The Currituck County Board of Commissioners strongly opposes Senate Bill 484 and urges the North Carolina General Assembly to reject the amended provisions recently added to the legislation. Senator Bobby Hanig supports Currituck County and shares strong opposition to the bill.
A substitute version of Senate Bill 484 was introduced in the North Carolina House Finance Committee to clarify the use of tourism-related occupancy tax expenditures. The bill passed the House on June 2, 2026, and now returns to the Senate for a concurrence vote.
If enacted, Senate Bill 484 would have a direct impact on Currituck County taxpayers. Following the North Carolina Supreme Court’s recent ruling affirming the County’s use of occupancy tax revenues for public health and safety services, the Board of Commissioners directed a two-cent reduction in the property tax rate for the upcoming fiscal year. That planned tax reduction would no longer be possible if Senate Bill 484 became law.
The proposed legislation would apply to counties and municipalities across North Carolina that levy an occupancy tax. It would prohibit occupancy tax proceeds from being used for services that are ordinarily funded through a local government’s general fund, including solid waste collection and disposal, water supply and treatment, fire protection, law enforcement, public safety services, emergency services, affordable housing, and education, unless those uses are specifically authorized in a local act.
Jurisdictions such as Currituck County, which are authorized to use occupancy tax revenues for tourism-related expenditures generally, would no longer be permitted to use those funds for services that primarily benefit residents unless explicit authorization exists in the local legislation.
The North Carolina Supreme Court has already addressed this issue in its recent decision in Costanzo et al. v. Currituck County, unanimously upholding Currituck County’s use of occupancy tax revenues to support public health and safety services. In its opinion, the Court stated:
“Protecting public safety is among the most important responsibilities North Carolinians entrust to their democratically elected local officials. Doing so while promoting economic growth and fairly allocating the tax burden across the community is an ongoing challenge for counties across our state. Recognizing these realities, the General Assembly vested local elected officials with the authority and responsibility to determine how limited occupancy tax revenues should be utilized to support tourism while addressing the impacts that tourism creates. The Currituck County Board of Commissioners is accountable to its residents and taxpayers for making those decisions and balancing the competing needs of economic development, public safety, emergency services, and fiscal stewardship.”
Tourism-dependent counties require flexibility to address the impacts created by the very visitors whose spending drives local and state economic growth. Occupancy tax revenues are not simply promotional dollars; they are a critical tool that allows communities to support the infrastructure, public safety services, and quality-of-life investments necessary to sustain a thriving tourism economy. Restricting the use of these revenues would shift costs back onto local property taxpayers while limiting the ability of local elected officials to address tourism-related demands in their communities.
