EDENTON — After weeks of negotiations and procedural votes that left Chowan County and Town of Edenton officials waiting to finalize their budgets, Senate Bill 474 has completed its journey through the General Assembly and is now awaiting action by Gov. Josh Stein.

The bill was ratified by the General Assembly on Wednesday, July 1, and transmitted to the governor’s office at 4:23 p.m. If signed into law, SB 474 would delay implementation of Chowan County’s 2026 property revaluation for one year while allowing Buncombe County and other western North Carolina communities recovering from Hurricane Helene to move forward with their 2026 revaluations.

For Chowan County residents, the legislation does not eliminate the county’s 2026 revaluation. Instead, it changes when those new values would be used to calculate property taxes.

If the bill becomes law, Chowan County and the Town of Edenton would calculate 2026-27 property taxes using the county’s previous property values rather than the new values established during the 2026 revaluation.

The legislation does not invalidate the county’s revaluation or the property values already determined. Instead, it would delay when those values are first used to calculate property taxes.

Both legislators representing Chowan County supported SB 474 throughout the legislative process.

Sen. Norm Sanderson, a co-sponsor of the bill, voted in favor of the conference committee report in the Senate. Rep. Ed Goodwin also voted for the conference report when it came before the House.

Local governments prepared

The uncertainty surrounding SB 474 has dominated budget discussions for local governments in recent weeks.

The Chowan County Board of Commissioners voted Monday, June 29, to postpone adoption of the county’s Fiscal Year 2026-27 budget until lawmakers completed action on the bill. Commissioners said they wanted to avoid adopting a budget under one tax structure only to have state law require another days later.

That said, the county approved a budget Tuesday night — the budget that uses the old revaluation scenario, that’s a good word, scenario. Tax rate is 57.25 cents per $100.

County Manager Kevin Howard prepared two versions of the county budget in anticipation of the state’s decision. One uses the new property values established during the revaluation, while the other uses the previous values if SB 474 becomes law. The spending plans are substantially the same; only the tax base and resulting tax rate differ.

The Town of Edenton also prepared for either scenario. The Town Council approved its original budget using a 43-cent property tax rate during its June 26 meeting.

However, Town Manager Corey Gooden told the Albemarle Observer that if Chowan County remains covered by SB 474, “the Town Council would have to consider the alternative I recommend at 55.5 cents per $100 valuation, or something similar.”

Like the county’s alternative budget, the higher tax rate would reflect the use of older property values rather than an increase in planned spending.

The path to the governor’s office

SB 474 originally passed the Senate in April before moving to the House, which approved a different version in June. Because the House amended the bill, it had to return to the Senate for a second approval.

Rather than accepting the House changes, senators voted on June 23 not to concur, sending the legislation to a conference committee made up of House and Senate members.

These committees are used when the two chambers pass different versions of the same bill. The committee negotiated a compromise and issued a conference report. Under legislative rules, lawmakers cannot amend that report. They may only vote to accept or reject it.

Both the House and Senate approved the report in a third and final reading on July 1. The House’s third vote was 74-40, followed later that day by Senate’s 47-7 vote.

With those final votes, lawmakers ratified the bill, allowing it to be enrolled and sent to the governor.

The governor’s decision is next

Governor Stein may now sign the bill, allow it to become law without his signature or veto it. If vetoed, the General Assembly could vote to override Stein’s decision.

While Stein has not announced what action he will take on SB 474, he has previously indicated support for the legislation.

When signing Senate Bill 889, the statewide property tax moratorium, on June 19, Stein said that the measure could unintentionally affect Buncombe County’s recovery from Hurricane Helene and urged lawmakers to approve SB 474.

“Senate Bill 474 would shield Buncombe County and other jurisdictions recovering from the storm, and I urge the Senate to pass it,” Stein said.

Stein has 10 days (excluding Sundays) to sign the law after receiving it from the General Assembly.

---

Editor’s Note: This story was updated at 6:12 p.m. July 1, 2026, after the Albemarle Observer temporarily withheld publication while confirming the General Assembly’s final action on SB 474. After reviewing the Senate livestream and official legislative record, the story was updated to reflect that the bill was ratified by the General Assembly and transmitted to Gov. Josh Stein at 4:23 p.m. July 1.