Border change between North, South Carolina gets closer

[Recursion]

Source: The State

After roughly 20 years of debate, North Carolina legislators are getting close to resolving a border dispute with South Carolina.

The N.C. Senate is scheduled to vote Wednesday on a long-delayed plan to shift the state line in several locations in Gaston and Union counties near Charlotte.

If the proposal passes the Senate – and then wins approval from the N.C. House, the South Carolina Legislature and both states’ governors – 16 South Carolina homeowners will wake up to find themselves in North Carolina on Jan. 1. Three homes in North Carolina would end up south of the border.

...

The legislation aims to make the transition easier for the residents forced to switch states. Children would be allowed to continue attending public schools in the state where their home was previously located. They would also be eligible for in-state public college and university tuition for the next 10 years. And the properties could still be served by utility companies from their previous state.


Read more: http://www.thestate.com/news/state/south-carolina/article79699747.html

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For any fellow cartography nerds

[Ford_Prefect]

1. After all this time they could have left it where it's been for decades,

by declaring the boundaries to be fit, legal and binding from the day declared. That would have recognized a reasonable common law answer to solve the problem. Instead we will have ridiculous and painful disruption of lives and businesses that have been where they still are for that time, living life and paying taxes and keeping the land.

A wise solution could have recognized common usage and deeds which no doubt go back more than 50 years and quite possibly much longer. Instead they will disrupt real lives and situations for the abstraction that each State is entitled exactly to its pound of flesh. Wisdom would advise it is not necessary to so collect it and that justice could also be served by acknowledging responsible and accepted usage as fair.

Stupid is as Stupid does, says I.

[dixiegrrrrl]

10. and their rationale for the change applies to other states....

The original border was established in the 1700s, but it’s become nebulous over time because it’s based in part on landmarks that no longer exist.
“Rocks were used, trees were used, fence posts were used,” Tucker said. “They’ve been degraded over the years.”

That surely is true of other states.

Hell, it is true of the property line between us and our neighbor., who is now a widow. Her husband knew where the line was, but he died 6 weeks after we moved in.
So we both kinda of wave in a general direction between our houses, where all the trees are growing.
Whoever buys our houses next can worry about it.

[liberal N proud]

2. To what ends?

All it does is create costs for both states, the land owners, map makers, post office and other companies that have those addresses in their database.

This is coming from the same legislature worried about what bathroom you use.

[A Little Weird]

3. Thanks for posting!

You don't see a lot of state boundary changes these days. That's pretty exciting!

[Buns_of_Fire]

4. Given the caliber of elected officials these days,

perhaps it's best that they spend their time concerned about stuff like this.

Then, after the next census, they can negotiate moving the state lines fifteen feet back in the other direction -- that should keep them out of our hair for another ten years.

Then they can negotiate on whether single-ply or double-ply toilet paper should be mandated for use in the state. While they're working on that, maybe they won't notice that we've quietly offshored all current state legislatures to Bangalore and their services are no longer required.

[retrowire]

5. Ugh, we're taking in SIXTEEN southies???

#bostonjoke

[Recursion]

6. I seriously just spit out my water

(I did grad school living on Mission Hill)

[ms liberty]

7. A most excellent joke!

As a native and resident of NC, our joke is always that at least we're not SC! Of course, most everyone still goes to Myrtle Beach on vaca, lol! I much prefer Oak Island and the Wilmington area, unless I'm going back to my youth - I grew up on the Gulf Coast of Fla., still my all time favorite beaches.

[mdbl]

8. Who has the majority of Carowinds Amusement Park

That's all i want to know.

[Javaman]

9. do both states have state income taxes? nt

[jmowreader]

12. Yes, and they're not equal

North Carolina has a flat 5.8 percent tax.

South Carolina uses tax brackets:

$0-2,879: 0 percent
$2,880-5,759: 3 percent
$5,760-8,639: 4 percent
$8,640-11,519: 5 percent
$11,520-14,399: 6 percent
Everything above $14,400: 7 percent

I would be a little pissed if I went to bed as a South Carolinian and woke up as a North Carolinian. Registering a car is a good example: In South Carolina you need to pay $24 per year to put a plate on your car, and they have no inspection. NC has both a safety inspection and an OBD 2 emissions inspection - together they cost $30. (If you have a car that's 1995 or older, or a diesel, the inspection fee is $13.60 because they don't smog it.) The inspection is pretty stringent; a lot of people fail. Then a car plate is $36, a truck 4000 to 5000 pounds is $56.50 and a truck 5000 to 6000 pounds is $67. IIRC your total tax bill is quite a bit higher if you live north of the border. AND you have to change your address, admit to all your friends your governor is now Pat McCrory, and stop looking down your nose at the unwashed masses who live in NC.

[olddad56]

11. it is all about the public bathrooms

[rockfordfile]

13. This is funny

When I was kid we used get our fireworks in that area in South Carolina.