{ "id": 12421651, "name": "CITY OF ASHEVILLE, a municipal corporation v. STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA and the METROPOLITAN SEWERAGE DISTRICT OF BUNCOMBE COUNTY", "name_abbreviation": "City of Asheville v. State", "decision_date": "2016-12-21", "docket_number": "No. 391PA15", "first_page": "80", "last_page": "117", "citations": [ { "type": "official", "cite": "369 N.C. 80" } ], "court": { "name_abbreviation": "N.C.", "id": 9292, "name": "Supreme Court of North Carolina" }, "jurisdiction": { "id": 5, "name_long": "North Carolina", "name": "N.C." }, "cites_to": [ { "cite": "777 S.E.2d 92", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "case_ids": [ 12643885 ], "year": 2015, "opinion_index": -1, "case_paths": [ "/se2d/777/0092-01" ] }, { "cite": "643 S.E.2d 920", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "case_ids": [ 12638286 ], "pin_cites": [ { "page": "924" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/se2d/643/0920-01" ] }, { "cite": "672 S.E.2d 685", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "case_ids": [ 12642769, 12642770, 12642771 ], "year": 2009, "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/se2d/672/0685-01", "/se2d/672/0685-02", "/se2d/672/0685-03" ] }, { "cite": "665 S.E.2d 103", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "case_ids": [ 12641722 ], "weight": 15, "year": 2008, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "109", "parenthetical": "Asheville I" }, { "page": "125" }, { "page": "125" }, { "page": "126" }, { "page": "126", "parenthetical": "alteration in original" }, { "page": "126" }, { "page": "129" }, { "page": "126", "parenthetical": "first alteration in original" }, { "page": "129" }, { "page": "128" }, { "page": "127" }, { "page": "127-30" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/se2d/665/0103-01" ] }, { "cite": "777 S.E.2d 92", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "case_ids": [ 12643885 ], "weight": 33, "year": 2015, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "102" }, { "page": "102" }, { "page": "97" }, { "page": "99-101" }, { "page": "101" }, { "page": "101-02" }, { "page": "102-03" }, { "page": "102" }, { "page": "97" }, { "page": "97-98", "parenthetical": "second and third alterations in original" }, { "page": "98" }, { "page": "98" }, { "page": "98", "parenthetical": "alterations in original" }, { "page": "98" }, { "page": "99" }, { "page": "99" }, { "page": "98" }, { "page": "98" }, { "page": "98" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/se2d/777/0092-01" ] }, { "cite": "380 S.E.2d 107", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "weight": 3, "year": 1989, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "111" }, { "page": "111" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "324 N.C. 499", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 2485241 ], "weight": 2, "year": 1989, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "502" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/324/0499-01" ] }, { "cite": "155 S.E.2d 148", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1967, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "149" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "270 N.C. 686", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8570157 ], "year": 1967, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "688" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/270/0686-01" ] }, { "cite": "1951 N.C. Sess. Laws 1079", "category": "laws:leg_session", "reporter": "N.C. Sess. Laws", "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "40 C.F.R. \u00a7\u00a7 141.151", "category": "laws:admin_compilation", "reporter": "C.F.R.", "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "359 S.E.2d 792", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1987, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "798", "parenthetical": "applying that definition of \"regulate\" to Article II, Section 24(1)(j)" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "320 N.C. 549", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 4731518 ], "year": 1987, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "559", "parenthetical": "applying that definition of \"regulate\" to Article II, Section 24(1)(j)" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/320/0549-01" ] }, { "cite": "179 S.E. 883", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.", "year": 1935, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "886", "parenthetical": "ellipsis in original" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "208 N.C. 204", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8600162 ], "year": 1935, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "208", "parenthetical": "ellipsis in original" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/208/0204-01" ] }, { "cite": "147 S.E. 736", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.", "weight": 2, "year": 1929, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "738", "parenthetical": "citations omitted" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "197 N.C. 85", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8627251 ], "year": 1929, "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/197/0085-01" ] }, { "cite": "16 S.E.2d 677", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "weight": 2, "year": 1941, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "679" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "220 N.C. 140", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 11299785 ], "weight": 2, "year": 1941, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "143" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/220/0140-01" ] }, { "cite": "70 S.E.2d 201", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "weight": 4, "year": 1952, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "203" }, { "page": "203" }, { "page": "203" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "235 N.C. 377", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8624661 ], "weight": 3, "year": 1952, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "379" }, { "page": "379" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/235/0377-01" ] }, { "cite": "7 S.E.2d 540", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "weight": 5, "year": 1940, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "541" }, { "page": "540" }, { "page": "541" }, { "page": "541" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "217 N.C. 284", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8605330 ], "weight": 4, "year": 1940, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "285" }, { "page": "285" }, { "page": "285-86" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/217/0284-01" ] }, { "cite": "143 S.E. 530", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.", "weight": 4, "year": 1928, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "532-33" }, { "page": "533" }, { "page": "535" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "195 N.C. 722", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8631773 ], "weight": 4, "year": 1928, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "726-28" }, { "page": "728" }, { "page": "732" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/195/0722-01" ] }, { "cite": "269 S.E.2d 547", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "weight": 2, "year": 1980, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "561" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "300 N.C. 381", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8562647 ], "year": 1980, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "399" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/300/0381-01" ] }, { "cite": "123 S.E. 479", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.", "weight": 5, "year": 1924, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "481" }, { "page": "479-82" }, { "page": "479-80, 481" }, { "page": "481" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "188 N.C. 39", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8653207 ], "weight": 3, "year": 1924, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "44" }, { "page": "42-45" }, { "page": "40-41, 44" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/188/0039-01" ] }, { "cite": "247 N.C. 398", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8627270 ], "weight": 2, "year": 1958, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "410" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/247/0398-01" ] }, { "cite": "554 U.S. 570", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "U.S.", "case_ids": [ 3677081 ], "weight": 3, "year": 2008, "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/us/554/0570-01" ] }, { "cite": "169 L. Ed. 2d 396", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "L. Ed. 2d", "year": 2007, "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "128 S. Ct. 615", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "S. 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L. Rev. 340", "category": "journals:journal", "reporter": "N.C. L. Rev.", "weight": 2, "year": 1967, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "391-92" }, { "page": "391-92", "parenthetical": "footnotes omitted" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "134 S.E.2d 97", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "weight": 2, "year": 1964, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "99" }, { "page": "99-101" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "261 N.C. 130", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8572081 ], "weight": 2, "year": 1964, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "133" }, { "page": "133-36" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/261/0130-01" ] }, { "cite": "450 S.E.2d 735", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "weight": 7, "year": 1994, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "738-39" }, { "page": "739" }, { "page": "739" }, { "page": "739-40" }, { "page": "737-42", "parenthetical": "concluding that the challenged legislation, which shifted the responsibility for enforcing the State Building Code with respect to certain buildings from the City of New Bern to Craven County, constituted unconstitutional local acts related to health and sanitation" }, { "page": "741" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "338 N.C. 430", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 2521551 ], "weight": 6, "year": 1994, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "435-37" }, { "page": "436" }, { "page": "436" }, { "page": "437-38" }, { "page": "434-42" }, { "page": "440" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/338/0430-01" ] }, { "cite": "119 S.E.2d 888", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "weight": 5, "year": 1961, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "893" }, { "page": "893-95, 898-99" }, { "page": "894" }, { "page": "894" }, { "page": "894" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "254 N.C. 510", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8627170 ], "weight": 9, "year": 1961, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "517" }, { "page": "518" }, { "page": "518" }, { "page": "519" }, { "page": "519" }, { "page": "518" }, { "page": "518" }, { "page": "518" }, { "page": "518" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/254/0510-01" ] }, { "cite": "65 S.E.2d 313", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "weight": 4, "year": 1951, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "314-15", "parenthetical": "first alteration in original" }, { "page": "315" }, { "page": "315" }, { "page": "315" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "233 N.C. 730", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8616489 ], "weight": 4, "year": 1951, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "732-33", "parenthetical": "first alteration in original" }, { "page": "733" }, { "page": "733" }, { "page": "733" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/233/0730-01" ] }, { "cite": "581 S.E.2d 415", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "weight": 7, "year": 2003, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "426-27", "parenthetical": "quoting Idol v. 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II, \u00a7 24(3)))" }, { "page": "183-85" }, { "page": "184-85" }, { "page": "184" }, { "page": "184" }, { "page": "189" }, { "page": "189" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/357/0170-01" ] }, { "cite": "142 S.E.2d 697", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "weight": 13, "year": 1965, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "702" }, { "page": "702" }, { "page": "702" }, { "page": "702" }, { "page": "702", "parenthetical": "first alteration in original" }, { "page": "702-03" }, { "page": "702", "parenthetical": "stating that a statute \"may be general if it includes only one or a few counties\"" }, { "page": "702" }, { "page": "702" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "264 N.C. 650", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8574837 ], "weight": 7, "year": 1965, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "656" }, { "page": "666" }, { "page": "656" }, { "page": "656" }, { "page": "657" }, { "page": "656" }, { "page": "656" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/264/0650-01" ] }, { "cite": "168 S.E.2d 401", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1969, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "406", "parenthetical": "citation omitted" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "275 N.C. 439", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8558876 ], "year": 1969, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "447", "parenthetical": "citation omitted" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/275/0439-01" ] }, { "cite": "249 S.E.2d 402", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "weight": 5, "year": 1978, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "406" }, { "page": "406" }, { "page": "406" }, { "page": "406-07" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "295 N.C. 683", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8568518 ], "weight": 3, "year": 1978, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "690" }, { "page": "690-91" }, { "page": "690-91" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/295/0683-01" ] }, { "cite": "187 S.E. 781", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.", "year": 1936, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "784" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "210 N.C. 525", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8627463 ], "year": 1936, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "529-30" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/210/0525-01" ] }, { "cite": "488 S.E.2d 144", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "weight": 2, "year": 1997, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "146" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "346 N.C. 787", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 139427 ], "year": 1997, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "790" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/346/0787-01" ] }, { "cite": "2005 N.C. 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Sess. Laws 1605", "category": "laws:leg_session", "reporter": "N.C. Sess. Laws", "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "2013 N.C. Sess. Laws 118", "category": "laws:leg_session", "reporter": "N.C. Sess. Laws", "weight": 5, "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "672 S.E.2d 685", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "case_ids": [ 12642769, 12642770, 12642771 ], "year": 2009, "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/se2d/672/0685-01", "/se2d/672/0685-02", "/se2d/672/0685-03" ] }, { "cite": "665 S.E.2d 103", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "case_ids": [ 12641722 ], "year": 2008, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "128", "parenthetical": "finding that a local act addressing equitable rates \"principally contemplate[d]\" and \"relate[d] only to matters which are purely economic in nature . . . rather than prioritizing the system's health or sanitary conditions\"" } ], "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/se2d/665/0103-01" ] }, { "cite": "1945 N.C. Sess. Laws 37", "category": "laws:leg_session", "reporter": "N.C. Sess. Laws", "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "1947 N.C. Sess. Laws 1519", "category": "laws:leg_session", "reporter": "N.C. Sess. Laws", "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "1961 N.C. Sess. Laws 461", "category": "laws:leg_session", "reporter": "N.C. Sess. Laws", "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "1967 N.C. Sess. Laws 1463", "category": "laws:leg_session", "reporter": "N.C. Sess. Laws", "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "1981 N.C. Sess. Laws 13,14", "category": "laws:leg_session", "reporter": "N.C. Sess. Laws", "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "1951 N.C. Sess. Laws 554", "category": "laws:leg_session", "reporter": "N.C. Sess. Laws", "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "33 N.C. (11 Ired.) 558", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "year": 1850, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "563-64", "parenthetical": "upholding the legislature's \"power to create and abolish\" Polk County" } ], "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "88 N.C. 489", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8683316 ], "year": 1883, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "494-95", "parenthetical": "affirming the legislature's creation and subsequent repeal of the charter of the Town of Fayetteville" } ], "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/nc/88/0489-01" ] }, { "cite": "90 N.C. 437", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8696709 ], "year": 1884, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "438" } ], "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/nc/90/0437-01" ] }, { "cite": "340 S.E.2d 720", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1986, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "731" } ], "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "315 N.C. 474", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 4718753 ], "year": 1986, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "491" } ], "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/nc/315/0474-01" ] }, { "cite": "176 S.E. 298", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.", "year": 1934, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "301-02" } ], "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "207 N.C. 180", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8624341 ], "year": 1934, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "186" } ], "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/nc/207/0180-01" ] }, { "cite": "418 S.E.2d 645", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1992, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "648", "parenthetical": "Ordinary rules of grammar apply." } ], "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "332 N.C. 129", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 2508179 ], "year": 1992, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "134", "parenthetical": "Ordinary rules of grammar apply." } ], "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/nc/332/0129-01" ] }, { "cite": "591 S.E.2d 505", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 2004, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "510-11", "parenthetical": "The constitution is construed for its plain meaning." } ], "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "358 N.C. 92", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 2985064 ], "year": 2004, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "97", "parenthetical": "The constitution is construed for its plain meaning." } ], "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/nc/358/0092-01" ] }, { "cite": "90 N.C. 441", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8696845 ], "weight": 4, "year": 1884, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "444", "parenthetical": "\"[I]t is within the power and is the province of the legislature to . . . invest the inhabitants .. . with corporate functions, more or less extensive and varied in their character, for the purposes of government....