My colleagues and I in the House held marathon sessions last week in an effort to complete our remaining work.
We passed strong legislation on ethics and lobbying reforms, tougher regulations and monitoring of sex offenders, the creation of a new lottery oversight commission, a one-year halt on new landfills, and efforts to crack down on illegal immigrants and drunk drivers.
House Speaker Jim Black (D-Mecklenburg), Majority Leader Joe Hackney (D-Orange), and other members of the House Democratic Caucus held a press conference on Thursday morning at the Legislative Building to highlight our many accomplishments during this year’s session. Legislators’ hard work and on-going efforts in Raleigh resulted in a surge in education funding, large pay raises for teachers and state employees, an increase in the state’s minimum wage, improvements of health care and mental health programs, numerous crime fighting measures, and tax cuts for all North Carolinians.
The House and Senate adjourned simultaneously at 1:09 am on Friday morning, bringing an official close to the two and one half month session.
Below is a short re-cap of some of the final bills that we passed during our last week before adjourning. In the coming weeks, I will provide more information regarding our many accomplishments on education, health care, our economy, the environment and other important issues during this year’s short session.
The Legislature will reconvene on Wednesday, January 24, 2007. During the interim, you can contact me via email at michaelw@ncleg.net or by calling my Raleigh office at (919) 733-5662 or in Gaston at (252) 536-8013. My legislative office in Raleigh will be staffed on a part-time basis by Mary Capps, my Legislative Assistant. You can also find additional information on the General Assembly at www.ncleg.net.
NEWS FROM THE LEGISLATURE…
Legislators Approve Strong Ethics and Lobbying Reforms
The House and Senate overwhelmingly passed an ethics and lobbying bill (HB 1843) which supporters and advocates described as one of the toughest and most far-reaching package of reforms and regulations in the nation. The legislation strengthens ethics regulations for the executive, judicial and legislative branches of government along with boards and commissions. It establishes an independent, eight-member State Ethics Commission, which will conduct inquiries on complaints filed against all three branches of government. Following last year’s passage of tougher lobbying regulations (SB 612), lawmakers went further this year by enacting additional reforms including a gift-giving ban and a ban on lobbyists contributing to political campaigns.
Some reform advocates say it didn’t go far enough because it didn’t attempt to bar lobbyists from soliciting others for campaign donations; however, supporters of the bill said that those changes would be unconstitutional. Lobbyists would also be prevented from “bundling” or collecting campaign donations, a practice in which several campaign checks are given at a time to a candidate, sometimes after a fundraising event. Even that provision could be challenged in court, supporters said.
The House agreed 109-1 and the Senate 46-1 to the comprehensive reform package that was more than a year in the making. House members have spent close to 8 months on drafting various ethics, campaign finance and lobbying reform proposals. At the end of last year, House Speaker Jim Black established the House Select Committee on Ethics and Governmental Reform, which spent months prior to May on drafting legislative recommendations on various ethics, campaign finance and lobbying reforms.
Governor Easley, who must still sign the bill into law, said: “The Legislature has taken on a difficult issue and worked hard on what has become much more complicated than anyone anticipated. Their action should be applauded.”
Legislators previously approved bills that provide more control over the use of campaign funds, improves required training for campaign treasurers, and requires stronger reporting requirements on campaign finance reports as well as efforts by lobbyists and politically active “527” groups.
1-Year Halt on Landfills Passed
Legislators gave final approval to a one-year moratorium on new landfills. The legislation (SB 353) halts the permitting process of some proposed projects and implements a study to determine the environmental implications of landfills on North Carolina, especially in minority and low-income communities.
Environmental advocates have sought the moratorium in the face of four proposed new landfills — located in Camden, Brunswick, Hyde and Columbus counties — which would significantly expand the state’s landfill capacity. Opponents of the landfills argued the new projects would turn North Carolina, which is now a net exporter of trash, into the fourth-largest waste importing state. Officials with the waste management industry said that prohibition was unfair to companies that had invested years and millions of dollars to receive permits for new landfills, which were supported by some communities due to the economic investment and creation of new jobs.
Increased Restrictions on Sex Offenders
Sex offenders will face much stricter registration regulations in North Carolina beginning December 1. The House and Senate approved far-reaching legislation after months of work by the House Select Committee on Sex Offender Registration Laws and passage of several House bills that sought to better protect our children from these predators.
House and Senate members combined several bills previously passed by the House into one comprehensive package (HB 1896), which now awaits the Governor’s signature. The legislation prohibits a sex offender from living within 1,000 feet of a school or daycare center and bars offenders from working or volunteering in a position where they would interact with minors. Some of the worst predators face lifetime satellite monitoring under a new global positioning system (GPS), and all offenders must comply with tougher registration requirements, which will give authorities more chances to update addresses and photographs. The bill also takes aim at human trafficking and sexual servitude by increasing penalties, especially for those individuals who harbor children.
