Stein signs law blocking new property tax appraisals in some counties

A handful of small counties around North Carolina would be blocked from using their newest property appraisals to assess taxes on local property owners under a bill signed into law Friday by Gov. Josh Stein. 

Senate Bill 889 would apply to counties with reappraisals that became effective on Jan. 1 2026. It would temporarily prohibit those counties — particularly, the ones with populations of 15,000 or more at the time of the latest federal census — from applying the new reappraisals to property tax bills. 

“The cost of living is too high,” Stein said in a statement. “This law provides tax relief for North Carolinians who are feeling pain in their pocketbooks.” 

Stein noted that the law helps residents only in a few counties. “It is not our most effective method of lowering costs,” he said, adding that he’s pushing to cut taxes for working and middle class families and lower housing, electricity, child care, and health care costs. 

“We must make life more affordable,” Stein said. 

Stein also said he was worried that the bill could affect ongoing recovery efforts in western North Carolina, and he urged lawmakers to pass Senate Bill 474, which would shield Buncombe County and other jurisdictions from the moratorium.  

Every few years, county governments re-appraise what every piece of property inside county limits is worth, from hotels and office buildings to homes and vacant lots. Those appraisals are then used to determine how much their owners must pay in property tax. The proposed bill would block any new appraisals done this year from being used.

Senate Bill 889 originally would’ve affected 20 counties statewide. That number was lowered to 12 in the Senate, and then lowered further in the House. The House also took a separate bill, Senate 474, and rewrote it to exempt additional counties.

County leaders strongly oppose the revaluation freeze, as do local Democratic lawmakers. They said it could force cuts to rural fire districts, public schools and more. 

The measure was first proposed by Senate leader Phil Berger in February, days before Election Day, when he was battling to win a close race against GOP challenger Sam Page, who unseated Berger by a narrow margin. 

Supporters have previously acknowledged the bill isn’t intended to be a long-term fix; Berger has said it’s simply meant to buy the legislature another year to figure out more sweeping changes to property tax rules for the state.

Stein also signed House Bill 1123, a wide-ranging bill appropriating millions of dollars for university construction and renovations across the state, including new residence halls at UNC-Chapel Hill and NC Central University in Durham and additional development at N.C. State University.

“This bill will help meet the capital needs of institutions in the University of North Carolina system,” Stein said.