What the General Assembly’s actions mean for Centralina communities
August 18, 2026 — The 2026 short session produced a direct investment in North Carolina’s regional councils and several measures intended to address growth, infrastructure, and workforce needs. It also imposed new statewide requirements affecting land use, transportation planning, and local fiscal decisions. For Centralina’s member governments, the next phase is implementation and preparing for unresolved issues that are likely to return in 2027.
Session at a Glance
Centralina entered the short session with four guiding principles: regional cooperation, alignment with the North Carolina Association of Regional Councils of Governments (NCARCOG), respect for local decision-making, and support for regional transportation solutions. The Council also monitored transportation and infrastructure, workforce housing and homelessness prevention, local taxing authority, and legislation affecting development and other local powers.
The final results were mixed. The state budget included meaningful support for the regional councils and investments tied to workforce, child care, water, and disaster recovery. At the same time, several enacted bills moved policy toward statewide standards for local development. A proposed constitutional amendment also places the future of local property tax authority squarely on the 2027 agenda.
Not every provision applies uniformly across Centralina’s nine-county region. Population thresholds, reappraisal schedules, utility structures, and local ordinances will produce different effects from one community to another. The most useful regional role is therefore to identify shared implications, support coordinated implementation, and elevate examples where statewide policy creates different outcomes for fast-growing, rural, and smaller communities.
Four Regional Takeaways
1. Local Fiscal Capacity and Regional Service Delivery
A direct investment in the regional councils
The 2026 budget, Senate Bill 257, included $3.9 million for NCARCOG to support the state’s 16 regional councils. This directly aligns with Centralina’s advocacy agenda and recognizes the role that councils of government play in helping local governments administer programs, manage grants, coordinate across jurisdictions, and build capacity.
The appropriation is a meaningful near-term gain, but it does not complete the statewide association’s agenda. Centralina and NCARCOG also sought recurring capacity for financial-administration assistance and disaster-recovery coordination, along with statutory clarification that COGs may provide administrative staffing and apply for state-administered grants when requested by local governments. Those longer-term objectives remain relevant for 2027.
Property tax authority moves to the ballot
House Bill 1089, now Session Law 2026-5, places a constitutional amendment on the November 3, 2026, statewide ballot. If approved, the amendment would require the General Assembly to enact general laws limiting increases in local property tax levies. The amendment itself does not establish a formula, percentage cap, or implementing exceptions; those decisions would come through later legislation.
This distinction matters across Centralina. A future limit could affect communities differently depending on population growth, tax-base composition, reappraisal timing, debt obligations, and service demands. Regional scenario-building and coordination with the North Carolina League of Municipalities and North Carolina Association of County Commissioners will be important before the General Assembly develops an implementation framework.
A future SNAP cost shift could reach county and municipal governments
The budget also establishes a state process for recovering federally required SNAP benefit cost-sharing through county sales-tax distributions beginning October 1, 2027. The calculation includes a flat assessment equal to 0.75% of a county’s base-year sales-tax allocation, plus a proportional amount tied to the county’s contribution to the statewide payment error rate. Because the affected sales-tax proceeds are shared among counties, municipalities, and other local recipients, the impact warrants regional monitoring even though counties administer the program.
2. Growth, Housing, and Land Use
Statewide development standards expanded
Senate Bill 445, the Regulatory Reform Act of 2026, became Session Law 2026-59 on August 11. Its local-government provisions include expanded accessory dwelling unit requirements in certain cities, longer vested-rights periods, fee-transparency requirements, and by-right residential or mixed-use redevelopment requirements that apply only to larger jurisdictions meeting specified city and county population thresholds.
The law’s regional impact is significant but uneven. Some provisions apply broadly, while others affect only the largest communities. Member governments will need to identify the sections that apply to them, review ordinances and administrative processes, and coordinate with planning and legal staff on effective dates. Centralina can add value by identifying recurring implementation questions across jurisdictions without treating the region as a single regulatory environment.
Parking, stormwater, and home-based businesses
House Bill 162, Session Law 2026-39, generally prevents local governments from requiring a minimum number of off-street parking spaces. House Bill 372, Session Law 2026-51, restricts local regulation of qualifying low-impact home-based businesses. Together with Senate Bill 445, these measures continue a broader state trend toward limiting or standardizing local development rules.
Housing action focused more on regulation than investment
The session included repeated debate over housing production, accessory dwelling units, redevelopment, parking, and permitting. However, it did not establish a major recurring state resource dedicated to workforce housing or homelessness prevention. For Centralina, the regional housing conversation should continue to connect land-use policy with infrastructure capacity, development costs, preservation needs, and the availability of tools that reflect different local markets.