\"" }, { "page": "444-45" } ], "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/nc/90/0441-01" ] }, { "cite": "101 S.E.2d 470", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "weight": 2, "year": 1958, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "476" }, { "page": "479", "parenthetical": "recognizing the legislature's power to prevent by statute the City of Asheville from charging certain county residents higher rates than it charged to city residents" } ], "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "46 S.E. 28", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.", "year": 1903, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "33" } ], "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "134 N.C. 1", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 11272383 ], "year": 1903, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "17" } ], "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/nc/134/0001-01" ] }, { "cite": "74 L. Ed. 1126", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "L. Ed.", "year": 1930, "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "50 S. Ct. 353", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "S. Ct.", "year": 1930, "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "281 U.S. 700", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "U.S.", "case_ids": [ 3916122, 3916996 ], "year": 1930, "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/us/281/0700-01", "/us/281/0700-02" ] }, { "cite": "150 S.E. 624", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.", "year": 1929, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "627", "parenthetical": "recognizing municipalities as \"mere instrumentalities of the State for the more convenient administration of local government\"" } ], "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "197 N.C. 740", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8631469 ], "year": 1929, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "746", "parenthetical": "recognizing municipalities as \"mere instrumentalities of the State for the more convenient administration of local government\"" } ], "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/nc/197/0740-01" ] }, { "cite": "73 N.C. 198", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8688994 ], "year": 1875, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "222" } ], "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/nc/73/0198-01" ] }, { "cite": "144 S.E. 377", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.", "year": 1928, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "380", "parenthetical": "\"When a new governmental agency is established by the Legislature, such as a municipal corporation, it takes control of all the affairs over which it is given authority, to the exclusion of other governmental agencies.\"" } ], "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "196 N.C. 17", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8623037 ], "year": 1928, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "22", "parenthetical": "\"When a new governmental agency is established by the Legislature, such as a municipal corporation, it takes control of all the affairs over which it is given authority, to the exclusion of other governmental agencies.\"" } ], "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/nc/196/0017-01" ] }, { "cite": "36 S.E.2d 803", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "weight": 4, "year": 1946, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "809" }, { "page": "809", "parenthetical": "\"We have no power to review a statute with respect to its political propriety as long as it is within the legislative discretion and has a reasonable relation to the end sought to be accomplished.\"" } ], "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "226 N.C. 1", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8611548 ], "weight": 3, "year": 1946, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "8" }, { "page": "9-10" }, { "page": "8" } ], "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/nc/226/0001-01" ] }, { "cite": "410 S.E.2d 887", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1991, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "890" } ], "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "330 N.C. 331", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 2508874 ], "year": 1991, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "336-37" } ], "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/nc/330/0331-01" ] }, { "cite": "52 S.E. 267", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.", "year": 1905, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "269" } ], "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "140 N.C. 33", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8651465 ], "year": 1905, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "40" } ], "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/nc/140/0033-01" ] }, { "cite": "105 S.E. 187", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.", "weight": 2, "year": 1920, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "189" }, { "page": "189", "parenthetical": "presuming \"the Legislature acted with integrity and with an honest purpose to keep within the restrictions and limitations laid down by the Constitution\"" } ], "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "180 N.C. 441", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8653864 ], "weight": 2, "year": 1920, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "445" }, { "page": "446" } ], "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/nc/180/0441-01" ] }, { "cite": "774 S.E.2d 281", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 2015, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "284" } ], "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "368 N.C. 122", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 12188131 ], "year": 2015, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "126" } ], "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/nc/368/0122-01" ] }, { "cite": "380 S.E.2d 107", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "weight": 6, "year": 1989, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "108" }, { "page": "110" }, { "page": "110" }, { "page": "110-11" }, { "page": "111" }, { "page": "111" } ], "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "324 N.C. 499", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 2485241 ], "year": 1989, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "501" } ], "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/nc/324/0499-01" ] }, { "cite": "16 S.E.2d 677", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "weight": 2, "year": 1941, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "678-79", "parenthetical": "concluding that an act removing from the Nash County Board of Health the power to appoint a county health officer was a local act relating to health in violation of the Article II limitations on local acts" } ], "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "220 N.C. 140", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 11299785 ], "year": 1941, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "143-44", "parenthetical": "concluding that an act removing from the Nash County Board of Health the power to appoint a county health officer was a local act relating to health in violation of the Article II limitations on local acts" } ], "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/nc/220/0140-01" ] }, { "cite": "70 S.E.2d 201", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1952, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "203", "parenthetical": "concluding that an act expressly restricting certain express powers of the Randolph County Board of Education violated the Article It limitations on local acts" } ], "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "235 N.C. 377", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8624661 ], "year": 1952, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "379-80", "parenthetical": "concluding that an act expressly restricting certain express powers of the Randolph County Board of Education violated the Article It limitations on local acts" } ], "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/nc/235/0377-01" ] }, { "cite": "247 N.C. 398", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8627270 ], "weight": 2, "year": 1958, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "406" }, { "page": "411" } ], "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/nc/247/0398-01" ] }, { "cite": "450 S.E.2d 735", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1994, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "742" } ], "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "338 N.C. 430", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 2521551 ], "year": 1994, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "442" } ], "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/nc/338/0430-01" ] }, { "cite": "65 S.E.2d 313", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1951, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "315" } ], "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "233 N.C. 730", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8616489 ], "year": 1951, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "733" } ], "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/nc/233/0730-01" ] }, { "cite": "581 S.E.2d 415", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 2003, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "430" } ], "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "357 N.C. 170", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 491505 ], "year": 2003, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "191" } ], "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/nc/357/0170-01" ] }, { "cite": "2005 N.C. Sess. Laws 244", "category": "laws:leg_session", "reporter": "N.C. Sess. Laws", "pin_cites": [ { "parenthetical": "captioned \"An Act Regarding Water Rates in Buncombe County\"" } ], "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "2005 N.C. Sess. Laws 243", "category": "laws:leg_session", "reporter": "N.C. Sess. Laws", "pin_cites": [ { "parenthetical": "captioned \"An Act Regarding the Operation of Public Enterprises by the City of Asheville\"" } ], "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "363 N.C. 123", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "year": 2009, "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "192 N.C. App. 1", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C. App.", "case_ids": [ 4160685 ], "year": 2008, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "36-37", "parenthetical": "finding that a local act addressing equitable rates \"principally contemplate[d]\" and \"relate[d] only to matters which are purely economic in nature . . . rather than prioritizing the system's health or sanitary conditions\"" } ], "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/nc-app/192/0001-01" ] }, { "cite": "2013 N.C. Sess. Laws 118", "category": "laws:leg_session", "reporter": "N.C. Sess. Laws", "weight": 9, "pin_cites": [ { "parenthetical": "the District Act" }, { "parenthetical": "captioned \"An Act to Promote the Provision of Regional Water and Sewer Services by Transferring Ownership and Operation of Certain Public Water and Sewer Systems to a Metropolitan Water and Sewerage District.\"" }, { "page": "122" }, { "page": "120-21" }, { "page": "122" } ], "opinion_index": 1 } ], "analysis": { "cardinality": 2744, "char_count": 109749, "ocr_confidence": 0.723, "pagerank": { "raw": 4.309311792351655e-08, "percentile": 0.27155830320609425 }, "sha256": "0b79e0dacab39a8c81db99a996aa6e64b5bcd0e5ef780d44fbdef457811317dd", "simhash": "1:070dd4f265672af2", "word_count": 17728 }, "last_updated": "2023-07-14T22:48:28.411797+00:00", "provenance": { "date_added": "2018-10-24", "source": "Harvard", "batch": "2018" }, "casebody": { "judges": [ "Chief Justice MARTIN joins in this dissenting opinion." ], "parties": [ "CITY OF ASHEVILLE, a municipal corporation v. STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA and the METROPOLITAN SEWERAGE DISTRICT OF BUNCOMBE COUNTY" ], "opinions": [ { "text": "ERVIN, Justice.\nIn 2013, the General Assembly enacted legislation that effectively required the City of Asheville to involuntarily transfer the assets that it uses to operate a public water system to a newly created metropolitan water and sewerage district. See Act of May 2, 2013, ch. 50, 2013 N.C. Sess. Laws 118, amended by Act of July 22, 2013, ch. 388, secs. 4-5, 2013 N.C. Sess. Laws 1605, 1618. Following the enactment of this legislation, the City sought a declaratory judgment and injunctive relief in Superior Court, Wake County. The trial court concluded that this involuntary transfer violated various provisions of the North Carolina Constitution, declared the relevant statutory provisions to be void and unenforceable, and permanently enjoined the State from enforcing the legislation. On appeal, the Court of Appeals reversed the trial court\u2019s order, in part, and directed the trial court to enter summary judgment in favor of the State. City of Asheville v. State, _ N.C. App. _, _, 777 S.E.2d 92, 102 (2015). In view of our determination that the legislation in question constitutes aprohibited \u201c[l]ocal... act... [Relating to health[ and] sanitation\u201d in violation of Article II, Section 24(1) (a) of the North Carolina Constitution, we reverse the Court of Appeals\u2019 decision. N.C. Const. art. II, \u00a7 24(1)(a).\nThe City is a municipal corporation that is authorized, among other things, to own and acquire property. N.C.G.S. \u00a7\u00a7 160A-1(2), -11 (2015). Pursuant to N.C.G.S. \u00a7\u00a7 160A-311(2) and 160A-312, along with Chapter 399 of the 1933 Public-Local Laws, Chapter 140 of the 2005 Session Laws, and Chapter 139 of the 2005 Session Laws (the last three of which are referred to collectively as \u201cthe Sullivan Acts\u201d and individually as \u201cSullivan I,\u201d \u201cSullivan II,\u201d and \u201cSullivan III,\u201d respectively, see City of Asheville v. State, 192 N.C. App. 1, 4-5, 665 S.E.2d 103, 109 (2008) (Asheville I), appeal dismissed, & disc. rev. denied, 363 N.C. 123, 672 S.E.2d 685 (2009)), the City owns and operates a system for the supply, treatment, and distribution of water and for the operation of sanitary disposal systems serving individuals and entities both within and outside of its corporate limits. Nee N.C.G.S. \u00a7\u00a7 160A-311(2), -312 (2015); Act of Apr. 28,1933 (Sullivan I), ch. 399, 1933 N.C. Pub.-Local Laws 376 (captioned \u201cAn Act to Regulate Charges Made by the City of Asheville for Water Consumed in Buncombe County Water Districts\u201d); Act of June 29, 2005 (Sullivan III), ch. 139, 2005 N.C. Sess. Laws 243 (captioned \u201cAn Act Regarding the Operation of Public Enterprises by the City of Asheville\u201d); Act of June 29, 2005 (Sullivan II), ch. 140, 2005 N.C. Sess. Laws 244 (captioned \u201cAn Act Regarding Water Rates in Buncombe County\u201d). As of 29 August 2013, the City provided water service to approximately 124,000 customers, approximately 48,000 of whom received service outside the City\u2019s municipal limits. The City\u2019s water system has been built and maintained over the course of the past century using a combination of taxes, service fees, connection charges,' bonded indebtedness, federal and state grants, contributions from Buncombe County, and donations from property owners and developers.\nCustomers in Buncombe County served by the City\u2019s water system receive sewer service from the Metropolitan Sewerage District of Buncombe County, a political subdivision that is authorized, among other things, to own, operate, and maintain a system for the treatment and disposal of sewerage in its assigned service area. See N.C.G.S. \u00a7\u00a7 162A-65(8), -69 (2015). The Metropolitan Sewerage District has never provided water service to any customer.