AN ACT exempting the towns of chapel hill and Carrboro and the city of asheville from competitive bidding requirements when letting contracts for use as part of local pilot programs aimed at increasing energy efficiency, and to authorize the towns of chapel hill and Carrboro and the city of Asheville to enter into leases for the siting and operation of a renewable energy Facility for up to twenty years without treating it as a sale and without giving notice by publication.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  Section 1 of S.L. 2007‑333, as rewritten by Section 1 of S.L. 2009‑149, reads as rewritten:
"SECTION 1.(a)  A municipality or county may contract for apparatus, supplies, materials, or equipment that will be used as part of any pilot program authorized by its governing board aimed at increasing energy efficiency without being subject to the requirements of G.S. 143‑129, 143‑131, and 143‑132. Notwithstanding any provision of law,  a municipality or county may award a contract under this section in its sole discretion.
"SECTION 1.(b)  This section applies to the Cities of Asheville and Raleigh and the Towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro only."
SECTION 2.  Section 3 of S.L. 2009‑149 reads as rewritten:
"SECTION 3.  Section 2 of this act applies to the Cities of Asheville, Raleigh and  Winston‑Salem and the Towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro only."
SECTION 3.  This act is effective when it becomes law and expires June 30, 2015.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 7th day of July, 2010.

	s/	 Walter H. Dalton
	 President of the Senate

	s/	 Joe Hackney
	 Speaker of the House of Representatives