SB 697 North Carolina Senate · 2025-2026 Session

Lake Norman Marine Commission.

SB 697 establishes the Lake Norman Marine Commission to oversee recreational and environmental management of Lake Norman. The bill would create a formal body responsible for coordinating activities related to the lake's waterways, boating access, and conservation efforts. Currently, the bill is pending in the State and Local Government committee after being withdrawn from Rules and Operations. It has passed its first reading but has not advanced further in the legislative process.

Issues: ✓ Environment

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Mar 2025

Committee Review

Jun 2025

Senate Passage

May 2025

House Passage

Governor

Introduced Mar 25, 2025 Last action Jun 2, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons

What changed between versions

A1: ACC-9-V-2 → Edition 1 · 8 edits

MODERATE

The bill was converted from an amendment document to a complete legislative bill, adding substantive provisions to codify the Lake Norman Marine Commission. Key changes include formalizing the commission's structure, defining its geographic scope to include islands and peninsulas in Lake Norman, establishing commissioner term limits and conflict-of-interest rules, and creating a framework for county participation and withdrawal.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded from a proposed amendment to a comprehensive codification that defines the commission's creation, membership structure, geographic boundaries, and operational procedures.

DEFINITION

Added formal definitions for key terms including 'Board', 'Commission', 'Commissioner', 'Four counties', 'Lake Norman', 'Shoreline area', 'Joint resolution', and 'Wildlife Commission'.

REQUIREMENT

Established that the Lake Norman shoreline area includes all islands within the lake and all peninsulas extending into its waters.

Created conflict-of-interest restrictions preventing commissioners from owning businesses dependent on Lake Norman income or owning property adjacent to the shoreline.

Required commissioners to complete annual disclosure statements identifying conflicts of interest by January 31 each year.

Established a staggered five-year term structure for commissioners with specific appointment schedules for each of the four counties.

ELIGIBILITY

Mandated that all nine commissioners must reside in one of the four counties for a minimum of nine months per calendar year.

ENFORCEMENT

Created a mechanism for counties to unilaterally withdraw from the commission at the end of any budget period, with provisions for dissolving the commission upon withdrawal.

TECHNICAL

Converted document format from amendment markup to complete bill structure with bill number, session information, and proper legislative formatting.

Edition 1 → Edition 2 · 8 edits

MODERATE

This bill update rewrites the Lake Norman Marine Commission statute to modernize its language and clarify its purpose. The changes expand the Commission's stated mission to include water quality, recreational safety, and economic health improvements. Several definitions were updated to reflect current governance structures and clarify the geographic scope of the Commission's authority.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to explicitly include water quality stewardship, recreational user safety, and economic health as core purposes of the Commission. The geographic definition of 'Lake Norman' was refined to include elevation specifications and dam references.

SCOPE

The bill's purpose statement was expanded to explicitly include water quality stewardship, recreational user safety, and economic and public health improvements for the Lake Norman region.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'Board' was updated to clarify it refers to publicly elected governing boards, and 'Commission' definition was refined to specify it includes the governing board.

The definition of 'Lake Norman' was expanded to include specific elevation measurements (760 feet above mean sea level) and dam references (Lookout Shoals Dam and Cowans Ford Dam).

New definitions were added for 'Eligible local governments' and 'Participating local government' to clarify which jurisdictions can join the Commission.

The 'Shoreline area' definition was modified to specify '50 feet landward' of the mean high water line instead of 'one mile,' significantly reducing the geographic scope.

REQUIREMENT

The withdrawal process was updated to include a mandatory 90-day informal settlement discussion period before a county can unilaterally withdraw from the Commission.

A new mediation process was added requiring the appointment of a mediation officer when a local government intends to withdraw from the Commission.

TECHNICAL

Minor formatting and numbering changes were made throughout the document, including renumbering of definitions and correction of section references.

Floor votes · Senate May 7, 2025

How they voted

48–0

Passed · 3 other

Total votes 51

May 7, 2025

D Democratic20

18 Yea 2

90% Yea

R Republican31

30 Yea 1

96% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Jun 2, 2025

Committee

Re-ref Com On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House

lower

May 27, 2025

Committee

Re-ref to the Com on State and Local Government, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House

lower

May 8, 2025

Committee

Ref To Com On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House

lower

May 7, 2025

Upper · Passed

Passed 3rd Reading

upper

May 7, 2025

Upper · Passed

Amend Adopted A1

upper

May 6, 2025

Upper · Passed

Reptd Fav

upper

May 6, 2025

Committee

Re-ref Com On Rules and Operations of the Senate

upper

May 6, 2025

Upper · Passed

Com Substitute Adopted

upper

May 6, 2025

Upper · Passed

Reptd Fav Com Substitute

upper

Apr 17, 2025

Committee

Re-ref to State and Local Government. If fav, re-ref to Rules and Operations of the Senate

upper

Mar 26, 2025

Committee

Ref To Com On Rules and Operations of the Senate

upper

Mar 25, 2025

Introduced

Filed

upper

1 primary · 1 co-sponsor