NC House & Senate Put Final Touches on HB 948. Know What It Contains:
Late last week the House and Senate put the final touches on House Bill 948, The P.A.V.E. Act - Projects for Advancing Vehicle-Infrastructure Enhancements. This comes after more than five years of negotiations between community leaders, elected officials, and members of the business community. Governor Josh Stein signed the bill into law earlier today. Here’s what the measure does:
Allows the Mecklenburg County Commission to place a referendum on the ballot asking the voters to approve a 1 cent sales tax increase which would bring Mecklenburg County to a rate of 8.25%
Will raise and estimated $20 Billion over 30 years. Those funds would be overseen by a 27-member authority
See that 40% of funds would go to roads, 60% to transit (rail and buses)
Implicate that the Red Line must be 50% complete before additional dollars can be spent on other rail projects
Clarifies, by a late amendment, that Charlotte and other Mecklenburg County communities must continue to spend dollars on transportation at a rate at lease equivalent to what they have spent annually for the past 10 years. The new influx of funds would be utilized over and above existing expenditures.
In closing, you should know that Mecklenburg County Commission Chair Mark Jerrell is likely to set a vote for September 3rd. The General Election is scheduled for November 4th where the measure will be on the ballot for voter approval if the Mecklenburg County Commission refers the matter to the voters, as is anticipated.
Rob’s Take: This anticipated and overdue measure has been a long time coming and there are still two crucial steps to take before it becomes a reality: (1) Mecklenburg County Commissioners need to place the measure on the ballot, and (2) Voters need to approve the measure by a majority vote. Having said that, I’m proud that several leaders in our industry really stepped up and invested time and resources into this successful effort. A special thanks to Peter A. Pappas, Tim Sittema, Sagar Rathie our 2025 NAIOP President, and 2025 Charlotte Regional Business Alliance Board Chair, David Longo. Next up is a potential vote of the Mecklenburg County Commission on September 3rd, followed by a vote on the referred measure during the General Election on November 4th.
