By Jheri Hardaway
Staff Writer
North Carolina Senate Bill 214 (2025–2026 Regular Session) is a complex legislative package that addresses various local government and municipal issues across several counties. While it covers matters like planning, zoning, and annexations, the most significant and controversial provision currently making headlines is Section 5 of the Conference Report. Section 5 authorizes Franklin County to acquire real property (including through condemnation/eminent domain) in Halifax, Vance, and Warren counties. The bill explicitly states this can be done without the consent or approval of the Board of Commissioners in those neighboring counties. Proponents argue the wording is narrowly tailored to help Franklin County secure water resources, specifically for a raw water transmission line from Kerr Lake to a future treatment facility. Local leaders in Vance, Warren, and Halifax counties have called this provision "unethical" and "fundamentally wrong," comparing it to "robbery" of local control.
As of late April 2026, several county boards and city councils (including Henderson) have held emergency meetings to pass resolutions officially opposing the bill. The bill has passed both the House and Senate in various forms. Because changes were made, it was sent to a conference committee to resolve differences. This bill is a notable example of the ongoing tension between regional infrastructure needs and local county sovereignty in North Carolina.
The North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP has spoken out strongly opposes Senate Bill 214, warning that the legislation poses a serious threat to civil rights, local governance, and equitable protections for communities across North Carolina. “Legislators must remove Section V from Senate Bill 214 because it preempts the rights of citizens and the authority of local officials to act in the best interest of the people they serve,” said Deborah Dicks Maxwell, President of the North Carolina NAACP. “This provision strips communities of their ability to respond to local needs and undermines fundamental democratic principles.”
Another voice speaking out against Section V from SB 214 is the Mayor of the Town of Enfield, W. Mondale Robinson. Mayor Robinson issued a proclamation which reads in part, “WHEREAS, Franklin County is a majority-white county seeking extraordinary power over land and resources in Halifax County, a majority-Black county with a long and painful history of outside control, economic extraction, and political disregard; and WHEREAS, the optics of a majority-white county attempting to seize authority over the land and resources of a majority-Black county are deeply troubling and echo remnants of an era North Carolina should have left behind long ago; and WHEREAS, our communities have fought too hard for local control, dignity, and economic opportunity to sit silently while another county attempts to legislate away our voice and access to our own future; and WHEREAS, Franklin County’s effort to position itself to condemn or acquire property in Halifax County without consent sends a clear and unacceptable message: that the interests of our residents, our municipalities, and our leadership can simply be bypassed; and WHEREAS, despite repeated inquiries, Franklin County officials have refused to provide meaningful explanation, transparency, or justification for why they believe they should be granted this extraordinary authority over Halifax County; andWHEREAS, Senate Bill 214, Part V, Section 5 represents an egregious abuse of legislative process, an unprecedented assault on local governance, and a direct threat to regional trust, cooperation, and respect; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town of Enfield strongly and unequivocally opposes Part V, Section 5 of Senate Bill 214 and rejects any effort by Franklin County to condemn, acquire, or otherwise control land in Halifax County without the consent of Halifax County and its municipalities; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Town of Enfield calls upon the North Carolina General Assembly to immediately strike Part V, Section 5 from Senate Bill 214 and reject this shameful overreach.”
SB 214 boils down to water rights. Tuesday, April 28, Representative Rodney Pierce held a hearing on the matter. Many citizens were in place to protest including Pamela Ayscue, Marie Smithwick, Robert Snow, Deborah Small, Tykayla Livingston. This potential legislation impacts the Commonwealth of Virginia as well due to shared water basins. The goal is to be fair with resources. The bill was pulled from the calendar today, and many procedural things must happen.
