NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY
1967 SESSION

CHAPTER 1156
SENATE BILL 413

AN ACT TO AMEND ARTICLE 18 OF CHAPTER 160 OF THE GENERAL STATUTES TO REQUIRE PUBLIC NOTICE OF THE INTENDED ENACTMENT OF CERTAIN ORDINANCES BY MUNICIPALITIES.

The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact:

Section 1.  Part 1 of Article 18 of Chapter 160 of the General Statutes of North Carolina is hereby amended by adding a new Section to the same to be designated as G.S. 160‑200.1, to read as follows:
"G.S. 160-200.1.  Validity of Ordinances Relating to Business Activity on Sundays; Public Hearings Required. No ordinance prohibiting business activity on Sundays, or regulating the hours of business activity on Sundays, shall be valid nor shall the same be enforced unless prior to its enactment the board of commissioners, other governing board or legislative body of the municipality shall have held a public hearing on the subject of regulating business activity on Sundays pursuant to public notice as hereinafter required which notice shall fix the date, hour and place of such public hearing; and such public notice shall contain a statement by or on behalf of such board or legislative body holding such hearing, of the intent, purpose, and one or more reasons for the enactment of the ordinance to be proposed for adoption at such public hearing; and public notice, public hearing, and reasonable opportunity for citizens to be heard shall be essential to the validity and enforcement of any such ordinance. The public notice herein provided for shall be published once each week for four successive weeks prior to the date of the public hearing in a newspaper published in the municipality. If there be no such newspaper, the municipality shall post the notice in at least five public places within the municipality for 27 days prior to the date of the public hearing; provided, this Section shall not apply to ordinances enacted pursuant to G.S. 18-107."
Sec. 2.  No provision of this Act, nor any provision of G.S. 160-200.1 as enacted by this Act, shall be construed so as to apply to any municipal ordinance enacted prior to July 1, 1967.
Sec. 3.  All laws and clauses of laws in conflict with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed.
Sec. 4.  This Act shall be effective from and after August 1, 1967.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 6th day of July, 1967.