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GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
SESSION LAW 2025-53
SENATE BILL 387
*S387-v-6*
AN ACT TO AMEND THE BROWNFIELDS PROPERTY REUSE ACT AND THE
BROWNFIELDS PROPERTY TAX BENEFIT.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1. G.S. 105-277.13 reads as rewritten:
"§ 105-277.13. Taxation of improvements on brownfields.
(a) Qualifying improvements on brownfields properties are designated a special class of
property under Article V, Sec. 2(2) of the North Carolina Constitution and shall be appraised,
assessed, and taxed in accordance with this section. An owner of land real property subject to a
brownfields agreement entered into by the Department of Environmental Quality pursuant to
G.S. 130A-310.32 is entitled to the partial exclusion provided by this section for the first five
taxable years beginning after completion of qualifying improvements made after the later of July
1, 2000, or the date of the brownfields agreement. 2000. After property has qualified for the
exclusion provided by this section, the assessor for the county in which the property is located
shall annually appraise the improvements made to the property during the period of time that the
owner is entitled to the exclusion. Subsequent qualifying improvements shall also be entitled to a
separate exclusionary period.
(b) For the purposes of this section, the terms "qualifying improvements on brownfields
properties" and "qualifying improvements" mean improvements made after to real property that
is subject to a brownfields agreement entered into by the Department of Environmental Quality
and the owner pursuant to G.S. 130A-310.32.provides written confirmation that the real property
is eligible for a brownfields agreement pursuant to the Brownfields Property Reuse Act of 1997,
Part 5 of Article 9 of Chapter 130A of the General Statutes, as amended, and provided that the
real property is or becomes subject to a brownfields agreement as required under subsection (a)
of this section.
(c) The following table establishes the percentage of the appraised value of the qualified
improvements that is excluded based on the taxable year:
Year Percent of Appraised Value Excluded
Year 1 90%
Year 2 75%
Year 3 50%
Year 4 30%
Year 5 10%."
SECTION 2. G.S. 130A-310.39 reads as rewritten:
"§ 130A-310.39. Fees.
(a) The Department shall collect the following fees:
(1) A prospective developer who submits an application for a proposed
brownfields agreement for review by the Department shall pay an initial fee
of two thousand dollars ($2,000).
(2) A prospective developer who enters into a brownfields agreement with the
Department shall pay pay, on a time schedule that the Department may
Page 2 Session Law 2025-53 Senate Bill 387
specify, a fee in an amount equal to the full cost to the Department and the
Department of Justice of all activities related to the brownfields agreement,
including but not limited to negotiation of the brownfields agreement, public
notice and community involvement , and monitoring the implementation of
and compliance with the brownfields agreement. agreement and requirements
of this Part regarding the Notice of Brownfields Property. The procedure by
which the amount of this fee is determined shall be established by agreement
between the prospective developer and the Department and shall be set out as
a part of the brownfields agreement. The fee imposed by this subdivision shall
be paid in two installments. The first installment shall be due at the time the
prospective developer and the Department enter into the brownfields
agreement and shall equal all costs that have been incurred by the Department
and the Department of Justice at that time less the amount of the initial fee
paid pursuant to subdivision (1) of this s ubsection. The Department shall not
enter into the brownfields agreement unless the first installment is paid in full
when due. The second installment shall be due at the time the prospective
developer submits a final report certifying completion of remedi ation under
the brownfields agreement and shall include any additional costs that have
been incurred by the Department and the Department of Justice, including all
costs of monitoring the implementation of the brownfields agreement.If, in an
effort to implement and monitor the brownfields agreement, it must recover
costs unanticipated in the agreement, the Department must provide to the
prospective developer or then current owner documentation supporting any
fee it charges a prospective developer or current owner pursuant to this
section.
(3) Any owner of property subject to a recorded Notice of Brownfields Property
that is out of compliance with the requirements of this Part regarding the
Notice shall pay a fee to the Department and the Department of Justice equal
to the documented costs to the State to enforce or otherwise seek to correct
the noncompliance.
(b) Fees and interest imposed under this section shall be credited to the Brownfields
Property Reuse Act Implementation Account.
(c) If a prospective developer fails to pay the full amount of any fee due under this
section, interest on the unpaid portion of the fee sh all accrue from the time the fee is due until
paid at the rate established by the Secretary of Revenue pursuant to G.S. 105-241.21. A lien for
the amount of the unpaid fee plus interest shall attach to the real and personal property of the
prospective developer and to the brownfields property until the fee and interest is paid. The
Department may collect unpaid fees and interest in any manner that a unit of local government
may collect delinquent taxes."
Senate Bill 387 Session Law 2025-53 Page 3
SECTION 3. Section 1 of this act is effective for ta xes imposed for taxable years
beginning on or after July 1, 2025. The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 26th day of June, 2025.
s/ Rachel Hunt
President of the Senate
s/ Destin Hall
Speaker of the House of Representatives
s/ Josh Stein
Governor
Approved 12:44 p.m. this 2nd day of July, 2025