\nIn May 2013, House Bill 488, which is entitled \u201cAn Act to Promote the Provision of Regional Water and Sewer Services by Transferring Ownership and Operation of Certain Public Water and Sewer Systems to a Metropolitan Water and Sewerage District,\u201d became law. Ch. 50, 2013 N.C. Sess. Laws 118. According to Section 2 of the legislation, two or more political subdivisions are authorized to voluntarily establish a new type of entity, to be known as a \u201cmetropolitan water and sewerage district,\u201d which is \u201cauthorized and empowered\u201d to \u201cexercise any power of a Metropolitan Water District under G.S. 162A-36, except subdivision (9) of that section\u201d; to \u201cexercise any power of a Metropolitan Sewer District under G.S. 162A-69, except subdivision (9) of that section\u201d; and \u201c[t]o do all acts and things necessary or convenient to carry out the powers granted by\u201d the newly created Article 5A. Id., sec. 2, at 119-24. Pursuant to Section 1(a) of the legislation, \u201c[a]ll assets, real and personal, tangible and intangible, and all outstanding debts of any public water system\u201d meeting certain statutorily specified criteria \u201care by operation of law transferred to the metropolitan sewerage district operating in the county where the public water system is located\u201d regardless of whether the municipality in question consents to the required transfer. Id., sec. 1(a), at 118-19. Finally, Section 5.5 of the legislation provides that no metropolitan sewerage district can be created in any county which currently lacks such an entity without the consent of all the affected political subdivisions in the proposed district, id., sec. 5.5, at 125, a provision that has the effect of preventing any involuntary transfers of the type required by Section 1 in the future.\nOn 14 May 2013, the City filed a complaint and a motion seeking temporary, preliminary, and permanent injunctive relief in which the City alleged that the involuntary transfer provisions of the legislation, which were specifically designed to apply to the City and to no other municipality in North Carolina, constituted an invalid local act \u201c[Relating to health, sanitation, and the abatement of nuisances\u201d prohibited by Article II, Section 24(l)(a) of the North Carolina Constitution and \u201c[Relating to non-navigable streams\u201d prohibited by Article II, Section 24(l)(e) of the North Carolina Constitution; violated the City\u2019s due process and equal protection rights as guaranteed by Article I, Section 19 of the North Carolina Constitution; worked an unlawful taking of the City\u2019s property in violation of Article I, Sections 19 and 35 of the North Carolina Constitution; impaired the City\u2019s contracts with the holders of the bonds that had been issued to finance the construction of the City\u2019s water system in violation of Article I, Section 10 of the United States Constitution; impaired the City\u2019s obligations to its bondholders under N.C.G.S. \u00a7 159-93; and, in the alternative, took the City\u2019s property without just compensation in violation of Article I, Sections 19 and 35 of the North Carolina Constitution. Based upon these claims, the City sought a declaration that Section 1 of the legislation is unconstitutional; asked that the enforcement of Section 1 of the legislation be temporarily restrained and preliminarily and permanently enjoined; and requested that, in the alternative, the City be awarded monetary damages sufficient to indemnify the City from any loss that might result from the enactment of the legislation. On 14 May 2013, Judge Donald W. Stephens entered a temporary restraining order precluding the implementation or enforcement of Section 1 of the legislation.\nOn 23 August 2013, the Governor signed Chapter 388 of the 2013 Session Laws, which had been enacted by the General Assembly on 22 July 2013 and which amended Section 1 of the Act in two ways. Ch. 388, secs. 4-5, 2013 N.C. Sess. Laws at 1618. More specifically, the newly enacted legislation repealed Section 1(a)(2) of Chapter 50 of the 2013 Session Laws so as to effectively eliminate one of the original criteria necessary to trigger an involuntary transfer of a covered municipality\u2019s water system, id., sec. 4, at 1618 (stating that \u201cSection 1(a)(2) of S.L. 2013-50 is repealed\u201d), and added a new exemption from the existing involuntary transfer requirement, id., sec. 5, at 1618 (amending \u201cS.L. 2013-50 ... by adding a new section\u201d l.(g)). As a result, the trial court entered a consent order providing, among other things, that the parties would be allowed to amend their pleadings to reflect these modifications to the legislation.\nOn 2 October 2013, the City filed an amended complaint in which it asserted the same substantive claims that had been raised in its initial pleading. On 7 November 2013, the State filed a responsive pleading in which it alleged, among other things, that the City lacked the capacity and standing to bring its claims against the State and denied the material allegations of the City\u2019s complaint. On 27 February 2014, the State and the City filed motions seeking summary judgment in their favor. On 9 June 2014, the trial court entered an order finding that there were no genuine issues of material fact and determining that the legislation (1) \u201cwas specifically drafted and amended to apply only to Asheville and the Asheville Water System,\u201d making it \u201ca local act which relates to health and sanitation in violation of Article II, Section 24(1) (a) of the North Carolina Constitution\u201d and \u201ca local act relating to non-navigable streams ... in violation of Article II, Section 24(l)(e) of the North Carolina Constitution\u201d; (2) \u201cis contrary to the law of the land in violation of Article I, Section 19 of the North Carolina Constitution as the means utilized to achieve what the legislation sought to obtain bears no relation, rational basis or otherwise, to the Act\u2019s stated purpose\u201d; and (3) \u201cis not a valid exercise of the sovereign power of the legislative branch of government (or the State of North Carolina) to take or condemn property for a public use\u201d in violation of Article I, Sections 19 and 35 of the North Carolina Constitution. In the alternative, the trial court further determined that, in the event that the General Assembly had the authority to order the involuntary transfer of the City\u2019s water system, \u201cAsheville, as the owner of the Asheville Water System, is entitled to be paid just compensation.\u201d In fight of these determinations, the trial court permanently enjoined enforcement of the legislation. As a result of its decision to grant the relief that had been requested by the City on other grounds, the trial court \u201cdecline [d] to address\u201d the claims that the City asserted pursuant to the state and federal contract clauses. On 3 July 2014, the trial court entered a consent order indicating that it had declined to rule on the claims that the City had asserted pursuant to the contract clauses and N.C.G.S. \u00a7 159-93 on the grounds that they had \u201cbeen rendered moot by the Court\u2019s ruling on the other claims.\u201d The State noted an appeal to the Court of Appeals from the trial court\u2019s orders.\nBefore the Court of Appeals, the State argued that the trial court had erred by concluding (1) that the City had the capacity and standing to bring its claims against the State; (2) that the Act is a \u201clocaif ]... act\u201d \u201c[Relating to health] and] sanitation,\u201d N.C. Const. art. II, \u00a7 24(1)(a), and \u201cnon-navigable streams,\u201d id. art. II, \u00a7 24(1)(e); (3) that Section 1 of the legislation violated the City\u2019s state equal protection and substantive due process rights; and (4) that Section 1 of the legislation effected an unlawful taking of the City\u2019s property and, alternatively, that the City would be entitled to just compensation in the event that the involuntary transfer of its water system was lawful. In response, the City asserted (1) that it \u201cunquestionably has standing to challenge the constitutionality\u201d of the Act; (2) that Section 1 of the legislation is an unconstitutional \u201clocal act\u201d \u201crelating to health and sanitation\u201d in violation of Article II, Section 24(l)(a) and \u201crelating to non-navigable streams\u201d in violation of Article II, Section 24(l)(e); (3) that, although the Court of Appeals \u201cneed not reach the[se] issue[s,]\u201d the legislation \u201cviolates both the takings element ... and the due process and equal protection elements of' Article I, Section 19 of the North Carolina Constitution; and (4) that, if the Court of Appeals were to reverse the trial court, the City\u2019s bond-related claims \u201cwould remain for consideration\u201d before the trial court.\nAfter determining that the City had standing to challenge the constitutionality of the legislation \u201cbecause it ha[d] not accepted any benefit from\u201d the Act, City of Asheville, N.C. App. at , 777 S.E.2d at 95 (citing Town of Spruce Pine v. Avery County, 346 N.C. 787, 790, 488 S.E.2d 144, 146 (1997)), the Court of Appeals held that the trial court had erred by invalidating the legislation, id. at _, 777 S.E.2d at 102. After assuming for purposes of argument that the legislation \u201cconstitute[d] a \u2018local law,\u2019 \u201d the court held that \u201cit is not plain and clear and beyond reasonable doubt\u201d that Section 1 \u201cfalls within the ambit of\u2019 Article II, Section 24(1)(a) or Article II, Section 24(1)(e) of the North Carolina Constitution. Id. at_, 777 S.E.2d at 97. Instead, the legislation \u201cappear[s] to prioritize concerns regarding the governance over water and sewer systems and the quality of the services rendered.\u201d Id. at _, 777 S.E.2d at 98 (citing ch. 50, sec. 2, 2013 N.C. Sess. Laws at 119-24 (codified at Article 5A in N.C.G.S. Chapter 162A)). In addition, the Court of Appeals concluded that the legislation did not violate the City\u2019s right to equal protection under the state constitution, id. at_, 777 S.E.2d at 99-101, effectuate a taking of Asheville\u2019s water system for an invalid purpose, id. at_, 777 S.E.2d at 101, or result in a valid taking for which the City was entitled to just compensation, id. at _, 777 S.E.2d at 101-02. Finally, with respect to the claims that the City had asserted pursuant to the contract clauses and N.C.G.S. \u00a7 159-93, the Court of Appeals stated that, because the City had not argued that those claims constituted \u201can alternative basis in law for supporting\u201d the relief sought, it had waived the right to assert those claims in the future. Id. at _, 777 S.E.2d at 95 n.2 (quoting N.C. R. App. P. 10(c)); id. at _, 777 S.E.2d at 102-03. As a result, the Court of Appeals reversed, in part, the trial court\u2019s order and remanded the case to the trial court for the entry of summary judgment in the State\u2019s favor. Id. at _, 777 S.E.2d at 102. After the City unsuccessfully sought rehearing of the Court of Appeals\u2019 decision with respect to, among other things, the claims that the City had asserted in reliance upon the contract clauses and N.C.G.S. \u00a7 159-93, this Court retained jurisdiction over the City\u2019s notice of appeal and allowed the City\u2019s petition for discretionary review.\nIn seeking relief from this Court, the City argues that the Court of Appeals erred (1) by concluding that Section 1 of the legislation is not an unconstitutional local act relating to health and sanitation prohibited by Article II, Section 24(l)(a) of the North Carolina Constitution; (2) in holding that Section 1 of the legislation does not effectuate a taking for which Asheville is entitled to compensation pursuant to Article I, Section 19 of the North Carolina Constitution; and (3) by appearing to hold that the City had abandoned any right to assert its claims pursuant to the contract clauses and N.C.G.S. \u00a7 159-93 on remand by failing to raise them on appeal pursuant to Rule 10(c) of the North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure. For the reasons set forth below, the Court of Appeals\u2019 decision is reversed.\nIt is well settled in this State that the courts have the power, and it is their duty in proper cases, to declare an act of the General Assembly unconstitutional\u2014but it must be plainly and clearly the case. If there is any reasonable doubt, it will be resolved in favor of the lawful exercise of their powers by the representatives of the people.\nGlenn v. Bd. of Educ., 210 N.C. 525, 529-30, 187 S.E. 781, 784 (1936). In determining \u201cthe constitutionality of a legislative act it is not for this Court to judge its wisdom and expediency. These matters are the province of the General Assembly.\u201d Adams v. N.C. Dep\u2019t of Nat. & Boon. Res., 295 N.C. 683, 690, 249 S.E.2d 402, 406 (1978). On the other hand, \u201c \u2018[i]f there is a conflict between a statute and the Constitution, this Court must determine the rights and liabilities or duties of the litigants before it in accordance with the Constitution, because the Constitution is the superior rule of law in that situation. \u2019 \u201d Id. at 690,249 S.E.2d at 406 (quoting Nicholson v. State Educ. Assistance Auth., 275 N.C. 439, 447, 168 S.E.2d 401, 406 (1969) (citation omitted)).\nArticle II, Section 24 of the North Carolina Constitution, which expressly forbids the General Assembly from \u201cenact[ing] any local, private, or special act or resolution\u201d concerning fourteen \u201c[prohibited subjects,\u201d N.C. Const. art. II, \u00a7 24(1), \u201cis the fundamental law of the State and may not be ignored,\u201d High Point Surplus Co. v. Pleasants, 264 N.C. 650, 656, 142 S.E.2d 697, 702 (1965). More specifically, Article II, Section 24 of the North Carolina Constitution provides that:\n(1) Prohibited subjects. - The General Assembly shall not enact any local, private, or special act or resolution:\n(a) Relating to health, sanitation, and the abatement of nuisances;\n(3) Prohibited acts void. - Any local, private, or special act or resolution enacted in violation of the provisions of this Section shall be void.\nN.C. Const. art. II, \u00a7 24(1)(a), (3). Although the General Assembly shall not \u201cenact any local, private, or special act\u201d regarding any of the fourteen prohibited subjects listed in Article II, Section 24(1) \u201cby the partial repeal of a general law,\u201d id. art. II, \u00a7 24(2), it \u201cmay . . . repeal local, private, or special laws enacted by it,\u201d id., and \u201cenact general laws regulating the matters set out\u201d in the relevant constitutional provision, id. art. II, \u00a7 24(4).\nAs the history of Article II, Section 24 of the North Carolina Constitution demonstrates:\nThe organic law of the State was originally drafted and promulgated by a convention which met at Halifax in December, 1776. During the ensuing 140 years, the Legislature of North Carolina possessed virtually unlimited constitutional power to enact local, private, and special statutes. This legislative power was exercised with much liberality, and produced a plethora of local, private, and special enactments. As an inevitable consequence, the law of the State was frequently one thing in one locality, and quite different things in other localities. To minimize the resultant confusion, the people of North Carolina amended their Constitution at the general election of 1916 so as to deprive their Legislature of the power to enact local, private, or special acts or resolutions relating to many of the most common subjects of legislation.\nIn thus amending their organic law, the people were motivated by the desire that the General Assembly should legislate for North Carolina in respect to the subjects specified as a single united commonwealth rather than as a conglomeration of innumerable discordant communities. To prevent this laudable desire from degenerating into a mere pious hope, they decreed in emphatic and express terms that \u201cany local, private, or special act or resolution passed in violation of the provisions of this section shall be void [....]\u201d\nWilliams v. Blue Cross Blue Shield of N.C., 357 N.C. 170, 185-86, 581 S.E.2d 415, 426-27 (2003) (quoting Idol v. Street, 233 N.C. 730, 732-33, 65 S.E.2d 313, 314-15 (1951) (first alteration in original) (quoting N.C. Const, of 1868, art. II, \u00a7 29 (1917) (now art. II, \u00a7 24(3)))).\nIt was the purpose of the amendment to free the General Assembly from the enormous amount of petty detail which had been occupying its attention, to enable it to devote more time and attention to general legislation of statewide interest and concern, to strengthen local self-government by providing for the delegation of local matters by general laws to local authorities, and to require uniform and coordinated action under general laws on matters related to the welfare of the whole State.\nHigh Point Surplus Co., 264 N.C. at 666, 142 S.E.2d at 702. We are called upon to evaluate the constitutionality of Section 1 of the legislation against this historical backdrop.\n\u201cThe first issue [that must be resolved in this case] is whether the Act is a local act prohibited by Article II, section 24 of the Constitution or is a general law which the General Assembly has the power to enact.\u201d Adams, 296 N.C. at 690, 249 S.E.2d at 406. \u201cA statute is either \u2018general\u2019 or \u2018local\u2019; there is no middle ground.\u201d High Point Surplus Co., 264 N.C. at 656, 142 S.E.2d at 702. \u201c[N]o exact rule or formula capable of constant application can be devised for determining in every case whether a law is local, private or special or whether [it is] general.\u201d McIntyre v. Clarkson, 254 N.C. 510, 517, 119 S.E.2d 888, 893 (1961). The primary test that this Court has employed for the purpose of differentiating between general and local acts for the past half-century has been the \u201creasonable classification\u201d test adopted in McIntyre, id. at 517-19, 525-26, 119 S.E.2d at 893-95, 898-99. See, e.g., Williams, 357 N.C. at 183-85, 581 S.E.2d at 425-26; City of New Bern v. New Bern-Craven Cty. Bd. of Educ., 338 N.C. 430, 435-37, 450 S.E.2d 735, 738-39 (1994); Adams, 295 N.C. at 690-91, 249 S.E.2d at 406-07; Treasure City of Fayetteville, Inc. v. Clark, 261 N.C. 130, 133, 134 S.E.2d 97, 99 (1964). In applying this test, we must remember that \u201cthe number of counties included or excluded [from the ambit of an act] is not necessarily determinative.