secure both the principal of and interest on the bonds by a pledge of part or all of the revenues derived or to be derived from all or any of its projects, and any additions and betterments the…

(a) Each municipality and joint agency is hereby authorized to issue at one time or from time to time its bonds for the purpose of paying all or any part of the cost of any of the purposes herein authorized. The principal of, premium, if any, and the interest on bonds issued to p…

In the discretion of the governing board of the issuer, any bonds issued under the provisions of this Chapter may be secured by a trust agreement by and between the issuer and a corporate trustee, which may be any trust company or bank having the powers of a trust company within …

(a) A municipality is hereby authorized to fix, charge and collect rents, rates, fees and charges for electric power and energy and other services, facilities and commodities sold, furnished or supplied through the facilities of its electric system or its interest in any joint pr…

(a) A municipality is hereby authorized to fix, charge and collect rents, rates, fees and charges for electric power and energy and other services, facilities and commodities sold, furnished or supplied through the facilities of its electric system or its interest in any joint pr…

(a) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law to the contrary, all moneys received pursuant to the authority of this Chapter, whether as proceeds from the sale of bonds or as revenues, shall be deemed to be trust funds to be held and applied solely as provided in this Chapter. …

Any holder of bonds issued under the provisions of this Chapter or any of the coupons appertaining thereto, and the trustee under any trust agreements, except to the extent the rights herein given may be restricted by such trust agreement or the resolution authorizing the issuanc…

The General Assembly hereby finds and determines that: A critical situation exists with respect to the present and future supply of electric power and energy in the State of North Carolina; The public utilities operating in the State have sustained greatly increased capital and o…

Whether or not the bonds and interest coupons appertaining thereto are of such form and character as to be investment securities under Article 8 of the Uniform Commercial Code as enacted in this State, all bonds and interest coupons appertaining thereto issued under this Chapter …

Bonds issued by a municipality or joint agency under the provisions of this Chapter are hereby made securities in which all public officers and agencies of the State and all political subdivisions, all insurance companies, banking associations, investment companies, executors, ad…

The State does hereby covenant and agree with the holders of any bonds that so long as any bonds of a municipality or joint agency are outstanding and unpaid the State will not limit or alter the rights vested in such municipality or joint agency to acquire, construct, reconstruc…

(a) Bonds shall be special obligations of the municipality or joint agency issuing them. The principal of, premium, if any, and interest on the bonds shall not be payable from the general funds of the municipality or joint agency. Bonds issued to pay the cost of a project and, ex…

Prior to the acquisition or the commencement of construction of any project consisting of a system or facilities for the generation of power and energy which is to be financed by the issuance of bonds under the provisions of this Chapter, the participating municipalities or joint…

(a) A municipality or joint agency is hereby authorized to provide by resolution for the issuance of refunding bonds of the municipality or joint agency for the purpose of refunding any bonds then outstanding which shall have been issued under the provisions of this Chapter, incl…

Bonds shall at all times be free from taxation by the State or any political subdivision or any of their agencies, excepting inheritance or gift taxes, income taxes on the gain from the transfer of the bonds, and franchise taxes. The interest on the bonds is not subject to taxati…

(a) A project jointly owned by municipalities or owned by a joint agency shall be exempt from property taxes; provided, however, that each municipality possessing an ownership share of a project, and a joint agency owning a project, shall, in lieu of property taxes, pay to any go…

Personnel employed or appointed by a municipality to work on a joint project or for a joint agency shall have the same authority, rights, privileges and immunities (including coverage under the workers' compensation laws) which the officers, agents and employees of the appointing…

Whenever the governing board of a joint agency and the governing boards of its member municipalities shall by resolution or ordinance determine that the purposes for which the joint agency was formed have been substantially fulfilled and that all bonds theretofore issued and all …

The following terms whenever used or referred to in this Chapter shall have the following respective meanings unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context: (1) "Bonds" shall mean revenue bonds, notes and other evidences of indebtedness of a joint agency or municipa…

Each joint agency shall, following the closing of each fiscal year, submit an annual report of its activities for the preceding year to the governing boards of its member municipalities and to the North Carolina Utilities Commission. Each such report shall set forth in a form pre…

Beginning March 1, 1996, and annually thereafter, each joint agency operating under the authority of Chapter 159B of the General Statutes shall file a report with the chairs of the Senate Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Natural, and Economic Resources, the chairs of the …

Legislative consent is hereby given (1) To the application of the laws of other states with respect to taxation, payments in lieu of taxes, and the assessment thereof, to any municipality or joint agency created pursuant to this Chapter, which has acquired or has an interest in a…

