Planning and Zoning Law Bulletin #29

The 2020 session of the North Carolina General Assembly convened on April 28, 2020, and initially addressed several bills directly related to the emergency situations caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Later in May legislators moved to the regular business of a “short session”—taking up budget adjustments, bills that had passed the chamber of introduction in 2019, and reports from study commissions. The legislature largely completed its work for the session at the end of June, but returned in July to consider several gubernatorial vetoes, appointments to various boards, and technical corrections. In July the General Assembly adjourned until September, at which time they are to consider additional appropriation measures related to COVID-19. Additional legislative action affecting planning and development regulation is unlikely, but if it occurs it will be described in a supplement to this bulletin. A relatively small number of bills affecting planning and development regulation were enacted in 2020. These included an update to Chapter 160D and amendments to the law regarding system development fees collected by utilities.