\u201d High Point Surplus Co., 264 N.C. at 656, 142 S.E.2d at 702.\nConceivably, a statute may be local if it excludes only one county. On the other hand, it may be general if it includes only one or a few counties. It is a matter of classification. For the purposes of legislating, the General Assembly may and does classify conditions, persons, places and things, and classification does not render a statute \u201clocal\u201d if the classification is reasonable and based on rational difference of situation or condition; \u201c[u]niversality is immaterial so long as those affected are reasonably different from those excluded and for the purpose of the [act] there is a logical basis for treating them in a different manner.\u201d A law is local \u201cwhere, by force of an inherent limitation, it arbitrarily separates some places from others upon which, but for such limitation, it would operate, [ ] where it embraces less than the entire class of places to which such legislation would be necessary or appropriate having regard to the purpose for which the legislation was designed, and where [the] classification does not rest on circumstances distinguishing the places included from those excluded.\u201d\nId. at 656-57, 142 S.E.2d at 702 (first alteration in original) (quoting McIntyre, 254 N.C. at 518, 119 S.E.2d at 894) (citations omitted)). Put another way, a local law \u201cdiscriminates between different localities without any real, proper, or reasonable basis or necessity a necessity springing from manifest peculiarities clearly distinguishing those of one class from each of the other classes, and imperatively demanding legislation for each class separately that would be useless or detrimental to the others.\u201d McIntyre, 254 N.C. at 518, 119 S.E.2d at 894 (quoting 50 Am. Jur. Statutes \u00a7 8, at 25 (1944) (footnotes omitted)).\nOn the other hand, a law is general \u201c \u2018if it applies to and operates uniformly on all the members of any class of persons, places or things requiring legislation peculiar to itself in matters covered by the law.\u2019 [ ] Classification must be reasonable and germane to the law. It must be based on a reasonable and tangible distinction and operate the same on all parts of the [S]tate under the same conditions and circumstances. Classification must not be discriminatory, arbitrary or capricious.\u201d\nHigh Point Surplus Co., 264 N.C. at 657, 142 S.E.2d at 702-03 (quoting McIntyre, 254 N.C. at 519, 119 S.E.2d at 894) (citation omitted)). As noted by a leading scholar cited with regularity by this Court, e.g., Adams, 295 N.C. at 690-91, 249 S.E.2d at 407:\nIn barest outline, a statutory classification is held to be \u201creasonable\u201d if it satisfies the following five tests: (1) the classification must be based upon substantial distinctions which make one class really different from another; (2) the classification adopted must be germane to the purpose of the law; (3) the classification must not be based upon existing circumstances only; (4) to whatever class a law may apply, it must apply equally to each member thereof; and (5) if the classification meets these requirements, the number of members in a class is wholly immaterial.\nJoseph S. Ferrell, Local Legislation in the North Carolina General Assembly, 45 N.C. L. Rev. 340, 391-92 (1967) [hereinafter Ferrell, Local Legislation] (footnotes omitted). The reasonable classification test utilized to distinguish between general and local legislation is not equivalent to the rational basis test utilized in due process and equal protection cases. See id. at 391-92 (footnotes omitted).\nIn Town of Emerald Isle v. State, 320 N.C. 640, 360 S.E.2d 756 (1987), this Court articulated a different test for determining whether an act is general or local that focused on \u201cthe extent to which the act in question affects the general public interests and concerns,\u201d id. at 651, 360 S.E.2d at 763 (applying this test to legislation that provided for a specific public pedestrian beach access point and related facilities at Bogue Inlet in Carteret County), which we have not utilized in any subsequent case. We \u201cdeparted from the reasonable classification method of analysis\u201d in Town of Emerald Isle because it was \u201c \u2018ill-suited to the question presented [there], since by definition a particular public pedestrian beach access facility must rest in but one location.\u2019 \u201d City of New Bern, 338 N.C. at 436, 450 S.E.2d at 739 (quoting Town of Emerald Isle, 320 N.C. at 650, 360 S.E.2d at 762). The City contends that the legislation is a local law under either test while the State advances the opposite contention. We find the City\u2019s argument persuasive.\nThe legislation states that:\nWhereas, regional water and sewer systems provide reliable, cost-effective, high-quality water and sewer services to a wide range of residential and institutional customers; and\nWhereas, in an effort to ensure that the citizens and businesses of North Carolina are provided with the highest quality services, the State recognizes the value of regional solutions for public water and sewer for large public systems; Now, therefore,\nCh. 50, pmbl., 2013 N.C. Sess. Laws at 118. Simply put, the General Assembly stated that large, public regional water and sewer systems will better ensure that North Carolina citizens have access to higher quality, cost-effective water and sewer services and that the creation of regional water and sewer systems should be encouraged for that reason. In view of the fact that the stated purpose of the legislation contains no indication that it was site-specific in nature, we conclude that the reasonable classification test should be utilized in determining whether the legislation is local or general in nature. See, e.g., Williams, 357 N.C. at 184-85, 581 S.E.2d at 426 (applying the \u201creasonable classification\u201d test on the grounds that, while \u201cthe enabling legislation and the Ordinance allowing for the creation of a comprehensive civil rights ordinance apply only to Orange County, this legislation is not site-specific as in Emerald .Isle because \u2018[s]uch a legislated change could be effected as easily in [Orange County] as in any other [county] in the state\u2019 \u201d (alterations in original) (quoting City of New Bern, 338 N.C. at 436, 450 S.E.2d at 739)).\nAccording to Section 1 of the legislation, as amended, the involuntary transfer of a municipal water system to a metropolitan water and sewerage system is required if, and only if, (1) \u201c[t]he public water system is owned and operated by a municipality located in a county where a metropolitan sewerage district is operating\u201d and (2) \u201c[t]he public water system serves a population of greater than 120,000 people.\u201d Ch. 50, sec. 1(a), 2013 N.C. Sess. Laws at 118-19, as amended by Ch. 388, sec. 4,2013 N.C. Sess. Laws at 1618. In other words, the involuntary transfer provisions of Section 1 do not apply to any municipality that operates a water system unless that municipality serves more than 120,000 customers and is located in a county in which a metropolitan sewerage district provides sewer service pursuant to Article 5 of Chapter 162A of the North Carolina General Statutes, N.C.G.S. \u00a7\u00a7 162A-64 to -81 (2015). Although the legislation appears to create a class of municipalities to which the involuntary transfer provisions of Section 1 apply, an examination of the criteria delineating the composition of that class demonstrates that the involuntary transfer provision has been crafted in such a manner that it does not and will not apply to any municipality other than the City.\nAccording to the undisputed record evidence, there are only three metropolitan sewerage districts presently operating in North Carolina: the Metropolitan Sewerage District of Buncombe County, the Contentnea Metropolitan Sewerage District in Pitt County, and the Bay River Metropolitan Sewerage District in Pamlico County. The only municipal water system located in a county served by one of these three metropolitan sewerage districts that has over 120,000 customers is that owned and operated by the City. Although existing population growth trends create some possibility that the water system operated by the City of Greenville could reach the 120,000 person threshold in the foreseeable future, the General Assembly took affirmative action to elimi- ' nate any risk that Greenville would ever have to involuntarily transfer its water system to the Contentnea Metropolitan Sewerage District.\nAs originally enacted, the legislation contained a third criterion that had to be met before an involuntary transfer was required, which was that \u201c[t]he public water system has not been issued a certificate for an interbasin transfer.\u201d Ch. 50, sec. 1(a)(2), 2013 N.C. Sess. Laws at 119. In view of the fact that Greenville possessed an interbasin transfer certificate, it was exempt from the involuntary transfer requirement contained in the original version of the legislation. Although the enactment of Chapter 388, Section 4 of the 2013 Session Laws eliminated the interbasin transfer certificate exception from the involuntary transfer provision of the legislation, Section 5 of Chapter 388 of the 2013 Session Laws added Section 1(g), which provides that, \u201c[f]or purposes of this section, a public water system shall not include any system that is operated simultaneously with a sewer system by the same public body, in conjunction with the provision of other utility, services for its customers,\u201d to the legislation. Ch. 388, sec. 5, 2013 N.C. Sess. Laws at 1618. In view of the fact that Greenville provides both sewer and water service to its customers in conjunction with a system for the supply of electricity and natural gas, the enactment of Section 1(g) had the effect of preserving Greenville\u2019s exception from the involuntary transfer requirement.\nIn addition, we note that Section 5.5 of the legislation prohibits the creation of any new metropolitan sewerage districts without the consent of all relevant local governmental entities. Ch. 50, sec. 5.5, 2013 N.C. Sess. Laws at 125. The inclusion of Section 5.5 ensured that all of the other municipalities that currently operate water systems that serve more than 120,000 customers, such as Charlotte, Durham, Fayetteville, Greensboro, and Winston-Salem, or will operate such systems in the future will never be subjected to the involuntary transfer provisions of the legislation. Thus, the undisputed record evidence clearly shows that the City is the only entity that will ever be required to involuntarily transfer its water system to a metropolitan sewerage district under the legislation.\nAlthough the fact that the City is the only municipality that will ever be subject to the involuntaiy transfer provisions of the legislation does not, standing alone, mean that the legislation is, per se, a \u201clocal\u201d act, see High Point Surplus Co., 264 N.C. at 656, 142 S.E.2d at 702 (stating that a statute \u201cmay be general if it includes only one or a few counties\u201d), it does, however, indicate the existence of a serious question concerning the extent to which the classification contained in the legislation is \u201creasonable and germane to the law\u201d and \u201cbased on a reasonable and tangible distinction,\u201d id. at 657, 142 S.E.2d at 702 (quoting McIntyre, 254 N.C. at 519, 119 S.E.2d 894 (citation omitted)). Nothing in the legislation in any way explains why every other municipality in North Carolina except the City should have the right to decide for itself whether to transfer its water system to a metropolitan water and sewerage district. Moreover, nothing in the legislation does anything to explain why the benefits that the General Assembly expects to result from the creation of metropolitan water and sewerage districts should not be made available to the customers of every large municipal water system in North Carolina. The total absence of any justification for singling out the City\u2019s water system from other large municipally owned systems and the steps taken during the drafting process to ensure that the involuntary transfer provisions of the legislation did not apply to any municipality except the City demonstrate that the involuntary transfer provisions were never intended to apply to any municipal water system except that owned by the City. As a result, given the absence of any reasonable relationship between the stated justification underlying the legislation and the classification adopted by the General Assembly for the purpose of achieving its stated goal, the legislation is, without doubt, a local rather than a general law. See, e.g., Treasure City of Fayetteville, 261 N.C. at 133-36, 134 S.E.2d at 99-101 (holding that a statute prohibiting sales of certain goods on Sunday that did not apply to all or portions of twenty-nine counties for the stated reason that the excluded territories were resort or tourist areas was a local, rather than a general, act given that the legislation did not apply to all of North Carolina\u2019s resort and tourist areas and given that some of the goods and services whose sale was prohibited by the legislation were of primary interest to permanent residents rather than tourists); see also Ferrell, Local Legislation 394 (noting the Court\u2019s holding that the statutory provision at issue in Treasure City was a local act given that the classification embodied in the challenged legislation was \u201ca sham\u201d).\nIn spite of the absence of \u201cany real, proper, or reasonable basis or . . . necessity springing from manifest peculiarities clearly distinguishing . . . and imperatively demanding\u201d the involuntary transfer of the City\u2019s water system to a metropolitan water and sewerage district in the face of an apparent determination that similar treatment would be \u201cuseless or detrimental to [every] other[ ]\u201d North Carolina municipality, McIntyre, 254 N.C. at 518, 119 S.E.2d at 894 (quoting 50 Am. Jur. Statutes \u00a7 8, at 25 (1944) (footnotes omitted)), the State hypothesizes that the General Assembly\u2019s decision to treat the City differently than all other North Carolina municipalities might hinge upon the \u201cunique facts\u201d and history of the \u201cAsheville-Buncombe-Henderson region,\u201d which the State claims to consist of a \u201cprolonged history of conflict between\u201d the City and residents of Buncombe and Henderson Counties who are dependent on the City\u2019s water system that has been \u201ccharacterized by charges of discrimination and the misuse of public monies and other resources\u201d and has \u201cengendered a toxically high level of public distrust and cynicism concerning local government in that region which itself makes sound democratic governance there difficult to achieve.\u201d More specifically, the State asserts, as a purely hypothetical matter, that the General Assembly \u201ccould have\u201d singled out the City\u2019s water system for involuntary transfer due to \u201cfundamental and serious governance problems\u201d that affect extraterritorial customers located in portions of Buncombe County outside the City\u2019s municipal limits and in Henderson County. In addition, the State hypothesizes that, given the area\u2019s status as a tourist destination, the General Assembly \u201ccould reasonably have concluded\u201d that an involuntary transfer of the City\u2019s water system would prevent the \u201catmosphere of conflict in this region\u201d from \u201ctamish[ing] . . . this region in the eyes of the public generally\u201d and \u201cthreaten[ing], among other things, the vitality of a local tourist industry which is enormous and is of tremendous importance to all the citizens of this State.\u201d We do not find this argument persuasive.\nAt the outset, we note that this aspect of the State\u2019s defense of the legislation seems rooted in the rational basis test employed in the due process and equal protection context. See, e.g., In re R.L. C., 361 N.C. 287, 295, 643 S.E.2d 920, 924 (noting that, in the context of an as-applied due process challenge, evaluating \u201cwhether the law in question is rationally related to a legitimate government purpose\u201d does not require \u201ccourts to determine the actual goal or purpose'of the government action at issue\u201d and allows the reviewing court to uphold the legislation on the basis of \u201cany conceivable legitimate purpose\u201d (citations omitted)), cert. denied, 552 U.S. 1024, 128 S. Ct. 615, 169 L. Ed. 2d 396 (2007). However, nothing in our Article II, Section 24 jurisprudence suggests that we should focus on a hypothetical, rather than the actual, justification for the challenged legislation in determining whether it should be deemed general or local in nature. Furthermore, a decision to approve the use of the hypothetical purpose approach suggested by the State would deprive Article II, Section 24 of the North Carolina Constitution of any meaningful effect by rendering it indistinguishable from the substantive due process provisions of Article I, Section 19 of the North Carolina Constitution. Cf. District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570, 628 n.27, 171 L. Ed. 2d 637, 679 n.27, 128 S. Ct. 2783, 2818 n.27 (2008) (rejecting such a result under the federal constitution and, more specifically, stating that, \u201c[i]f all that was required to overcome the right to keep and bear arms was a rational basis, the Second Amendment would be redundant with the separate constitutional prohibitions on irrational laws, and would have no effect\u201d). As a result, we will focus our analysis upon the extent, if any, to which there is record support for the State\u2019s argument to the effect that the legislation is a general, rather than a local, act.\nAlthough the State has directed the Court\u2019s attention to \u201c[t]he documented historical record\u201d reflected in this Court\u2019s decision in Candler v. City of Asheville, 247 N.C. 398, 101 S:E.2d 470 (1958), and the Court of Appeals\u2019 2008 decision in City of Asheville, these materials provide no support for the State\u2019s argument that the legislation is a general, rather than a local, law. Instead, we explicitly stated in Candler that \u201c[tjhere is nothing on this record which tends to show that the rate or rates to be charged\u201d to extraterritorial customers \u201care unjust and confiscatory.