The governing board of any municipality or joint agency is hereby authorized to make application and to enter into contracts for and to accept grants-in-aid and loans from the federal and State governments and their agencies for planning, acquiring, constructing, expanding, maint…

Municipalities participating in a joint project and joint agencies shall possess the power of eminent domain to the extent and in the same manner and under the same laws as municipalities pursuant to Chapter 40A of the General Statutes of North Carolina; provided, however, that a…

(a) No commissioner or officer of any joint agency or municipality, or member of an executive committee created pursuant to G.S. 159B-10, or person or persons acting in their behalf, while acting within the scope of their authority, shall be subject to any personal liability or a…

The foregoing sections of this Chapter shall be deemed to provide an additional, alternative and complete method for the doing of the things authorized thereby and shall be deemed and construed to be supplemental and additional to powers conferred by other laws, and shall not be …

Notwithstanding the general provisions concerning venue contained in Chapter 1, Subchapter IV, Article 7, or elsewhere in the General Statutes, any action or proceeding by or against a municipality or a joint agency that concerns or relates to (a) any bonds issued pursuant to thi…

Discussions of a proposed or existing contract to which a joint agency may be or is a party for the construction, ownership, or operation of works, plants, and facilities for or incident to the generation, transmission, or use of electric power and energy or the purchase, sale, e…

(a) A municipality as authorized in this Chapter shall use revenue derived from rates for electric service to (i) pay the direct and indirect costs of operating the electric system and (ii) transfer to other funds of the municipality a sum that reflects a rate of return on the in…

In addition and supplemental to the powers otherwise conferred on municipalities by the laws of the State, and in order to accomplish the purposes of this Chapter and to obtain a supply of electric power and energy for the present and future needs of its inhabitants and customers…

The purpose of this Article is to authorize joint agencies or municipalities to form one or more joint municipal assistance agencies which shall be empowered to provide aid and assistance to municipalities in the construction, ownership, maintenance, expansion and operation of th…

(a) Any two or more joint agencies, or any two or more municipalities, may organize a joint municipal assistance agency, which shall be a public body and body corporate and politic. Any joint agency or municipality is hereby authorized to become a member of any such joint municip…

(a) In lieu of the provisions of G.S. 159B-43(c) through (i), a joint municipal assistance agency organized by two or more joint agencies, by resolutions adopted by each of those joint agencies, may be governed by an executive committee created pursuant to the provisions of G.S. …

Each joint municipal assistance agency shall have all of the rights and powers necessary or convenient to carry out and effectuate the purposes and provisions of this Article, including, but without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the rights and powers: (1) To establish…

Whenever the governing board of a joint municipal assistance agency and the governing boards of its member joint agencies or municipalities shall by resolution or ordinance determine that the purposes for which the joint municipal assistance agency was formed have been substantia…

(a) Each joint municipal assistance agency shall, following the closing of each fiscal year, submit an annual report of its activities for the preceding year to the governing boards of its members. Each such report shall set forth an operating and financial statement covering the…

(a) The board of commissioners of a joint municipal assistance agency may provide for the defense of a criminal or civil proceeding brought against any current or former commissioner, member of an executive committee, director, officer, agent or employee either in his official or…

Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 1 of Chapter 159B of the General Statutes or any other provision of law, any constituent institution of The University of North Carolina, as defined in Article 1 of Chapter 116 of the General Statutes, that owns a system or facility for t…

Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 1 of Chapter 159B of the General Statutes or any other provision of law, a joint municipal assistance agency may, in its bylaws, create associate memberships. An associate member of a joint municipal assistance agency shall have only thos…

Each municipality shall be severally liable for its own acts and not jointly or severally liable for the acts, omissions or obligations of others, and no money or property or other consideration supplied by any municipality shall be credited or otherwise applied to the account of…

Municipalities and joint agencies may jointly or severally own, operate and maintain projects with any person, firm, association or corporation, public or private, engaged in the generation, transmission or distribution of electric power and energy for resale within this State or…

In order to effectuate the purposes and policies prescribed in this Chapter the provisions hereof shall be liberally construed. (1975, c. 186, s. 3; 1983, c. 609, s. 8.)

Capacity or output derived by a municipality from its ownership share of a project not then required by such municipality for its own use and for the use of its consumers may be sold or exchanged by such municipality, for such consideration and for such period and upon such other…

Municipalities proposing to jointly plan, finance, develop, own and operate a project are hereby authorized, either jointly or separately, to apply to the appropriate agencies of the State, the United States, or any state thereof, and to any other proper agency for such licenses,…

(a) The governing boards of two or more municipalities may by resolution or ordinance determine that it is in the best interests of the municipalities in accomplishing the purposes of this Chapter to create a joint agency as prescribed herein for the purpose of undertaking the pl…