(a)        For purposes of this Article, the term “public entity” means the State and the Community College System; provided, however, that the term does not include the Department of Transportation in the exercise of the powers conferred by N.C. Gen. Stat. § 136-19

(b)        No public entity, as defined in subsection (a) of this section, shall purchase or otherwise acquire an ownership interest in any real property with known contamination, as that term is defined in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 130A-310.65(5), without approval of the Governor and the Council of State. A public entity seeking to purchase or otherwise acquire an ownership interest in such property shall petition the Governor and Council of State for approval of the transaction, with sufficient information to identify the property, the nature and extent of the contamination present, and a plan of paying for the project and for remediation of any contamination without the use of General Fund appropriations. The approval of such a transaction by the Governor and Council of State may be evidenced by a duly certified copy of excerpt of minutes of the meeting of the Governor and Council of State, attested by the private secretary to the Governor or the Governor, reciting such approval, affixed to the instrument of acquisition or transfer, and said certificate may be recorded as a part thereof, and the same shall be conclusive evidence of review and approval of the subject transaction by the Governor and Council of State. The Governor, acting with the approval of the Council of State, may delegate the review and approval of such transactions as the Governor deems advisable.

(c)        This Article shall not apply to situations in which a public entity acquires ownership or control of real property involuntarily, including having obtained the property through bankruptcy, tax delinquency, abandonment, or other circumstances in which the public entity involuntarily acquires title by virtue of its function as a sovereign. ?(2013-413, s. 40(a); 2015-106, s. 1.)

Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes 133-40

  • Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • property: shall include all property, both real and personal. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
  • Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
  • state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories, so called; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the said district and territories and all dependencies. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3