\u201d Id. at 410, 101 S.E.2d at 479. Although the Court of Appeals did note the existence of \u201cample support in the record to justify the Legislature\u2019s findings that Asheville and Buncombe County have experienced a \u2018complicated pattern of dealings\u2019 with respect to the development and maintenance of its water distribution system\u201d in Asheville I, 192 N.C. App. at 31-32, 665 S.E.2d at 125 (quoting Sullivan II, ch. 140, 2005 N.C. Sess. Laws at 246), the court also stated that (1) it was \u201cnot clear from the record that this histoiy is one of \u2018manifest peculiarities clearly distinguishing\u2019 Asheville and Buncombe Counfy from other municipalities and counties across the State,\u201d id. at 32, 665 S.E.2d at 125 (quoting McIntyre, 254 N.C. at 518, 119 S.E.2d at 894); (2) it was \u201cnot persuaded that the history of the development of the [Asheville], water distribution system\u201d justified a decision to treat the City as unique for legislative classification purposes, id. at 32, 665 S.E.2d at 126; and (3) the statutory provisions at issue in Asheville I appeared to \u201cembrace [ ] less than the entire class of places to which such legislation would be necessary or appropriate having regard to the purpose for which the legislation was designed,\u201d id. at 32, 665 S.E.2d at 126 (alteration in original) (quoting Williams, 357 N.C. at 184, 581 S.E.2d at 426 (quoting McIntyre, 254 N.C. at 518, 119 S.E.2d at 894)). Based upon these determinations, the court in Asheville I held that the challenged statutory provisions were \u201clocal acts.\u201d Id. at 32, 665 S.E.2d at 126. Moreover, the State conceded during oral argument that the present record contains no support for any assertion that the City continued to engage in abusive or discriminatory behavior after 2008. Finally, even if the legislation is intended to ensure the availability of better water service at a lower cost in Buncombe County by fostering the creation of a large, regional water and sewer system, the classification upon which the legislation relies \u201cembraces less than the entire class of places to which such legislation would be necessary or appropriate having regard to the purpose for which the legislation was designed,\u201d Williams, 357 N.C. at 184, 581 S.E.2d at 426 (quoting McIntyre, 254 N.C. at 518, 119 S.E.2d at 894), given that none of the other public water systems owned and operated by Buncombe County municipalities receiving service from the Metropolitan Sewerage District, including Biltmore Forest, Black Mountain, Montreat, Weaverville, and Woodfin, are subject to the statute\u2019s involuntary transfer provision despite the fact that several of those municipalities charge higher rates to extraterritorial customers than to municipal residents and given that the Town of Hendersonville, which is located in Henderson County, owns and operates a municipal water system that charges higher rates to extraterritorial customers than to municipal residents as well. Thus, for all these reasons, the State\u2019s effort to establish that the legislation is a general, rather than a local, act necessarily fails.\nHaving determined that Section 1 of the Act is a local law, we must next consider whether the legislation \u201c[r]elat[es] to health[ and] sanitation.\u201d N.C. Const. art. II, \u00a7 24(l)(a). In answering this question in the negative, the Court of Appeals began by noting that, in the 2008 City of Asheville case, it had concluded that \u201cthe mere implication of water or a water system in a legislative enactment does not necessitate a conclusion that it relates to health and sanitation in violation of the Constitution,\u201d id. at _, 777 S.E.2d at 97 (quoting Asheville I, 192 N.C. App. at 37, 665 S.E.2d at 129); that this Court\u2019s precedent \u201cinstructs\u201d that a local law does not relate to health or sanitation \u201cunless (1) the law plainly \u2018state [s] that its purpose is to regulate [this prohibited subject],\u2019 or (2) the reviewing court is able to determine \u2018that the purpose of the act is to regulate [this prohibited subject after] careful perusal of the entire act,\u2019 \u201d id. at_., 777 S.E.2d at 97-98 (second and third alterations in original) (quoting Asheville I, 192 N.C. App. at 33, 665 S.E.2d at 126 (first alteration in original) (citing and quoting Reed v. Howerton Eng\u2019g Co., 188 N.C. 39, 44, 123 S.E. 479, 481 (1924))); and \u201cthat the best indications of the General Assembly\u2019s purpose are \u2018the language of the statute, the spirit of the act, and what the act seeks to accomplish,\u2019 \u201d id. at _, 777 S.E.2d at 98 (quoting Asheville I, 192 N.C. App. at 37, 665 S.E.2d at 129 (quoting State ex rel. Comm\u2019r of Ins. v. N.C. Rate Bureau, 300 N.C. 381, 399, 269 S.E.2d 547, 561 (1980))). As a result, the Court of Appeals \u201cfirst look[ed] to see if the ... Act expressly states that its purpose is to regulate health or sanitation\u201d and answered that question in the negative on the theory that the Act\u2019s \u201cstated purpose,\u201d as reflected in its preamble, \u201cis to address concerns regarding the quality of the service provided to the customers of public water and sewer systems.\u201d Id. at_, 777 S.E.2d at 98. Secondly, the Court of Appeals \u201cperuse[d] the entire... Act to determine whether it is plain and clear that the Act\u2019s purpose is to regulate health or sanitation\u201d and determined that \u201cthere are no provisions in the Act which \u2018contemplate [ ] . . . prioritizing the [Asheville Water System\u2019s] health or sanitary conditionf.]\u2019 \u201d Id. at _, 777 S.E.2d at 98 (alterations in original) (quoting Asheville I, 192 N.C. App. at 36-37, 665 S.E.2d at 128). On the contrary, the fact that Section 2 of the legislation \u201callows for the \u2018denial or discontinuance of [water and sewer] service,\u2019 by [a metropolitan water and sewerage district] based on a customer\u2019s non-payment,\u201d id. at_, 111 S.E.2d at 98 (first alteration in original) (quoting Ch. 50, sec. 2, 2013 N.C. Sess. Laws at 122 (codified at N.C.G.S. \u00a7 162A-85.13(c))), \u201cbelies Asheville\u2019s argument that the purpose of the Act relates to health and sanitation,\u201d id. at _, 777 S.E.2d at 98 (citing Asheville 1, 192 N.C. App. at 35, 665 S.E.2d at 127). As a result, the Court of Appeals concluded that the legislation \u201cappeax[s] to prioritize concerns regarding the governance over water and sewer systems and the quality of the services rendered,\u201d id. at _, 777 S.E.2d at 98 (citing Ch. 50, sec. 2, 2013 N.C. Sess. Laws at 119-24), rather than health and sanitation.\nIn making this determination, the Court of Appeals distinguished several cases upon which the City relied before finding this Court\u2019s decision in Reed v. Howerton Engineering Co. controlling with respect to the health and sanitation issue. Id. at _, 111 S.E.2d at 98-99. After noting that our decision in Drysdale v. Prudden, 195 N.C. 722, 143 S.E. 530 (1928), was \u201c[t]he most compelling of\u2019 the cases cited in support of the City\u2019s position, the Court of Appeals stated that this Court \u201cbase[d] its ruling [in Drysdale] on the fact that the act [was] a local law\u201d and did not make \u201cany determination regarding which of the 14 \u2018prohibited subjects\u2019 was implicated by the act\u201d at issue in that case, City of Asheville,_N.C. App. at_, 777 S.E.2d at 98. In addition, the Court of Appeals distinguished City of New Bern, 338 N.C. at 437-38, 450 S.E.2d at 739-40, Idol, 233 N.C. at 733, 65 S.E.2d at 315, and Sams v. Board of County Commissioners, 217 N.C. 284,285, 7 S.E.2d 540, 541 (1940), on the grounds that they \u201cdeal[t] with legislation that empowers a political subdivision with authority to enforce health regulations in a county\u201d while the legislation at issue in this case \u201cdoes not empower anyone to enforce health regulations\u201d or \u201cimpose any health regulations on the Asheville Water System,\u201d City of Asheville,_N.C. App. at_, 777 S.E.2d at 99. Moreover, the Court of Appeals pointed to our decision in Reed, which rejected a challenge to legislation that \u201ccreated sewer districts in Buncombe County,\u201d \u201cbecause the language in the act did not suggest [that health or sanitation was] the act\u2019s purpose\u201d and because the challenged act \u201cmerely sought to create political subdivisions through which sanitary sewer service could be provided.\u201d Id. at _, 111 S.E.2d at 98-99 (citing Reed, 188 N.C. at 42-45, 123 S.E. at 479-82). Finally, the Court of Appeals concluded that our decision in Lamb v. Board of Education, 235 N.C. 377, 70 S.E.2d 201 (1952), which invalidated a statute that \u201cimposed a duty on the Randolph County Board of Education to provide \u2018a sewerage system and an adequate water supply\u2019 for its schools\u201d because it \u201crelat[ed] to health and sanitation\u201d given \u201cthat \u2018its sole purpose\u2019 was to make sure that school children in Randolph County had access to \u2018healthful conditions\u2019 while at school,\u201d did not support the City\u2019s position given the directness with which the statute addressed health and sanitation issues. City of Asheville, _ N.C. App. at _, 777 S.E.2d at 99 (quotingLamb, 235 N.C. at 379, 70 S.E.2d at 203). Thus, the Court of Appeals concluded that its decision was fully consistent with this Court\u2019s precedent concerning the proper application of Article II, Section 24(a)(1) of the North Carolina Constitution.\nThe City claims that the Court of Appeals utilized an overly narrow construction of Article II, Section 24 of the North Carolina Constitution that conflicted with its purpose, ignored the distinction between \u201c[Relating to\u201d and \u201cregulat[ing],\u201d and employed a \u201c \u2018regulation\u2019 standard\u201d stemming from our decision in Reed in preference to the approach utilized in our more recent decisions. In addition, the City asserts that the Court of Appeals\u2019 decision conflicts with three lines of decisions from this Court, including (1) a line of decisions, such as Drysdale, City of New Bern, and Lamb, that hold that water and sewer services are inherently related to health and sanitation; (2) a line of cases, such as City of New Bern, Idol, Board of Health v. Board of Commissioners, 220 N.C. 140, 16 S.E.2d 677 (1941), and Sams, that hold that local laws addressing the governance of health-related services relate to health and sanitation; and (3) a line of cases, such as City of New Bern and Williams, that indicate that the \u201cpractical effect\u201d of challenged legislation must be considered in determining whether the act involves one of the prohibited subjects specified in Article II, Section 24(1). On the other hand, the State contends that the analysis employed by the Court of Appeals is firmly grounded in our decision in Reed, which remains good law, and that Lamb merely establishes that an act involving water and sewer services relates to health and sanitation if it does nothing other than to prescribe the manner in which sewer and water service is provided. In addition, the State contends that the Court of Appeals\u2019 decision, rather than impermissibly narrowing the term \u201c[r]elating to,\u201d correctly focused upon the purpose of the Act, which, in the State\u2019s view, was intended to work a change in the governance of the City\u2019s water system. Once again, we find the City\u2019s argument persuasive.\nIn concluding that the legislation is not unconstitutional because it does not \u201cexpressly state[ ] that its purpose is to regulate health or sanitation\u201d and because \u201cit is [not] plain and clear,\u201d when viewing the Act as a whole, that its \u201cpurpose is to regulate health or sanitation,\u201d the Court of Appeals placed principal reliance upon our decision in Reed. City of Asheville, _ N.C. App. at __, 777 S.E.2d at 98. In Reed, we considered whether legislation that established a procedure pursuant to which the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners could create sanitary districts for the purpose of providing water and sewer service in rural areas of the county was a local act relating to health, sanitation, and the abatement of nuisances. 188 N.C. at 40-41, 44, 123 S.E. at 479-80, 481. Although this Court upheld the legislation because it was not a local law and did not relate to health and sanitation because it did \u201cnot state that its purpose [was] to regulate sanitary matters, or to regulate health or abate nuisances\u201d and was, instead, intended \u201cto provide districts in Buncombe County wherein sanitary sewers or sanitary measures may be provided in rural districts,\u201d id. at 44, 123 S.E. at 481, the second of these two holdings was substantially limited four years later in Drysdale, 195 N.C. at 726-28, 143 S.E. at 532-33, in which this Court invalidated a statute that created a single, special sanitary district in Henderson County as an impermissible local act. In reaching this result, Drysdale distinguished Reed on the grounds that the legislation at issue in that case \u201capplied generally to the entire county of Buncombe.\u201d Drysdale, 195 N.C. at 728, 143 S.E. at 533. While the State contends that this Court\u2019s decision in Town of Kenilworth v. Hyder, 197 N.C. 85, 147 S.E. 736 (1929), treats the \u201chealth and sanitation\u201d holding in Reed \u201cwith unambiguous approval,\u201d we decline to read Hyder that expansively given that it did not utilize the regulation standard employed in Reed; looked to Reed for the primary purpose of noting that the relevant sanitary district had been established pursuant to the legislation that had been challenged in that earlier case; and stated, in essence, that, since the legislation at issue in Hyder was little more than a continuation of the legislation at issue in Reed and since the legislation at issue in Reed had been upheld by this Court, there was \u201cno convincing reason\u201d for concluding that the legislation at issue in Hyder constituted a prohibited local act. Id. at 89, 147 S.E. at 738 (citations omitted). As a result, Reed provides no basis for a determination that the legislation does not relate to health and sanitation.\nIn addition, while the stated purpose of the legislation is undoubtedly relevant to the determination of whether a local law violates Article II, Section 24(a), our recent precedent clearly indicates that the practical effect of the legislation is pertinent to, and perhaps determinative of, the required constitutional inquiry. E.g., Williams, 357 N.C. at 189, 581 S.E.2d at 429 (concluding that, while \u201cthe record demonstrates that. . . the intent of the enabling legislation and the Ordinance [enacted pursuant to the authority granted by the challenged legislation] is to prohibit discrimination in the workplace, the effect of these enactments is to govern the labor practices of [certain businesses] in Orange County\u201d); City of New Bern, 338 N.C. at 434-42, 450 S.E.2d at 737-42 (concluding that the challenged legislation, which shifted the responsibility for enforcing the State Building Code with respect to certain buildings from the City of New Bern to Craven County, constituted unconstitutional local acts related to health and sanitation). As a result, the approach adopted by the Court of Appeals for determining whether the legislation constituted an impermissible local law relating to health and sanitation departs from that required by our precedents, properly understood.\nAdmittedly, this Court has not, to date, clearly indicated when a local act does and does not \u201crelate\u201d to a prohibited subject for purposes of Article II, Section 24. Although \u201crelated\u201d can be defined as \u201c[c]onnected in some way; having a relationship to or with something else,\u201d Related, Black\u2019s Law Dictionary (10th ed. 2014), we cannot conclude that the existence of a tangential or incidental connection between the challenged legislation and health and sanitation is sufficient to trigger the prohibition worked by Article II, Section 24(l)(a) of the North Carolina Constitution. On the other hand, we recognize that, as a purely textual matter, \u201crelating to\u201d is not equivalent to \u201cregulating.\u201d Compare N.C. Const, art. II, \u00a7 24(1)(a) (\u201c[Relating to health, sanitation, and the abatement of nuisances\u201d), with id. art. II, \u00a7 24(1)(j) (\u201c[r]egulating labor, trade, mining, or manufacturing\u201d); see generally Williams, 357 N.C. at 189, 581 S.E.2d at 429 (defining \u201cregulate\u201d as \u201c \u2018to govern or direct according to rule[,] ... to bring under [ ] control of law or constituted authority\u2019 \u201d (quoting State v. Gulledge, 208 N.C. 204, 208, 179 S.E. 883, 886 (1935) (ellipsis in original),' (quoted in Cheape v. Town of Chapel Hill, 320 N.C. 549, 559, 359 S.E.2d 792, 798 (1987) (applying that definition of \u201cregulate\u201d to Article II, Section 24(1)(j))). As a result, in light of the relevant constitutional language and the import of our prior decisions interpreting and applying the prohibition set out in Article II, Section 24 of the North Carolina Constitution, the ultimate issue that we must decide in this case is whether, in light of its stated purpose and practical effect, the legislation has a material, but not exclusive or predominant, connection to issues involving health, sanitation, and the abatement of nuisances.\nIn view of the fact that \u201c[p]ure water is the very life of a people,\u201d Drysdale, 195 N.C. at 732, 143 S.E. at 535, and the broad interpretation that this Court has given to Article II, Section 24(l)(a) since Reed, we have no hesitation in concluding that the legislation impermissibly relates to health and sanitation. As an initial matter, we note that the stated purpose of the legislation is to \u201cprovide reliable, cost-effective, high-quality water and sewer services\u201d to affected customers. Ch. 50, pmbl., 2013 N.C. Sess. Laws at 118. Although the State contends that the purpose-related language contained in the legislation implicates issues such as customer service rather than the healthfulness of the water that is provided to customers for cooking, cleaning, and personal consumption, the substantiality of the relationship between the purity of the water that customers receive and the quality of service provided to water customers is beyond serious dispute. Thus, the stated purpose for the enactment of the legislation demonstrates the existence of a material connection between the reason for its enactment and issues involving public health and sanitation.