NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY
1979 SESSION

CHAPTER 159
SENATE BILL 442

AN ACT TO ESTABLISH THE NORTH CAROLINA PORTS RAILWAY COMMISSION, AND TO TRANSFER TO IT ALL OF THE RAILWAY EQUIPMENT AND OPERATIONS OF THE NORTH CAROLINA STATE PORTS AUTHORITY.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

Section 1.  Chapter 143B of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Part 11 to Article 10 to read:
"Part 11.
"North Carolina Ports Railway Commission.
"§ 143B-469.  Creation of commission. — (a) The North Carolina Ports Railway Commission is hereby created. It shall be governed by a board composed of five members appointed by the Governor, and hereby designated as the commission.
(b)	Members of the commission shall serve for terms of four years, except that the original members shall be appointed as follows: One shall be appointed for a term of one year, one for a term of two years, one for a term of three years, one for a term of four years, and one for a term of five years. Thereafter, all appointments shall be for terms of four years. Any vacancy occurring in the membership of the board for any cause shall be filled by the Governor for the unexpired term. The Governor shall appoint a chairman from the membership to serve at his pleasure. The board shall elect one of its members as vice-chairman and shall also elect a secretary and a treasurer who need not be a member of the commission. The board shall meet upon the call of its chairman. A majority of its members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of its business.
(c)	Members of the commission shall not be entitled to compensation for their services but shall be reimbursed for actual expenses necessarily incurred in the performance of their duties and shall be compensated as provided in G.S. 138-5(a)(1).
"§ 143B-469.1.  Powers of commission. —- The commission shall be an agency of the State with all the powers of a body corporate including the following:
(1)	to sue and be sued, to make contracts, and to adopt and use a common seal and to alter the same as may be deemed expedient;
(2)	to rent, lease, buy, own, acquire, mortgage, otherwise encumber, and dispose of all such property, real or personal, as the commission may deem necessary;
(3)	to operate, maintain and control all railway equipment and railway operations transferred to it by the State Ports Authority;
(4)	to acquire, own, lease, locate, install, construct, equip, hold, maintain, control and operate at harbors and seaports terminal railroads in addition to those transferred to it by the State Ports Authority with necessary sidings, turnouts, spurs, branches, switches, yard tracks, bridges, trestles, and causeways and in connection therewith shall have the further right to lease, install, construct, acquire, own, maintain, control and use any and every kind or character of motive power and conveyances or appliances necessary or proper to carry goods, wares and merchandise over, along or upon the track of such railway or other conveyance.
(5)	to make agreements as to scale of wages, seniority and working conditions with railroad employees, including but not limited to, locomotive engineers, locomotive firemen, switchmen, switch engine foremen and hostlers engaged in the operation and servicing of the terminal railways and their equipment;
(6)	to connect with or cross any other railway upon payment of just compensation and to receive, deliver to and transport the freight, passengers and the cars of common carrier railroads as though it were an ordinary common carrier;
(7)	to appoint, with the approval of the Governor, a general manager of the commission who shall serve at the pleasure of the board. The salary for the general manager shall be fixed by the Governor with the approval of the Advisory Budget Commission. The general manager shall have the authority to appoint, employ and dismiss such number of employees as may be deemed necessary by the board to accomplish the purposes of this Article. The compensation of such employees shall be fixed by the board;
(8)	to establish an office for the transaction of its business at such place or places, as in the opinion of the commission, shall be advisable or necessary in carrying out the purposes of this Part;
(9)	to pay all necessary costs and expenses involved in and incident to the formation and organization of the commission, and incident to the administration and operation thereof, and to pay all other costs and expenses reasonably necessary or expedient in carrying out and accomplishing the purposes of this Part;
(10)	to apply for and accept loans and grants of money from any federal agency or the State of North Carolina or any political subdivision thereof or from any public or private sources available for any and all of the purposes authorized in this Article, and to expend the same in accordance with the directions and requirements attached thereto, or imposed thereon by any such federal agency, the State of North Carolina, or any political subdivision thereof, or any public or private lender or donor, and to give such evidences or indebtedness as shall be required, provided, however, that no indebtedness of any kind incurred or created by the commission shall constitute an indebtedness of the State, or any political subdivision thereof, and no such indebtedness shall involve or be secured by the faith, credit or taxing powers of the State, or any political subdivision thereof;
(11)	to act as agent for the United States of America, or any agency, department, corporation or instrumentality thereof, in any manner coming within the purposes or powers of the commission;
(12)	to acquire rights of way and the property necessary for the construction of administration buildings, equipment, servicing facilities, terminal railways and structures, railway crossings, bridges and causeways by purchase, by negotiation or by condemnation, and should the commission elect to exercise the right of eminent domain, condemnation proceedings shall be maintained by and in the name of the commission, and it may proceed in any manner provided for by the general laws of this State;
(13)	to do any and all things necessary to carry out and accomplish the purposes of this Article.
"§ 143B-469.2.  Cooperation with Ports Authority. — It shall be the duty and responsibility of the commission to cooperate with the North Carolina State Ports Authority to insure that the State ports shall operate efficiently and effectively and to insure the orderly and effective development of the State ports.
"§ 143B-469.3.  Commission not required to be a common carrier. — None of the powers and duties of the commission shall be construed as requiring it to become a carrier subject to the Interstate Commerce Act."
Sec. 2.  G.S. 143B-453 is amended by deleting the words ", terminal railroads and facilities".
Sec. 3.  G.S. 143B-454(4) is amended by deleting the words "including terminal railroads", and inserting in lieu thereof the words "excluding terminal railroads".
Sec. 4.  G.S. 143B-456 is amended by deleting the words ", terminal railroad".
Sec. 5.  G.S. 143B-457 is amended by deleting the words "terminal railroads and", and by deleting the words ", or by railroad corporations".
Sec. 6.  G.S. 143B-458 is amended by deleting the word "railroads,".
Sec. 7.  G.S. 143B-459 is amended by deleting the words "terminal railroads,".
Sec. 8.  G.S. 143B-460 is repealed.
Sec. 9.  As soon as practicable, the North Carolina State Ports Authority shall transfer to the North Carolina Ports Railway Commission its railway equipment, railway property, and railway operations. This transfer shall include tracks, yards, equipment, trackage rights, franchises, licenses, and leases connected with the railway operations. The transfer is subject to G.S. 143B-455.
Sec. 10.  This act shall be effective upon ratification.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 19th day of March, 1979.