§ 159-148. Contracts subject to Article; exceptions.
Article 8.
Financing Agreements and Other Financing Arrangements.
§ 159‑148. Contracts subject to Article;exceptions.
(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, thisArticle applies to any contract, agreement, memorandum of understanding, andany other transaction having the force and effect of a contract (other thanagreements made in connection with the issuance of revenue bonds, specialobligation bonds issued pursuant to Chapter 159I of the General Statutes, or ofgeneral obligation bonds additionally secured by a pledge of revenues) made orentered into by a unit of local government (as defined by G.S. 159‑7(b)or, in the case of a special obligation bond, as defined in Chapter 159I of theGeneral Statutes), relating to the lease, acquisition, or construction ofcapital assets, which contract does all of the following:
(1) Extends for five or more years from the date of thecontract, including periods that may be added to the original term through theexercise of options to renew or extend.
(2) Obligates the unit to pay sums of money to another, withoutregard to whether the payee is a party to the contract.
(3) Obligates the unit over the full term of the contract,including periods that may be added to the original term through the exerciseof options to renew or extend:
a. For baseball park districts, to at least five hundredthousand dollars ($500,000).
b. For housing authorities, to at least five hundred thousanddollars ($500,000) or a sum equal to two thousand dollars ($2,000) per housingunit owned and under active management by the housing authority, whichever isless.
c. For other units, to at least five hundred thousand dollars($500,000) or a sum equal to one‑tenth of one percent (1/10 of 1%) of theassessed value of property subject to taxation by the contracting unit,whichever is less.
(4) Obligates the unit, expressly or by implication, to exerciseits power to levy taxes either to make payments falling due under the contract,or to pay any judgment entered against the unit as a result of the unit'sbreach of the contract.
Contingent obligation shall be included in calculating the value of thecontract. Several contracts that are all related to the same undertaking shallbe deemed a single contract for the purposes of this Article. When severalcontracts are considered as a single contract, the term shall be that of thecontract having the longest term, and the sums to fall due shall be the totalof all sums to fall due under all single contracts in the group.
(b) This Article shall not apply to:
(1) Contracts between a unit of local government and the Stateof North Carolina or the United States of America (or any agency of either)entered into as a condition to the making of grants or loans to the unit oflocal government.
(2) Contracts for the purchase, lease, or lease with option topurchase of motor vehicles or voting machines.
(3) Loan agreements entered into by a unit of local governmentpursuant to the North Carolina Solid Waste Management Loan Program, Chapter159I of the General Statutes. (1971, c. 780, s.1; 1973, c. 494, s. 31; 1989, c. 756, s. 6; 1991, c. 11, s. 4; 1997‑380,s. 4; 1998‑222, s. 1; 2001‑206, s. 2; 2001‑414, s. 52.)