\nAn analysis of the practical effect of the legislation reinforces the strength of the connection between the issues addressed in the legislation and public health and sanitation. As an initial matter, we note that the City, in the course of operating its water system, is required to ensure compliance with the North Carolina Drinking Water Act, N.C.G.S. \u00a7\u00a7 130A-311 to -329 (2015), which appears in a chapter of the General Statutes entitled \u201cPublic Health\u201d (Chapter 130A) and which is intended \u201cto regulate water systems within the State which supply drinking water that may affect the public health,\u201d id. \u00a7 130A-312. In view of the fact that the City\u2019s water system is a \u201cpublic water system\u201d for purposes of the North Carolina Drinking Water Act, see id. \u00a7 130A-313(10), the City must show compliance with the North Carolina Drinking Water Act and related regulations in order to obtain approval from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality for the construction, alteration, and additions to water system facilities, see id. \u00a7 130A-317 (c), (d); Asheville, N.C., Code of Ordinances, ch. 21 (2016). In addition, the City is required to ensure that its water treatment operators are certified pursuant to N.C.G.S. \u00a7\u00a7 90A-20 to 90A-32 in order to \u201cprotect the public health and to conserve and protect the water resources of the State.\u201d N.C.G.S. \u00a7 90A-20 (2015). Finally, the City is required to provide annual reports concerning the source and quality of the water that it provides to its customers, including the existence of any identified risks to human health stemming from consumption of the water provided by its system. See 40 C.F.R. \u00a7\u00a7 141.151-.155 (2016). As aresult, consistent with its stated purpose, the legislation has material health and sanitation effects.\nThe fact that the legislation changes the governance of the City\u2019s water system does not operate to remove it from the prohibition worked by Article II, Section 24(l)(a) of the North Carolina Constitution. As we have clearly held, a local act that shifts responsibility for enforcing health and safety regulations from one entity to another clearly relates to health and sanitation. E.g., City of New Bern, 338 N.C. at 440, 450 S.E.2d at 741 (invalidating local legislation that shifted responsibility for enforcing the State Building Code with respect to certain buildings from the City of New Bern to Craven County given that \u201cthe Building Code Council\u2019s stated purposes for the different inspections under the Code evince an intent to protect the health of the general public,\u201d that \u201c[t]he Code regulates plumbing in an effort to maintain sanitary conditions,\u201d and that \u201cenforcement of the fire regulations protects lives from fire, explosion and health hazards\u201d); see also Idol, 233 N.C. at 733, 65 S.E.2d at 315 (finding it clear \u201cbeyond peradventure\u201d that legislation authorizing the consolidation of the Winston-Salem and Forsyth County health departments and providing for the appointment of a joint city-county board for administering- the public health laws in the affected jurisdictions was a prohibited \u201clocal act relating to health\u201d); Bd. of Health v. Bd. of Gomm\u2019rs, 220 N.C. at 143, 16 S.E.2d at 679 (emphasizing this Court\u2019s \u201ccommit[ment] to the proposition that a law affecting the selection of officers to whom is given the duty of administering the health laws is a law \u2018relating to health\u2019 \u201d in the course of invalidating a local law requiring that the county health officer appointed by the county board of health be confirmed by the Nash County Board of Commissioners) (citing Sams, 217 N.C. 284, 7 S.E.2d at 540)). As a result, given the fact that the legislation works a change in the governance of the City\u2019s water system, our prior decisions reinforce, rather than undercut, our conclusion that the legislation impermissibly relates to health and sanitation in violation of Article II, Section 24(1)(a) of the North Carolina Constitution.\nAs the State and our dissenting colleague note, Article VII, Section 1 of the North Carolina Constitution provides, in pertinent part, that\n[t]he General Assembly shall provide for the organization and government and the fixing of boundaries of counties, cities and towns, and other governmental subdivisions, and, except as otherwise prohibited by this Constitution, may give such powers and duties to counties, cities and towns, and other governmental subdivisions as it may deem advisable.\nN.C. Const. art. VII, \u00a7 1. Although North Carolina is not a home rule jurisdiction, and although our constitution, consistent with the language of this provision, gives the General Assembly exceedingly broad authority over the \u201cpowers and duties\u201d delegated to local governments, id., that authority is subject to limitations imposed by other constitutional provisions. Aside from the fact that the legislation does not actually prohibit the City from operating a water system, the General Assembly\u2019s authority over the \u201cpowers and duties\u201d delegated to local governments is expressly subject to the limitations set out in Article II, Section 24, which \u201cis the fundamental law of the State and may not be ignored.\u201d High Point Surplus Co., 264 N.C. at 656, 142 S.E.2d at 702. As a result, for all these reasons, we reverse the Court of Appeals\u2019 decision and instruct that court to reinstate the trial court\u2019s order granting summary judgment in favor of the City.\nREVERSED.\n. As of June 2014, the City\u2019s water system consisted of a sizeable watershed; two impoundments; three water treatment plants; 29 treated water storage reservoirs; 1,661 miles of transmission and distribution lines; at least 40 pump stations; and certain intangible assets, including, but not limited to, approximately 147 trained and certified employees, numerous licenses, wholesale water supply contracts, contracts for the supply of goods and services, and revenue accounts containing more than $2,218,000.00 that are held for the purpose of ensuring repayment of outstanding bonded indebtedness.\n. Although some of the assets of Asheville\u2019s water system were, at one time, owned by Buncombe County, the County conveyed its interest in those assets to the City on 15 May 2012.\n. Although the Metropolitan Sewerage District has been joined as a party defendant in this case, it has not taken a position with respect to the merits of any of the claims asserted in the City\u2019s pleadings.\n. The first six sentences of Chapter 50 of the 2013 North Carolina Session Laws are titled Sections 1(a) through 1(f). Chapter 388 of the 2013 Session Laws added Section 1(g). The parties regularly referred to these seven sections as simply \u201cSection 1.\u201d\n. The enforcement of Section 1 of the legislation has been enjoined throughout the course of this litigation.\n. The City predicated its amended impairment of contract claim upon both Article I, Section 10 of the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 19 of the North Carolina Constitution.\n. Although the trial court did not directly reference the City\u2019s claim pursuant to N.C.G.S. \u00a7 169-93, it did not address this claim either.\n. The State has not sought review of the Court of Appeals\u2019 decision with respect to the standing issue.\n. On the basis of a similar analysis, the Court of Appeals concluded that \u201c[t]here is nothing in the... Act which suggests that its purpose is to address some concern regarding a non-navigable stream.\u201d Id. at _, 777 S.E.2d at 98. The City has not requested review of this aspect of the Court of Appeals\u2019 decision.\n. The City has not sought review by this Court of the Court of Appeals\u2019 decision to reject its due process and equal protection claims.\n. Although we need not reach the issue of whether the Corut of Appeals erred by apparently holding that the City had waived the right to have the claims that it had asserted pursuant to the contract clauses and N.C.G.S. \u00a7 169-93 considered on remand by failing to assert those claims as an alternative basis for upholding the trial court\u2019s order pursuant to Rule 10(c) of the North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure, we disavow that holding in order to avoid confusion in subsequent cases. Simply put, nothing in the relevant provisions of the North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure or any of our prior cases requires an appellee to challenge legal decisions that the trial court declined to make on the grounds that the case could be fully resolved on some other basis on appeal pursuant to Rule 10(c) of the North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure at the risk of losing the right to assert those claims at a later time.\n. At the time of its original adoption, the language now contained in Article II, Section 24 appeared in Article n, Section 29.\n. The record clearly establishes that none of the municipal water systems located in the territory in which the Bay River Metropolitan Sewerage District operates have any prospect of serving the requisite number of customers in the foreseeable future.\n. As the City points out, the law at issue in Lamb did not require the County Board of Education to provide water and sewer services to public school children and to ensure the provision of healthful conditions for Randolph County school children. Instead, the law \u201cpurported] to limit the power of the County Board of Education to provide for sanitation and healthful conditions in the schools by means of a sewerage system and an adequate water supply,\u201d Lamb, 235 N.C. at 379, 70 S.E.2d at 203, by prohibiting the County Board of Education \u201cfrom expending \u2018in excess of two thousand dollars ($2,000.00) under any one project or contract for the purpose of extending any public or private water or sewer system so that such extended system will serve any public school in Randolph County\u2019 \u201d absent approval by a majority of voters at a special election, id. at 379, 70 S.E.2d at 203 (quoting Act of Apr. 14, 1951, ch. 1075, sec. 1, 1951 N.C. Sess. Laws 1079).\n. In spite of the fact that the Court of Appeals expressed uncertainty about the prohibited subject to which the statute at issue in Drysdale \u201crelated,\u201d it is clear from our opinion that the statute in question was deemed to impermissibly relate to health and sanitation, which is how subsequent opinions of this Court have understood that decision. E.g., Gaskill v. Costlow, 270 N.C. 686, 688, 155 S.E.2d 148, 149 (1967); Sams, 217 N.C. at 285, 7 S.E.2d at 541.\n. The only time that this Court has rejected a claim that a local law impermissibly \u201crelated to\u201d health and sanitation after Reed occurred in Piedmont Ford Truck Sale, Inc. v. City of Greensboro, 324 N.C. 499, 380 S.E.2d 107 (1989), in which we held that a local act obligating the City of Greensboro to provide solid waste collection to newly annexed areas did not relate to health and sanitation given that the \u201ceffect\u201d of the local act was to make a general law of statewide application applicable to an annexation being effectuated by the adoption of a local act and given that the Challenged legislation did not \u201csubject the annexed area to a different treatment than\u201d would have been the case if Greensboro \u201chad annexed the area under the general annexation law.\u201d Id. at 506,380 S.E.2d at 111.\n. Although the Court of Appeals reasoned, in reliance upon its 2008 decision in Asheville I, that a provision in the legislation at issue here allowing for the discontinuance of water and sewer services by a metropolitan water and sewerage district for nonpayment \u201cbelies [the City\u2019s] argument that the purpose of the [legislation] relates to health and sanitation,\u201d City of Asheville,_N.C. App. at_, 777 S.E.2d at 98, we do not find this argument persuasive. A careful analysis of the Sullivan Acts reveals that each of them was intended to address economic, rather than health and sanitation, issues given that they prohibited the City from charging higher extraterritorial rates, required the City to place funds derived from its water system in a separate account, and precluded the City from transferring monies derived from the operation of the water system to any fund that was not related to the operation and maintenance of the system. Asheville I, 192 N.C. App. at 36-39, 665 S.E.2d at 127-30.\n. The legislation cannot be properly understood as nothing more than an exercise of the General Assembly\u2019s plenary authority to create new units of local government. Instead of simply creating a new unit of local government, the General Assembly took a number of actions in the legislation, including creating the Metropolitan Water and Sewerage District through a repurposing of the Metropolitan Sewerage District and effectively eliminating the City\u2019s ability to operate its existing water system. In similar instances, such as Idol, 233 N.C. at 733, 65 S.E.2d at 315, which involved legislation creating a joint city-county board of health, and Sams, 217 N.C. at 285-86, 7 S.E.2d at 541, which involved legislation creating a county board of health, this Court invalidated the challenged legislation as impermissible local laws relating to health and sanitation even though the legislation at issue in those cases involved the creation of new units of local government like the one at issue here.\n. In view of our conclusion that the legislation is an unconstitutional local law relating to health and sanitation, we need not address the City\u2019s challenge to the Court of Appeals\u2019 holding that the legislation did not result in a compensable talcing and express no opinion'concerning its correctness.\n. Although the General Assembly has, in the past, enacted legislation authorizing various units of local government to operate systems for the provision of water service, we do not believe that our decision in this case in any way impairs the ability of the affected units of local government to operate their water systems in a lawful manner. Aside from the fact that we do not know whether such legislation could be properly characterized as local, rather than general, in nature or relates to health and sanitation under the test that we have deemed appropriate in this case and the fact that the legislation in question appears to have allowed the initial provision of water service rather than requiring the reallocation of the responsibility for providing water and sewer service from one entity of local government to another, the current effect of any such legislation would be to allow the affected unit of local government to do what has otherwise been authorized by general legislation, an outcome which this Court held did not result in a violation of Article n, Section 24 in Piedmont Ford Truck Sale, 324 N.C. at 502, 380 S.E.2d at 111.", "type": "majority", "author": "ERVIN, Justice." }, { "text": "Justice NEWBY\ndissenting.\nThroughout our history, when communities needed a governmental provision of water and sewer services, the General Assembly, by local act, would grant a local government unit the authority to act. Here the majority\u2019s holding ignores this historic constitutional understanding of the plenary authority of the General Assembly to oversee local government subdivisions and create new ones when necessary. Our history and our constitution recognize this plenary authority is necessary because the General Assembly is uniquely situated to oversee local government and address changing needs. Now the Court brings uncertainty as to whether there are any lawfully established water or sewer districts in North Carolina. Even assuming the legislation at issue is a local act, the legislature first gave the City of Asheville, and countless other municipalities across our State, its water district by local act. If it is unlawful to modify that district by local act, then it was unlawful to establish it by local act initially. The majority\u2019s complicated analysis casts this Court in the ill-suited role of legislating which local governmental authorities shall govern various water and sewer services. Because the General Assembly exercises its plenary authority in creating a water and sewer district, its action is constitutional. Accordingly, I respectfully dissent.\nThis Court presumes that legislation is constitutional absent an express constitutional prohibition on the legislature\u2019s otherwise plenary police power and until its unconstitutionality is plainly and clearly demonstrated beyond a reasonable doubt. E.g., Hart v. State, 368 N.C. 122, 126, 774 S.E.2d 281, 284 (2015); see also Kornegay v. City of Goldsboro, 180 N.C. 441, 445, 105 S.E. 187, 189 (1920) (\u201c[CJourts always presume[,] in the first place[,] that the act is constitutional... [and] that the Legislature acted with integrity and with an honest purpose to keep within the restrictions and limitations laid down by the Constitution.\u201d (quoting Lowery v. Bd. of Graded Sch. Trs., 140 N.C. 33, 40, 52 S.E. 267, 269 (1905)). The presumptive constitutional power of the General Assembly to act is consistent with the principle that a restriction on the General Assembly is in fact a restriction on the people. See Baker v. Martin, 330 N.C. 331, 336-37, 410 S.E.2d 887, 890 (1991). Thus, this Court is powerless to review an act of the people through the General Assembly for its political propriety so long as it reasonably relates to the need sought to be remedied and falls within legislative discretion. Greensboro-High Point Airport Auth. v. Johnson, 226 N.C. 1, 8, 36 S.E.2d 803, 809 (1946).