Two counties in North Carolina's Piedmont region redrew their border this year to match the one originally established in 1842 — a move that will change where some people vote, where their kids go to school and the taxes they pay.
That is, if the General Assembly doesn't get involved.
A new boundary between Lincoln and Catawba counties was drawn in February using the results of a state survey. It's caused over 800 parcels of land west of Lake Norman to either switch counties, or be split between the two.
However, legislation that would reverse the move was inserted into House Bill 173 on Tuesday.
Rep. Heather Rhyne, R-Lincoln, said that Lincoln and Catawba counties have been unable to settle all the repercussions, leaving property owners in flux.
"We're talking school situations. We're talking fire, EMS and all that," Rhyne said during a Senate State and Local Government Committee meeting Tuesday.
New tax bills are scheduled to be mailed in 2026. School and polling locations are changing this year.
If state legislators intervene, the 2020 county line will return.
School boards would be instructed to give parents the choice to remain where they are until graduating high school. Elections boards would transfer voter records back, and no local officials could be sued over the matter
South Carolina boundary redrawn 8 years ago
The "new" border is actually a quite old one.
In 1842, when a state law carved Lincoln County in two, the boundary was meant to be a straight line — Lincoln county to the south and Catawba County to the north. In practice though, that line grew crooked over time.
Officials from both counties went to the North Carolina Geodetic Survey in 2022 to request a fresh survey, producing the results now being argued over.
NCGS has also had a hand in redrawing state lines.
Nearly three centuries after the Carolinas were split by a 1735 British decree, NCGS resurveyed the boundary line, which was difficult to get right before GPS technology was available.
North Carolina and South Carolina agreed to redefine the 335-mile border in 2017, moving 19 homes and a gas station across state lines, the Associated Press reported.
In addition to changing the Lincoln-Catawba county line, the newly rewritten H.B. 173 contains a wide variety of provisions, which also affect Wake County, Asheville, Asheboro and Taylortown.
The Senate's Finance and Rules committees must both approve the bill before it heads to the Senate floor.Sen. W. Ted Alexander, R-Cleveland, said an amendment relating to property deeds is expected.
