North Carolina HB 23: Uniform Personal Watercraft Laws.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025

SESSION LAW 2025-67
HOUSE BILL 23

*H23-v-5*
AN ACT TO MAKE VARIOUS CHANGES TO STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT
PROVISIONS.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

PART I. STANLY COMMUNITY COLLEGE OFF MAIN CAMPUS CULINARY
PROGRAM
SECTION 1. Section 9.15 of S.L. 2017-57 is repealed.

PART II. GULLAH GEECHEE HERITAGE TRAIL
SECTION 2. The General Assembly authorizes the Gullah Geechee
Greenway/Blueway Heritage Trail (Heritage Trail) in Brunswick County. The State shall
support, promote, encourage, and facilitate the establishment of trail segments on State park lands
and on lands of other federal, State, local, and private landowners. On segments of the Heritage
Trail that cross property controlled by agencies or owners other than the State, the laws, rules,
and policies of those agencies or owners shall govern the use of the property.

PART III. STATE PROPERTY TRANSFER TO THE TOWN OF BURGAW
SECTION 3.1. The State of North Carolina shall convey to the Town of Burgaw,
for consideration of one dollar ($1.00), all its rights, titles, and interests in approximately 11 acres
of the approximately 355.73 acre parcel identified with Land Asset ID 6095 in the inventory of
State-owned land maintained by the Department of Administration pursuant to G.S. 143-341.
This is the same property identified with PIN Number 3229-04-1665-0000, as seen in the Office
of the Tax Administrator in Pender County, and is described in part in Deed Book 211, Page 279
and Deed Book 922, Page 191 in the Pender County Register of Deeds. The Department of
Administration, in consultation with the Town of Burgaw, shall determine specifically which
portion of the land described in this section shall be transferred pursuant to this Part.
SECTION 3.2. The conveyance pursuant to Section 3.1 of this Part is subject to a
reversionary interest reserved by the State. The property shall be conveyed to the Town of
Burgaw for so long as it is utilized for public purposes.
SECTION 3.3. The State of North Carolina shall convey the real property described
in Section 3.1 of this Part "as is" and "where is" without warranty. The State makes no
representations or warranties concerning the title to the property, the boundaries of the property,
the uses to which the property may be put, zoning, local ordinances, or any physical,
environmental, health, and safety conditions relating to the property. All costs associated with
the conveyance of the property shall be borne by the Town of Burgaw.
SECTION 3.4. The conveyance of the State's rights, titles, and interests in the real
property described in Section 3.1 of this Part shall be exempt from the provisions of Article 7 of
Chapter 146 of the General Statutes. The conveyance shall comply with the provisions of Article
16 of Chapter 146 of the General Statutes, provided that the provisions of G.S. 146-74 shall not
apply.

Page 2 Session Law 2025-67 House Bill 23
PART IV. AUTHORIZE ADDING SOUTH FORK PASSAGE STATE TRAIL TO THE
STATE PARKS SYSTEM
SECTION 4.1. The General Assembly finds:
(1) The proposed South Fork Passage Trail corridor offers numerous economic
benefits by expanding and enhancing the existing tourism industry. The
diverse hydrology of the river in the corridor includes shoals, flatwater, class
II rapids, and river tributaries that support a variety of recreational uses.
(2) The South Fork Passage Trail corridor is home to Spencer Mountain, the third
highest peak in the Charlotte region, and the corridor passes through terrain
that is emblematic of the Piedmont region of the State.
(3) The South Fork Passage Trail corridor also contains ecologically important
habitat, including diverse wetlands, hardwood forests, and grasslands, that
support numerous State and federal threatened or endangered species.
(4) The creation of a 60-mile hiking and paddling trail connecting Jacob Fork
Park in Catawba County through Betty G. Ross Park in Lincoln County to
George Poston Park, Goat Island Park, and Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden in
Gaston County would expand existing recreational offerings and support
ongoing efforts to conserve the South Fork of the Catawba River watershed.
SECTION 4.2. The General Assembly authorizes the Department of Natural and
Cultural Resources (Department) to add the South Fork Passage Trail in Catawba, Lincoln, and
Gaston Counties to the State Parks System as a State trail, as provided in G.S. 143B-135.54(b).
The trail, which will run alongside the South Fork River, shall begin at the confluence of the
Henry Fork and Jacob Fork at Jacob Fork Park and end at the boundary between the State and
South Carolina on Lake Wylie.
SECTION 4.3. The Department shall support, promote, encourage, and facilitate the
establishment of trail segments on State Park lands and on lands of other federal, State, local, and
private landowners. On segments of the South Fork Passage State Trail that cross property
controlled by agencies or owners other than the Depa