\nThe General Assembly has long enjoyed plenary power to create political subdivisions of local government, and this authority has been reaffirmed with each adoption of our state constitution. N.C. Const. art. VII, \u00a7 1; N.C. Const. of 1868, Amends, of 1875, ait. VII, \u00a7 14 (\u201cThe General Assembly shall have full power by statute to modify, change, or abrogate any and all of the provisions\u201d pertaining to municipalities.); id., art. VIII, \u00a7 4 (\u201cIt shall be the duty of the Legislature to provide for the organization of cities, towns and incorporated villages ... .\u201d); see also Report of the North Carolina State Constitution Study Commission 143 (1968) [hereinafter 1968 Constitution Commission Report] (recognizing \u201cthe General Assemblyfs] full power to revise or abolish the form and powers of county and township governments\u201d).\nThe General Assembly creates governmental subdivisions to facilitate local self-government, dividing governing authority between local governmental units that may otherwise compete for jurisdiction. See Hailey v. City of Winston-Salem, 196 N.C. 17, 22, 144 S.E. 377, 380 (1928) (\u201cWhen a new governmental agency is established by the Legislature, such as a municipal corporation, it takes control of all the affairs over which it is given authority, to the exclusion of other governmental agencies.\u201d). Local governmental subdivisions are \u201cparts and parcels of the State, organized for the convenience of local self-government,\u201d People ex rel. Van Bokkelen v. Canaday, 73 N.C. 198, 222 (1875), which the General Assembly may create, organize, abolish, arrange, and rearrange to meet local needs. See also Town of Boone v. State, _ N.C._, _, _ S.E.2d _, _ (2016) (No. 93A15-2); Holmes v. City of Fayetteville, 197 N.C. 740, 746, 150 S.E. 624, 627 (1929) (recognizing municipalities as \u201cmere instrumentalities of the State for the more convenient administration of local government\u201d), appeal dismissed per curiam, 281 U.S. 700, 50 S. Ct. 353, 74 L. Ed. 1126 (1930).\nMoreover, the legislature can create \u201cseparate corporate agencies] to serve [ ] particular governmental purposes\u201d and \u201ccall upon them to perform such functions as the Legislature may deem best.\u201d Johnson, 226 N.C. at 9-10, 36 S.E.2d at 809 (citing Brockenbrough v. Bd. of Water Comm\u2019rs, 134 N.C. 1, 17, 46 S.E. 28, 33 (1903)). \u201cA municipality acting in its governmental capacity is an agency of the State for the better government of those residing within its corporate limits . . . .\u201d Candler v. City of Asheville, 247 N.C. 398, 406, 101 S.E.2d 470, 476 (1958); see also McCormac v. Commr\u2019s of Robeson Gty., 90 N.C. 441, 444 (1884) (\u201c[I]t is within the power and is the province of the legislature to . . . invest the inhabitants .. . with corporate functions, more or less extensive and varied in their character, for the purposes of government....\u201d). The General Assembly is the political body designated to oversee local government and to make necessary modifications as local conditions change. In organizing local government, and making necessary modifications, the General Assembly must weigh competing local interests and needs. Ultimately, the legislature alone must determine the propriety of changes in local government by exercising its political judgment.\nThis broad historic power of the General Assembly, acknowledged by our case law, has remained unchanged and is now expressly incorporated into Article VII, Section 1 of our current constitution, adopted in 1971:\nThe General Assembly shall provide for the organization and government and the fixing of boundaries of counties, cities and towns, and other governmental subdivisions, and, except as otherwise prohibited by this Constitution, may give such powers and duties to counties, cities and towns, and other governmental subdivisions as it may deem advisable.\nN.C. Const, art. VII, \u00a7 1. As such, Article VII, Section 1 \u201cis not a delegation of power to the General Assembly\u201d but \u201ca general description\u201d and \u201cmerely a recognition\u201d of \u201cthe General Assembly\u2019s power to provide for the organization and powers of local government,\u201d 1968 Constitution Commission Report 85, as affirmed in the 1875 amendment, which \u201cgave the General Assembly full power to revise or abolish the form and powers of county and township governments,\u201d id. at 143.\nBy its plain meaning, the text of the first clause, \u201c [t]he General Assembly shall provide for the organization and government and the fixing of boundaries of counties, cities and towns, and other governmental subdivisions,\u201d mandates the statutory creation and structuring of local governmental subdivisions. See State v. Webb, 358 N.C. 92, 97, 591 S.E.2d 505, 510-11 (2004) (The constitution is construed for its plain meaning.); see also Dunn v. Pac. Emp\u2019rs Ins. Co., 332 N.C. 129, 134, 418 S.E.2d 645, 648 (1992) (Ordinary rules of grammar apply.). \u201cOrganization\u201d means something \u201cput together into an orderly, functional, [and] structured whole.\u201d Organize, The American Heritage Dictionary 926 (new coll, ed. 1979). \u201cGovernment\u201d is defined as \u201c[t]he act or process of governing; especially, the administration of public policy in a political unit; political jurisdiction.\u201d Government, id. at 570. The \u201cfixing of boundaries\u201d means establishing borders or limits. See Fix and Boundary, id. at 497, 156. \u201cOther governmental subdivisions\u201d includes a \u201cspecial-purpose district or authority,\u201d Local Government, Black\u2019s Law Dictionary (10th ed. 2014), such as an administrative water district, operated in compliance with principles, rules, and regulations, see id. (listing examples of local government units). Thus, the plain meaning of the phrase \u201corganization and government and the fixing of boundaries\u201d embraces the creation, expansion, retraction, and dissolution of all forms of local government, including \u201cother governmental subdivisions.\u201d\nOur case law has historically treated \u201cother governmental subdivisions\u201d similarly to traditional political subdivisions. See Town of Saluda v. Polk County, 207 N.C. 180, 186, 176 S.E. 298, 301-02 (1934) (\u201c[T]he legislature alone can create, directly or indirectly, counties, townships, school districts, road districts, and the like subdivisions,... to effectuate the purposes of the government.... Such organizations are intended to be instrumentalities and agencies employed to aid in the administration of the government, and are always under the control of the power that created them, unless the same shall be restricted by some constitutional limitation.\u201d (quoting McCormac, 90 N.C. at 444-45)); see also N.C.G.S. \u00a7 162A-65 (2015) (defining \u201cpolitical subdivision\u201d for purposes of water and sewer authorities as \u201cany county, city, town, incorporated village, sanitary district, water district, sewer district, special purpose district or other political subdivision,\u201d id. \u00a7 162A-65(a)(8), and \u201cgoverning body\u201d as \u201cthe board, commission, council or other body... of a political subdivision in which the general legislative powers ... of such political subdivision are exercised,\u201d id. \u00a7 162A-65(a)(6)). As such, the text of the first clause of Article VII, Section 1 contemplates the legislative creation of local governmental subdivisions, along with counties, cities, and towns, without constitutional limitation.\nThe second clause of Article VII, Section 1 concerns the authority of the General Assembly to confer specific \u201cpowers and duties\u201d on local governmental units. Unlike the first clause, the second clause in Article VII, Section 1 includes an express limitation; namely, it prohibits any legislative delegation of \u201cpowers and duties\u201d to local governmental units that is \u201cotherwise prohibited by this Constitution.\u201d Only under the second clause, then, is the General Assembly\u2019s authority over local governments expressly subject to limitations imposed by other constitutional provisions, including the constraints on local acts listed in Article II, Section 24 first adopted in 1917. For example, under the Article II, Section 24 prohibition on certain local acts, the General Assembly cannot grant to one county the power to enact local employment legislation, see Williams v. Blue Cross Blue Shield of N.C., 357 N.C. 170, 191, 581 S.E.2d 415, 430 (2003), or remove a city\u2019s power to enforce certain ordinances regarding specific properties within its municipal limits, see City of New Bern v. New Bern-Craven Cty. Bd. of Educ., 338 N.C. 430, 442, 450 S.E.2d 735, 742 (1994). See also Town of Boone, _ N.C. at _, _ S.E.2d at _.\nThe question before this Court is whether the legislation at issue, Act of May 2, 2013, ch. 50, 2013 N.C. Sess. Laws 118 (the District Act), which creates a new regional district to govern water and sewer services within certain areas of Buncombe and Henderson Counties, is an exercise of the General Assembly\u2019s plenary authority to \u201cprovide for the organization and government and the fixing of boundaries\u201d of local government under the first clause of Article VII, Section 1 or whether it confers specific \u201cpowers and duties\u201d on a local governmental unit under the second clause. If the General Assembly\u2019s action creating the regional water and sewer district arises under its plenary authority recognized in the first clause of Article VII, Section 1, the analysis ends, and there is no need to address the application of the second clause and any restrictions imposed by Article II, Section 24.\nAs admitted by the City, the District Act creates a new political subdivision. Moreover, the statutory text of the District Act provides for the organization and government of that new political subdivision. The stated purpose of the District Act is to enhance services to users by creating a regional water and sewer system to \u201cprovide reliable, cost-effective, high-quality water and sewer services.\u201d Ch. 50,2013 N.C. Sess. Laws at 118 (emphasis added). Creating this type of local governmental subdivision to enhance water and sewer services falls squarely within the legislature\u2019s plenary power as described in the first clause of Article VII, Section 1, and thus the District Act is constitutional.\nInitially established by local act in 1883, the City\u2019s public water \u201csystem currently serves approximately 124,000 customers, some 48,000 of whom are located outside Asheville\u2019s city limits\u201d in portions of Buncombe and Henderson Counties. See N.C.G.S. \u00a7 160A-312(a) (2015) (authorizing a city to operate a water supply and distribution system inside and \u201coutside its corporate limits, within reasonable limitations\u201d). In 2013 the General Assembly created a new local governmental subdivision to provide regional water and sewer services to the City and those portions of Buncombe and Henderson Counties. Ch. 50, 2013 N.C. Sess. Laws 118 (captioned \u201cAn Act to Promote the Provision of Regional Water and Sewer Services by Transferring Ownership and Operation of Certain Public Water and Sewer Systems to a Metropolitan Water and Sewerage District.\u201d).\nThe \u201ctransfer provision\u201d regionalizes water and sewer services by combining the City\u2019s public water system with the Metropolitan Sewerage District operating in the same county to form a new governmental subdivision. The transfer provision provides in part: \u201cAll assets, real and personal, tangible and intangible, and all outstanding debts ... are by operation of law transferred to the metropolitan sewerage district operating in the county where the public water system is located, to be operated as a Metropolitan Water and Sewerage District.Id., sec. 1(a), at 118. All assets and all outstanding debts of both the City\u2019s water system and the Metropolitan Sewerage District transfer to the new regional district. Id., sec. 1(b)-(c), (f), at 119. The transfer between the City and the Metropolitan Sewerage District occurs by operation of law because both systems operate in the same county and meet certain criteria. See id., sec. 1(a)-(f), at 118-19.\nBy its terms and stated purpose, the District Act creates a regional governance solution for water and sewer systems and defines a \u201cmetropolitan water and sewerage district\u201d as apolitical subdivision and deems it \u201ca public body... exercising ... essential governmental functions to provide for the preservation and promotion of the public health and welfare.\u201d Id., sec. 2, at 121. The newly created regional district combines the authority of the previously separate water and sewer districts \u201c[t]o do all acts and things necessary or convenient to carry out the powers granted by this Article.\u201d Id. at 122. Overall, the regional district operates with the same power as a city in enforcing its ordinances, and the district board may not privatize its water and sewer services. See id.\nLikewise, the District Act amends N.C.G.S. \u00a7 162A-85.3 to provide for the organization and governance of metropolitan water and sewerage districts like the one created here, including a governing board with regional representation. Id. at 120-21. The District Act requires the regional district board to work with local municipalities under its jurisdiction for the benefit of the district. The district board performs administrative tasks such as fixing rates, fees, rents, and other charges for the services furnished or to be furnished by the district water and sewer system. See id. at 122 (\u201cSuch rates, fees, and charges may not apply differing treatment within and outside the corporate limits of any city or county within the jurisdiction of the district board\u201d and \u201cshall not be subject to supervision or regulation by any... agency of the State or of any political subdivision.\u201d). In sum, as admitted by the City, the act creates a new \u201cgovernmental subdivision\u201d and provides for the \u201corganization and government\u201d thereof.\nThe broad constitutional authority acknowledged in the text of the first clause of Article VII, Section 1 clearly affirms the legislature\u2019s ability to create and organize political subdivisions to meet changing needs, resolve disputes between local governments, and provide new governance solutions. The General Assembly\u2019s constitutional authority to do so remains even if its solution combines, divides, or regional-izes the political power of preexisting subdivisions that once governed local issues. Here it seems the General Assembly, in its discretion and in accordance with the District Act\u2019s stated purpose, finds regional governance over certain water systems will ensure high quality water and sewer services.\nThe role of the legislature is to balance the weight to be afforded to disparate interests and to forge a workable compromise among those interests. The role of the Court is not to sit as a super legislature and second-guess the balance struck by the elected officials . . . [but] only to measure the balance struck by the legislature against the required minimum standards of the constitution.\nHenry v. Edmisten, 315 N.C. 474, 491, 340 S.E.2d 720, 731 (1986). The General Assembly\u2019s policy decision here falls within legislative discretion and, as an exercise of legislative authority under the first clause of Article VII, Section 1, does not implicate the constitutional constraints described in Article II, Section 24.\nAssuming the District Act is a local act as held by the majority, notably the legislature first created a water district for Asheville by local act. When creating and organizing political subdivisions under its plenary power as recognized in the first clause of Article VII, Section 1, the legislature often must address the local needs and competing political pressures of a geographic area. See Town of Boone, _ N.C. at _, __ S.E.2d at_. If, as the majority declares, creating and organizing a new water and sewer district is unconstitutional, would not the original act establishing Asheville\u2019s water district also be unconstitutional? The need to organize water and/or s\u00e9wer systems arose in localities across the state at different times. The General Assembly authorized various units of local government or created new ones to meet those needs as they arose or changed. Under the majority\u2019s reasoning, all of the locally legislated and similarly empowered districts would have been illegally created. If the creation of a local governmental subdivision, as in the District Act, is scrutinized under the second clause of Article VII, Section 1, all such water and sewer districts would receive the same review if challenged, and would be struck down as prohibited local acts. Moreover, the majority, in contravention of our heightened standard for reviewing the constitutionality of legislative acts, presumes the legislature enacted the District Act in bad faith and that its enactment will result in poor local governance. See Komegay, 180 N.C. at 446, 105 S.E. at 189 (presuming \u201cthe Legislature acted with integrity and with an honest purpose to keep within the restrictions and limitations laid down by the Constitution\u201d).\nThe General Assembly is the only body politic with the oversight and authority to create and organize local political subdivisions in its discretion. It alone has the ability to resolve local governance disputes such as those undergirding the litigious past of the water system at issue.\nSpanning almost a century, legislation and litigation chronicle the strained relationship between the City of Asheville\u2019s water system and its County water customers. See Act of Apr. 28, 1933 (Sullivan I), ch. 399, 1933 N.C. Pub.