Legislators also included $1.5 million in the budget to upgrade the state’s sex offender registry, implement the global positioning system (GPS), and establish an email notification program so citizens can be notified when a registered sex offender moves into their neighborhood.
Many states have strengthened their sex offender laws since the 2005 kidnapping and killing of 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford, who spent much of her life in Gaston County, N.C., before moving to Florida with her father. A registered sex offender has been charged in her death.
Cracking Down on Illegal Immigration
Legislators approved several measures intended to combat illegal immigration. One bill headed to Governor Easley includes a provision prohibiting the use of Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITIN) to obtain a driver’s license, and instead requires a Social Security card or valid visa for all new applicants. Another measure (HB 1942) would require state government, including the UNC system, community colleges and school systems, to use a federal database to ensure new hires are legal residents. The House also previously passed a resolution (HR 2692) calling on the U.S. Congress to enact meaningful immigration reform, including locating a new immigration court in Charlotte and allowing local authorities to be able to work with federal agencies to deport illegal immigrants who are caught driving while impaired or for other serious crimes.
Lottery Oversight Commission Established
The House and Senate approved legislation that creates a new lottery oversight commission in an effort to ensure all lottery money goes directly to education programs. The nine-member panel will review the lottery’s annual revenue and make sure that the division’s proceeds are not supplanting existing education funds. The Governor, House Speaker and Senate President Pro Tempore will each appoint three members to the commission, each deciding on at least one educator and one person who is experienced in financial management. That panel will meet at least four times each year and will provide an annual report to the Legislature. The lottery law passed last year requires that the net revenues go to early childhood education, reducing class size, school construction and college scholarships. The new North Carolina Education Lottery, which began selling tickets on March 31, is expected to produce $425 million for education in its first year.
Toughening DWI Laws
After three years of work, legislators have approved a far-reaching overhaul of the state’s DWI laws that would impose tougher penalties for those who cause fatal accidents and limit the discretion of judges, which in the past has resulted in many DWI charges being reduced or completely tossed out of court. The measure (HB 1048) would also require merchants to keep records on keg sales and make it a misdemeanor for anyone younger than 21 to drink an alcoholic beverage. Defense lawyers have objected to the bill, saying it relies too heavily on breathalyzer tests and strips judges of latitude in deciding a case.
The DWI changes create three new felonies — and stiffer penalties — for automobile accidents that involve impaired driving and result in serious injury or death. The new proposal would also put pressure on prosecutors. Under the new rules, if a person’s impaired driving charges are reduced or dismissed, the prosecutor must document his reasoning and the court will make that decision available to the public. Lawmakers had discussed this proposal as a way to prevent arbitrary dismissals or reductions. The bill also urges judges to get training on the DWI laws. Many of the reforms came at the request of Gov. Mike Easley’s DWI task force, which was formed in 2003 and turned over about 40 recommendations to the General Assembly in early 2005.
“First in the Nation” Innocence Commission Created
Legislators took a “history-making” step last week as they gave final approval to legislation (HB 1323) that creates a one-of-a-kind legal path to exonerate the wrongfully convicted. The commission would be focused on examining questions of innocence, while the current criminal appeals process is geared toward ensuring fair trials. The commission would be made up of eight members, including a judge, prosecutor, victims’ advocate, defense lawyer and a sheriff, and the commission would employ a director to coordinate investigations.
After a formal inquiry, five of the eight commission members would have to find “sufficient evidence” of innocence to forward the claim to a three-judge panel. The judges would hold a hearing to consider evidence from both the prosecutor and the defendant. All three judges would have to find “clear and convincing evidence” to free a person. As part of a compromise devised by lawmakers, the commission during its first two years could not investigate claims from those who pleaded guilty. After those two years, the commission could send such a claim to the three-judge panel only if all eight members agreed.
The bill now awaits the Governor’s signature to become law.
Stormwater Rules Approved
Legislators gave final approval to new rules that oversee how stormwater runoff is managed in more than 150 small- and medium-sized communities (SB 1566). The Senate voted unanimously to approve a House version of the bill that lays out rules for land developers who disturb at least one acre of land in unincorporated counties and small cities and towns. These developers would have to create and enforce a plan as to how they intend to control rain and other water runoff to diminish the chances that pollutants enter waterways. The bill would require subdivisions and other home developers to install stormwater controls if they build near shellfish waters. Developers would have to set up retention ponds or vegetation to control rainwater runoff in coastal areas where more than 12 percent of the land is covered by buildings, pavement, gravel or athletic courts. Homebuilders and real estate agents had wanted the threshold at 24 percent, in line with the rules in non-coastal areas. The measure now goes to Gov. Easley’s desk.
Improving Our State’s Economy
Legislators passed several measures aimed at improving our state’s economy and creating jobs. First, we approved changes to the William S. Lee Act, which has created at least 135,000 new jobs since it took effect in 1996. The program, which is the state’s primary economic incentives tool, provides tax credits to businesses that create jobs in poor and impoverished communities. The state’s 100 counties will now be grouped into three categories, or tiers, instead of five.
