State Representative Dixon told the Duplin County Board of Commissioners during public comment that he and Representative Julie von (Julie Howard referenced in the transcript) filed House Bill 729 to phase out the property‑tax exclusion for solar facilities that was enacted by the General Assembly in 2008.

“Some of you may be aware, House Bill 729, which is a bill that the senior finance chairman, chairwoman, Representative Julie Howard and I filed to phase out the property tax exclusion on solar facilities,” Dixon said. He told the board he expected the bill to be heard and said, “I have 68 votes out of 71 in the House, to pass the bill. I believe we could pass it in the Senate.”

Dixon described the current exclusion established by the General Assembly in 2008 as an 80% exclusion of taxable value for solar facilities and proposed a compromise schedule he said would phase the exclusion out over several years: first year taxable at 40% of value, second year 60%, third year 80%, then taxable at 100% thereafter, as he described it in his remarks.

Dixon compared the exclusion for solar facilities to the lack of similar exclusions for other property types and framed the bill as a move toward restoring full taxable value for solar projects over a transition period. The statement was delivered as part of the meeting’s public‑comment portion; no formal county action on the bill was recorded at the meeting.