-Locai [Sess.] Laws 376 (captioned \u201cAn Act to Regulate Charges Made by the City of Asheville for Water Consumed in Buncombe County Water Districts\u201d); Candler, 247 N.C. at 411, 101 S.E.2d at 479 (recognizing the legislature\u2019s power to prevent by statute the City of Asheville from charging certain county residents higher rates than it charged to city residents). After several amendments and rein-statements of the joint agreement between the City and the County that was first established in 1981, that agreement ended in 2004, ultimately leaving the City with ownership and control of the water system. Again, it seems the parties soon after resorted to the legislature and the courts. See Act of June 29, 2005 (Sullivan II), ch. 140, 2005 N.C. Sess. Laws 244 (captioned \u201cAn Act Regarding Water Rates in Buncombe County\u201d); Act of June 29, 2005 (Sullivan III), ch. 130, 2005 N.C. Sess. Laws 243 (captioned \u201cAn Act Regarding the Operation of Public Enterprises by the City of Asheville\u201d); City of Asheville v. State, 192 N.C. App. 1, 36-37, 665 S.E.2d 103, 128 (2008) (finding that a local act addressing equitable rates \u201cprincipally contemplate[d]\u201d and \u201crelate[d] only to matters which are purely economic in nature . . . rather than prioritizing the system\u2019s health or sanitary conditions\u201d), appeal dismissed and disc. rev. denied, 363 N.C. 123, 672 S.E.2d 685 (2009). The plenary power of the General allows it, not the courts, to craft a resolution of this matter.\nAs acknowledged in the first clause of Article VII, Section 1, the General Assembly has plenary authority, to establish new subdivisions of local government. The General Assembly alone can consider the local competing interests and craft a solution. Such legislative action is not conditioned upon first providing a majority of this Court with satisfactory justification. Johnson, 226 N.C. at 8, 36 S.E.2d at 809 (\u201cWe have no power to review a statute with respect to its political propriety as long as it is within the legislative discretion and has a reasonable relation to the end sought to be accomplished.\u201d). The majority\u2019s holding that a new political subdivision addressing regional problems with the water system violates Article II, Section 24 simply because the legislation involves a water system erases the General Assembly\u2019s historic authority to establish convenient local governmental units acknowledged by the first clause of Article VII, Section 1. The General Assembly\u2019s creating a new local governmental subdivision does not offend the state constitution. This Court should not weigh the wisdom or expediency of a legislative act. Accordingly, I respectfully dissent.\nChief Justice MARTIN joins in this dissenting opinion.\n. Before its express inclusion in the 1868 state constitution, this Court recognized the General Assembly\u2019s historic duty and plenary power to create and abolish political subdivisions of local government. See, e.g., White v. Comm\u2019rs of Chowan Cty., 90 N.C. 437, 438 (1884) (County subdivisions \u201care indeed a necessary part and parcel of the subordinate instrumentalities employed in carrying out the general policy of the state in the administration of government... [and their functions] may be enlarged, abridged, or modified at the will of the legislature . . . [as] they are intended only to be essential aids and political agencies.\u201d); see also Lilly v. Taylor, 88 N.C. 489, 494-95 (1883) (affirming the legislature\u2019s creation and subsequent repeal of the charter of the Town of Fayetteville); Mills v. Williams, 33 N.C. (11 Ired.) 558, 563-64 (1850) (upholding the legislature\u2019s \u201cpower to create and abolish\u201d Polk County).\n. See Town of Boone,_N.C. at_,_S.E.2d at_(Ervin, X, concurring in result) (\u201c[T]he plain language in which the provision in question is couched suggests to me that \u2018organization and government\u2019 refers to the creation of units of local government and the manner in which those units of local government are governed....\u201d).\n. This approach of conducting an Article II, Section 24 analysis only when the challenged statute specifies a specific \u201cpower\u201d or \u201cduty\u201d is consistent with our prior decisions. In Piedmont Ford Truck Sale, Inc. v. City of Greensboro, the plaintiffs challenged a local act annexing certain land to the City of Greensboro. 324 N.C. 499, 501, 380 S.E.2d 107, 108 (1989). While the annexation clearly arose under the authority to \"fix the boundaries of cities\u201d acknowledged in Article VII, Section 1, id. at 503, 380 S.E.2d at 110, because the act also contained a specific \u201cprovision regarding solid waste collection,\u201d the plaintiffs argued the statute violated Article II, Section 24, id. at 504, 380 S.E.2d at 110. Because the statute specified a particular \u201cpower,\u201d this Court conducted an analysis under-Article H. Id. at 504-06, 380 S.E.2d at 110-11. When viewed as a whole, the explicit grant of power was a \u201csmall part\u201d of the legislation, id. at 506,380 S.E.2d at 111, and this Court concluded that \u201c[t]he provision... regarding solid waste collection\u201d did not violate Article n, Section 24, id. at 506, 380 S.E.2d at 111. See also, e.g., Lamb v. Bd. of Educ., 235 N.C. 377, 379-80, 70 S.E.2d 201, 203 (1952) (concluding that an act expressly restricting certain express powers of the Randolph County Board of Education violated the Article It limitations on local acts); Idol v. Street, 233 N.C. 730, 733, 65 S.E.2d 313, 315 (1951) (concluding that an act that \u201cconferred] power upon the Board of Aldermen of the City of Winston-Salem and the Board of Commissioners of Forsyth County\u201d to, inter alia, \u201cname a joint city-county board of health,\u201d which varied from general law, \u201c[wa]s a local act relating to health\u201d in violation of the Article II limitations on local acts); Bd. of Health v. Bd. of Comm\u2019rs, 220 N.C. 140, 143-44, 16 S.E.2d 677, 678-79 (1941) (concluding that an act removing from the Nash County Board of Health the power to appoint a county health officer was a local act relating to health in violation of the Article II limitations on local acts).\n. \u201cAll necessary permits for operation\u201d are also \u201ctransferred to the Metropolitan Water and Sewerage District... to ensure that no current and paid customer loses services due to the regionalization of water and sewer services.\u201d Id., sec. 1(e), at 119. Moreover, the General Trust Indenture, which governs the bonds issued and secured by a pledge of \u201c[a]ll Net Revenues of the Water System,\u201d contemplates a transfer \u201cto another political subdivision or public agency in the State authorized by law to own and operate such systems.\u201d The trustee allows a transfer \u201cif such political subdivision... assumes all of the obligations of the City under this Indenture\u201d and if the transfer does not produce a \u201cmaterial adverse effect on the ability of the Water System to produce Revenues,\" on the bond rating, or with regard to tax treatment. These revenue bonds do not rely upon the City\u2019s taxing power. See also Ch. 60, sec. 2,2013 N.C. Sess. Laws, at 122 (requiring that the rates and fees \u201cpledged to the payment of revenue bonds\u201d be sufficient to maintain the system).\n. Governing bodies of other political subdivisions may establish regional systems by joint resolution. See Ch. 50, sec. 5.5, 2013 N.C. Sess. Laws, at 125 (requiring consent from county commissioners and all municipal governing boards affected before creation of district).\n. The District Act amended the definitions of \u201cunit of local government\u201d and \u201cmunicipality\u201d to include \u201cmetropolitan water and sewerage districts\u201d and added \u201cmetropolitan water and sewerage districts\u201d to the fist of political subdivisions that may borrow money and issue bonds. Ch. 50, sec. 2, 2013 N.C. Sess. Laws, at 119-20; see also N.C.G.S. \u00a7 159-44(4) (2015) (defining a \u201cunit of local government\u201d); id. \u00a7 159-48(e) (2015) (borrowing and bond issuing); id. \u00a7 159-81(1) (2015) (defining a \u201cmunicipality\u201d); id. \u00a7 159-81(3) (2015) (revenue-bond issuing).\n. Generally, the District Act requires that the apportionment of members on the district board be representative of the area serviced while considering population. See Ch. 50, sec. 2, 2013 N.C. Sess. Laws, at 120 (two from each county served); id. (one from each municipality served); id. (two from each municipality served with a population greater than 200,000); id. (one from each county served with a population greater than 200,000); id. (\u201cOne individual from a list submitted by the governing body of a county in which a watershed serving the district board is located in a municipality not served by the district. . . .\u201d); id., at 121 (\u201cOne individual by the governing body of any elected water and sewer district wholly contained within the boundaries of the district.\u201d). \u201c[T]he district board may expand to include other political subdivisions if\u2019 the additional political subdivision \u201cbecome[s] a participant in the district board.\u201d Id.\nThe District Act also sets terms for members and provides procedures for meetings, removal of members, filling vacancies on the district board, and the election and compensation of officers. Id. Until all appointments are made, the district board of the County\u2019s metropolitan sewerage district \u201cshall function as the district board of the Metropolitan Water and Sewerage District.\u201d Id., sec. 1(d), at 119.\n. The District Act outlines the permissible authority for the local governing bodies within the regional district\u2019s jurisdiction. See, e.g., Ch. 50, sec. 2, 2013 N.C. Sess. Laws, at 122-23 (regulating the transfer of jurisdiction from smaller systems to the regional district system for the benefit of the district, contracting with the district, revising rates or collecting taxes to pay obligations to the district, and submitting to its electors agreements with the district). When possible, the district board must coordinate with the local municipalities when constructing any system improvements. Id. at 123.\n. The statutory definition of \u201clocal act\u201d in reference to cities and towns \u201cmeans an act of the General Assembly applying to one or more specific cities by name, or to all cities within one or more specifically named counties.\u201d N.C.G.S. \u00a7 160A-1(5) (2016). The District Act does not refer to the City of Asheville by name.\n. In 1883 the General Assembly appointed the Asheville Committee on Permanent Improvements as trustee to oversee a $20,000 fund provided for \u201cwater supply.\u201d Act of Feb. 28, 1883, ch. 66, sec. 2,1883 N.C. Priv. [Sess.] Laws 752, 753. The legislature followed suit with other municipalities and subdivisions. E.g., Act of Mar. 11, 1889, ch. 219, sec. 105, 1889 N.C. Priv. [Sess.] Laws 899, 924 (appointing the Board of Alderman for City of Greensboro to manage and regulate \u201cwater-works\u201d which \u201cmay be established, or land on which water-pipes are run to and from said works\u201d); id. sec. 107, at 924 (same for \u201csystem of sewerage\u201d); Act of Dec. 20, 1815, ch. XVII, sec. II, 1815 N.C. [Sess.] Laws 18, 18 (empowering and appointing City of Charlotte board of commissioners to \u201cerect pumps or wells\u201d).\nThe General Assembly revised the charter of the City of Asheville to provide for its water authority in 1901, conferring upon the Board of Alderman the power \u201c[t]o provide a sufficient supply of pure water for said city, fix charges and rates therefor, and prescribe rules and regulations governing the use of same,\u201d Act of Mar. 13, 1901, ch. 100, sec. 30, 1901 N.C. Priv. [Sess.] Laws 222, 232, which included \u201cconstruction, operation, repair and control of such water-works,\" id., sec. 66, at 259. The legislature designated a separate subdivision of government, the Board of Health, to take \u201cgeneral charge and supervision of . . . the healthfulness of the water supply.\u201d Id., sec. 32, at 234. In 1923 the General Assembly revised the charter and restructured the local government, empowering a Board of Commissioners to \u201cbuild and construct\u201d waterworks and sewerage systems, Act of Jan. 26, 1923, ch. 16, sec. 306, 1923 N.C. Priv. [Sess.] Laws 88, 154, both within the City limits and beyond, id., sec. 353, at 167, as well as a Commissioner of Public Works to supervise the systems, id., sec. 25, at 96.\nIn 1931 the legislature revised the charter again, which remains the charter today, subject to various amendments. Act of Mar. 30,1931, ch. 121, 1931 N.C. Priv. [Sess.] Laws 154. Under this charter, the General Assembly created a Department of Finance to take charge of \u201cthe supervision and control of and over the water system and supply,\u201d id., sec. 32, at 161, and to \u201ccollect for the use of water,\u201d id. at 163; see also Act of Apr. 6, 1951, ch. 618, 1951 N.C. Sess. Laws 554, 554 (allowing \u201cthe City of Asheville, Buncombe County and political units therein to contract\u201d for the water system).\nIn 1981 the legislature expressly repealed these charter provisions related to the supervision and control of the water system, Act of Feb. 16,1981, ch. 27, sec. 3,1981 N.C. Sess. Laws 13,14, removing control from the Department of Finance and appointing anew political subdivision to handle the authority. In 1981 the City and Buncombe County then entered into a comprehensive local agreement that established, inter alia, an agency to administer the jointly-owned water supply and distribution systems.\n. See, e.g., Act of June 29, 1967, ch. 1019, sec. 1, 1967 N.C. Sess. Laws 1463, 1463 (permitting the Town of Taylorsville and Alexander County to purchase a water system); Act of Apr. 5, 1961, ch. 560, secs. 1, 2, 1961 N.C. Sess. Laws 461, 461 (appointing Town of Dunn as new entity to acquire, build, manage, and operate the \u201cwater and sewerage system\u201d for the \u201cunincorporated village of Erwin in Harnett County\u201d); Act of Apr. 5,1947, ch. 1040, sec. 3, 1947 N.C. Sess. Laws 1519, 1520 (creating a \u201cBoard of Power, Water and Airport Commissioners of the City of High Point... to construct, to improve, [and] to better... [the] water system\u201d); Act of Jan. 30,1945, ch. 24, sec. 1,1945 N.C. Sess. Laws 37, 37 (moving all water-related property from the Board of Water Commissioners to the City of Charlotte, a separate corporation); Act of Jan. 18, 1939, ch. 1, sec. 1,1939 N.C. Pub.-Local [Sess.] Laws 11, 11 (establishing \u201csanitary districts\u201d in Forsyth County); Act of May 3, 1935, ch. 418, sec. 1, 1935 N.C. Pub.-Local [Sess.] Laws 378, 378 (establishing joint water and sewer systems for Haywood County municipalities); Act of Jan. 26, 1923, ch. 1, sec. 1,1923 N.C. Priv. [Sess.] Laws 1, 1 (extending the \u201cwaterworks system\u201d for the Town of Lenoir); Act of Jan. 1, 1917, ch. 71, sec. 2, 1917 N.C. Priv. [Sess.] Laws 134, 134 (establishing a separate entity, the Board of Water Commissioners, to \u201cprovide for the better management and proper operation of the ... water-works system of the city of Durham\u201d).", "type": "dissent", "author": "Justice NEWBY" } ], "attorneys": [ "Ellis & Winters LLP, by Matthew W. Sawchak, Paul M. Cox, and Emily E. Erixson; Campbell Shatley, PLLC, by Robert F. Orr; Long, Parker, Warren, Anderson & Payne, P.A., by Robert B. Long, Jr.; and City of Asheville City Attorney\u2019s Office, by Robin T. Currin, for plaintiff-appellant.", "Roy Cooper, Attorney General, by I. Faison Hicks, Special Deputy Attorney General, for defendant-appellee State of North Carolina.", "Cauley Pridgen, P.A., by James P. Cauley, III and Gabriel Du Sabl\u00f3n, for City of Wilson, amicus curiae.", "Allegra Collins Law, by Allegra Collins, and Alexandra Davis, for International Municipal Lawyers Association, amicus curiae.", "Kimberly S. Hibbard, General Counsel, and Gregory F. Schwitzgebel III, Associate General Counsel, for North Carolina League of Municipalities, amicus curiae." ], "corrections": "", "head_matter": "CITY OF ASHEVILLE, a municipal corporation v. STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA and the METROPOLITAN SEWERAGE DISTRICT OF BUNCOMBE COUNTY\nNo. 391PA15\nFiled 21 December 2016\nConstitutional Law\u2014North Carolina\u2014prohibited local act\u2014 health and sanitation\u2014water and sewage system\nWhere the General Assembly passed legislation that effectively required the City of Asheville to involuntarily transfer the assets it used to operate a public water system to a new metropolitan water and sewerage district, the Supreme Court held that the legislation was a prohibited local act relating to health and sanitation, in violation of Article II, Section 24(l)(a) of the state constitution. First, the legislation was crafted such that the involuntary transfer provision would apply only to the City of Asheville, and this classification bore no reasonable relationship to the stated justification of the legislation. Second, in light of its stated purpose and practical effect regarding public water and sewer services, the legislation had a material connection to issues involving health, sanitation, and the abatement of nuisances.\nJustice NEWBY dissenting.\nChief Justice MARTIN joins in this dissenting opinion.\nOn discretionary review pursuant to N.C.G.S. \u00a7 7A-31 and on appeal of right of a substantial constitutional question pursuant to N.C.G.S. \u00a7 7A-30(1) from a unanimous decision of the Court of Appeals, _ N.C. App._, 777 S.E.2d 92 (2015), affirming in part and reversing and remanding in part a summary judgment order entered on 9 June 2014, as clarified by means of a consent order entered on 3 July 2014, both by Judge Howard E. Manning, Jr. in Superior Court, Wake County. Heard in the Supreme Court on 17 May 2016 in session in the Old Burke County Courthouse in the City of Morganton pursuant to N.C.G.S. \u00a7 7A-10(a).\nEllis & Winters LLP, by Matthew W. Sawchak, Paul M. Cox, and Emily E. Erixson; Campbell Shatley, PLLC, by Robert F. Orr; Long, Parker, Warren, Anderson & Payne, P.A., by Robert B. Long, Jr.; and City of Asheville City Attorney\u2019s Office, by Robin T. Currin, for plaintiff-appellant.\nRoy Cooper, Attorney General, by I. Faison Hicks, Special Deputy Attorney General, for defendant-appellee State of North Carolina.\nCauley Pridgen, P.A., by James P. Cauley, III and Gabriel Du Sabl\u00f3n, for City of Wilson, amicus curiae.\nAllegra Collins Law, by Allegra Collins, and Alexandra Davis, for International Municipal Lawyers Association, amicus curiae.\nKimberly S. Hibbard, General Counsel, and Gregory F. Schwitzgebel III, Associate General Counsel, for North Carolina League of Municipalities, amicus curiae." }, "file_name": "0080-01", "first_page_order": 156, "last_page_order": 193 }