Companies that agree to build in 40 counties considered the most economically distressed would be eligible for the highest per-job credit of $12,500. Companies that build in the 20 most economically vibrant counties, largely in the urban Piedmont, would continue receiving $750 per job. Job creation in the 40 counties in the middle would warrant $5,000 per job. Development zones, or economically distressed areas where companies can receive more lucrative tax credits, would be replaced with smaller “urban progress zones” designed to better target impoverished areas. The bill also creates “agrarian growth zones” to provide similar improved credits for certain rural areas. Jobs must meet certain wage thresholds to qualify for the credit.
Secondly, we restored a tax credit for television and video production companies that agree to film in North Carolina. Last year, lawmakers approved a 15 percent refundable tax credit on companies that spend at least $250,000 on a production; however, the 15 percent credit turns into 8.1 percent for companies that file a North Carolina tax return because they must also pay the state’s 6.9 percent corporate income tax on the expenses they claimed to get the credit. The bill, approved by a vote of 77-25 in the House on Thursday night and sent to the Governor for his signature, accepts the Senate version of a House bill that repeals several laws so the film production companies can receive the full 15 percent credit. State film officials have said the quirk in the 2005 law meant the state didn’t land as many film productions as they would have liked, but hope to bring additional film projects to our state in the coming years.
North Carolina ranks third nationally in revenues from film, television and commercial production and has held this position for the past 21 years. Our state has hosted more than 800 motion pictures, 14 network and cable television series and countless national and regional television commercials generating more than $6 billion in revenues for local economies, and is currently in talks with 20 potential new projects.
IN OTHER NEWS…
Additional Help For Teachers
Governor Easley signed into law HB 1151, which requires all North Carolina public schools to give teachers duty-free lunch periods as well as instructional planning time, with the goal of at least five hours per week. With this new law, North Carolina becomes the first state in the nation where a team of teachers decides how and when to establish planning time, according to the National Governors Association. The new law mandates that the School Improvement Teams, which include classroom teachers and administrators at each school, put into writing a policy to provide weekly planning time for teachers.
Only one-third of elementary teachers, according to the 2006 Teacher Working Conditions Survey, say they have adequate time for planning. Many teachers say they have no breaks between the beginning and end of the school day. As a result, teachers have little time to interact and learn from their colleagues in the same subject or at the same grade level in order to individualize instruction for each student.
The bill was sponsored by Rep. Maggie Jeffus, D-Guilford, who is a former teacher. There are 94,000 full-time public school classroom teachers in North Carolina, 47,000 of whom teach kindergarten through 8th grade, who will benefit from this new law. The provisions will start with the 2007-2008 school year.
Governor Signs Identity Theft Bill to Protect Veterans, Military, National Guard & Reserves
Governor Easley has signed into law HB 2883, which protects veterans, active military, and members of the National Guard and Reserves against identity theft. The bill was sponsored by Rep. Bruce Goforth, D-Buncombe.
The new law says that members of the military and veterans who may have been victims of a computer security breach in Washington, DC will not have to pay the typical $10 fee to have personal financial information withheld from release by credit reporting agencies. The bill was drafted after a laptop computer belonging to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs containing sensitive information on up to 26.5 million people was stolen in May. The computer has since been recovered and investigators say the personal data has not been compromised, but veterans remain concerned about the integrity of their personal financial information.
Affected individuals need to submit a copy of the notification they received from the VA with their request to freeze their financial information to the credit reporting agency to avoid the fee. The law is effective immediately and continues until July 1, 2007, or when the federal government implements its own program to pay for the credit reporting freeze for those veterans and others.
Information on what the Veterans Affairs Department is doing concerning the data security breech can be found on the web at: www.firstgov.gov/veteransinfo.shtml or calling 1-800-333-4636 (FED INFO). Attorney General Cooper also has information on this new law on his website at: this location.
More information on how to avoid identity theft can be found in the web at: www.consumer.gov/idtheft.
Grants Available for Small Businesses
The state is now accepting applications for One North Carolina Small Business Fund matching grants. These grants enable North Carolina’s small businesses to conduct the research and technology development that will generate the kinds of innovation critical to the future growth of our state’s economy. The One North Carolina Small Business Fund was approved by the N.C. General Assembly last year, with $1 million allocated for the first round of grants. Two dozen companies received grants last year. This year, the General Assembly approved an additional $5 million for the program in the budget.
For a business to be considered for a One North Carolina Small Business Fund grant, it must already have qualified for a federal Small Business Innovation Research or a Small Business Technology Transfer award. Under the One North Carolina Small Business Fund program’s guidelines, the state matches the federal money, with a $100,000 maximum per grant.
The application and more information on these matching grants can be found here.
As I’ve said many times before, I hope you will continue to let me know how you feel about the issues that were debated by the North Carolina Legislature and the challenges you and your family are facing each day.
By working together, we can make Northampton, Vance and Warren Counties and all regions of North Carolina a better place to live, work and raise a family.