3. Infrastructure and Regional Systems
Transportation decisions carry new fiscal exposure
Section 43.27 of the budget creates a reimbursement requirement when an MPO or RPO takes unilateral action to remove or prevent delivery of a statewide project after predevelopment work has begun and the Board of Transportation approves the cancellation. Local governments that voted for the action may be responsible for their proportionate share of NCDOT’s preliminary costs. Until reimbursement is complete, State street aid may be withheld and new STIP work within the jurisdiction may be delayed.
This provision reinforces the need for early regional coordination before project decisions reach a formal vote. It also adds a new fiscal consideration for communities participating in metropolitan and rural transportation planning organizations.
Water and wastewater remain regional growth constraints
House Bill 376, Session Law 2026-32, requires a public hearing and explanation of methodology when combined water or wastewater rates, fees, and charges outside a utility’s jurisdiction exceed inside rates by more than 25%. It also includes capacity-planning and study provisions relevant to water and wastewater systems. The budget extended certain interbasin-transfer moratoria through August 1, 2028, while continuing studies of water-supply needs and transfer policy.
These actions have different effects for utility providers, customer communities, and fast-growing areas, but the shared regional issue is clear: water availability, treatment capacity, financing, and interjurisdictional coordination are increasingly central to housing and economic growth. Centralina’s regional perspective will be valuable as the studies proceed and as communities evaluate lower-cost financing options and capacity strategies.
Transportation policy changed, but larger funding tools remain unresolved
House Bill 1094, Session Law 2026-46, made a range of transportation changes, including revisions affecting traffic-impact analyses and a three-class framework for electric bicycles with local regulatory authority. The session did not, however, produce the broader regional transportation funding authorization or transit-governance solution identified in Centralina’s agenda. Proposals involving an infrastructure commission, a state infrastructure bank, and local borrowing against anticipated STIP funds also remained unfinished.
4. Workforce, Human Services, and Regional Capacity
Child care and workforce programs received support
The budget established a statewide floor for child-care subsidy reimbursement rates, helping reduce geographic variation in provider reimbursement. It also continued the state’s workforce emphasis through PropelNC and recurring support for ApprenticeshipNC. These investments matter regionally because access to child care, training, and credential pathways affects employers’ ability to recruit and retain workers across jurisdictional lines.
Aging Services Funding
The state budget reduces funding for aging services, with the Division of Aging allocating the reductions through the existing Intrastate Funding Formula. This will reduce funding available in the Centralina region, including support for congregate meals and other services administered through the Area Agency on Aging.
Disaster recovery remained a statewide priority
The budget included roughly $700 million in additional Hurricane Helene recovery support, including resources intended to help meet state and local matching obligations. Even where funds are concentrated outside the Centralina region, the session reinforced the importance of advance planning, grant-management capacity, and regional coordination before and after a disaster.
Implementation capacity is itself a regional policy issue
Several enacted legislative changes will create new administrative and implementation demands for local governments. Smaller governments may face the same legal or administrative requirements as larger jurisdictions without comparable in-house resources. That reality strengthens Centralina’s case for regional technical assistance, shared expertise, and clearer authority for COGs to serve member governments when requested.
What Did Not Pass but Remains Relevant
- Property tax implementation. The amendment provides no levy formula or exceptions. If voters approve it, the central policy debate will move to the 2027 General Assembly.
- Regional growth tools. Broader transportation funding, transit governance, infrastructure financing, and recurring workforce-housing resources did not advance to law.
- Additional land-use preemption. Proposals imposing further deadlines, deemed approvals, zoning restrictions, or limits on development authority may return in 2027.
- The full NCARCOG agenda. Recurring administrative and resilience capacity, along with statutory clarification of COG service authority, remain unfinished priorities.
Looking Ahead
- Review the enacted land-use, parking, stormwater, utility, and transportation provisions for applicability, effective dates, and implementation concerns.
- Continue evaluating how emerging state policy proposals could affect communities across the region.
- Seek member input as Centralina considers its 2027 legislative priorities and opportunities for coordination with statewide partners.
Source Notes
Prepared from Centralina’s 2026 Raleigh Relations agenda, Centralina’s weekly legislative updates, and official North Carolina General Assembly records current through August 14, 2026.
- S.B. 257 / Session Law 2026-41 — 2026 Appropriations Act
- S.B. 445 / Session Law 2026-59 — Regulatory Reform Act of 2026
- H.B. 1089 / Session Law 2026-5 — Constitutional Amendment: Property Tax Levy Limit
- H.B. 162 / Session Law 2026-39 — Parking Lot Reform/Stormwater Control
- H.B. 376 / Session Law 2026-32 — Water/Wastewater Affordability & Capacity Act
- H.B. 1094 / Session Law 2026-46 — Ferry Division Audit/DOT Omnibus
