NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1961 SESSION

 

 

CHAPTER 385

HOUSE BILL 177

 

 

AN ACT TO ESTABLISH "HERITAGE SQUARE" AND TO CREATE THE HERITAGE SQUARE COMMISSION.

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact:

 

Section 1.  Chapter 129 of the General Statutes is hereby amended by the addition thereto of a new Article, which shall be designated "Article 4", and shall read as follows:

"Article 4.

"Heritage Square.

"§ 129‑18.  Heritage Square established. As a means of preserving, fostering, and transmitting to present and future generations the historical, literary, artistic, and scientific heritage of the people of North Carolina, there is hereby established a center, to be designated 'Heritage Square', wherein may ultimately be provided suitable buildings for the North Carolina State Library, the State Department of Archives and History, the North Carolina Museum of Art, and the State Museum of Natural History of the Department of Agriculture.

"§ 129‑19.  Heritage Square Commission created; membership. There is hereby created 'The Heritage Square Commission', which shall consist of nine persons appointed by the Governor. At least two members shall be persons who have served in the General Assembly. All members shall be appointed on July 1, 1961, or as soon thereafter as is practicable. Of the initial appointments to the Commission, four shall be for the terms of four years and five shall be for terms of six years; thereafter all regular appointments shall be for terms of six years. The Governor shall appoint to fill for the unexpired term any vacancy occurring in the membership of the Commission. The Chairman of the Commission shall be designated by the Governor from among the Commission membership.

"§ 129‑20.  General powers and duties of the Commission. The Heritage Square Commission shall have the following powers and duties:

"(1)      To select and acquire in the name of the State of suitable site for Heritage Square, after consultation with the agency responsible for the development of a long‑range capital improvement program for State agencies in the City of Raleigh.

"(2)      To prepare and adopt a general plan for the development of Heritage Square, including the location of the structures to be situated thereon.

"(3)      To approve the plans for the buildings to be erected on Heritage Square.

"(4)      To advise the Department of Administration with respect to the letting of contracts by that Department for the purchase of services, materials, utilities, and equipment required in connection with the design, construction, and equipping of the buildings to be erected on Heritage Square.

"(5)      To call upon the Department of Administration, and to employ such architects and other persons as may be necessary, to advise and assist the Commission in the execution of its duties.

"(6)      To accept upon such terms and conditions as the Commission deems proper and see to the proper application of gifts, grants, devises, and bequests of money and property for the development of Heritage Square and its buildings.

"(7)      To consult frequently with the administrative heads of the several State agencies for which buildings are ultimately to be erected on Heritage Square.

"(8)      To submit a biennial report of its activities to the Governor and the General Assembly.

"§ 129‑21.  Eminent domain. Whenever the Heritage Square Commission finds it necessary to acquire land, rights of way, easements, or other interests in land in order to carry out the purposes of this Article, and the Commission is unable to purchase the same from the owners at an agreed price, or is unable to obtain a good and sufficient title thereto by purchase from the owners, then the Commission may exercise the right of eminent domain and acquire such lands, rights of way, easements, or other interests necessary for those purposes by condemnation in the manner prescribed in Article 9 of Chapter 136 of the General Statutes. The provisions of Article 9, Chapter 136, are hereby incorporated into this Article by reference with the following changes: the words 'Heritage Square Commission' are substituted for the words 'State Highway Commission' or 'Highway Commission' wherever they appear in that Article; the words 'Chairman of the Heritage Square Commission' are substituted for the words 'Director of Highways, State Highway Commission' in G.S. 136‑106(b) and 136‑111; and title to all land, rights of way, easements, or other interests in land, taken under the provisions of this Article, shall vest in the State of North Carolina.

"§ 129‑22.  Per diem and allowances. The members of the Heritage Square Commission shall receive for their services the same per diem and allowances as are granted the members of State boards and commissions generally.

"§ 129‑23.  Expenses. All operating expenses of the Commission not provided for by legislative appropriation shall be paid from the Contingency and Emergency Fund, upon application in the manner prescribed in G.S. 143‑12.

"§ 129‑24.  Exemption. The provisions of Article 1, Chapter 100, of the General Statutes shall not apply to plans prepared for Heritage Square or for the buildings to be erected thereon.

"§ 129‑25.  Expiration. The Heritage Square Commission shall expire upon certification by the Chairman of the Commission to the Governor that, in the opinion of the Commission, it has performed all the duties assigned to it by this Article."

Sec. 2.  All laws and clauses of laws in conflict with this Act are hereby repealed.

Sec. 3.  This Act shall take effect upon its ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 9th day of May, 1961.