After several busy weeks preparing the budget and handling the last of the bills that needed to pass before a key deadline, this holiday-shortened week offered lawmakers in the House an opportunity to slow down.
My colleagues in the Senate finished work on their version of the budget Thursday. The next step will be for negotiators in the House and the Senate to reconcile the differences between the proposals and then send a compromise bill to the governor for his signature. In the House, we began reviewing bills that were approved in the Senate and bills that would require raising or spending money. We approved bills that would strengthen ethics laws, require closer scrutiny of state programs and stiffen the penalties for killing police animals or assistance animals. We believe they are the kinds of changes those of you back home would support.
Thank you as always for allowing me to share this information with you. Please contact me if I can be of any service.
Agenda
House Democrats laid out an ambitious agenda soon after the start of this session and leaders of the chamber met with the press Tuesday to announce that they have already met their goals. The agenda called for improving confidence in government, providing a quality education, creating jobs, improving health, supporting our military, ensuring safer communities and protecting the environment. Bills that have cleared the House have addressed those matters in several ways, and House Speaker Joe Hackney and Majority Leader Hugh Holliman pledged that for the remainder of the session the House will focus on further improvements in those areas. Holliman said he was particularly interested in legislation passed by the Senate that would create tobacco-free schools and another bill that would strip convicted lawmakers of a portion of their government pensions. Speaker Hackney said that this session has gone smoothly largely because all members have been civil and cooperative, as he requested at the start of the year. Minority Leader Paul Stam agreed that the chamber has been more efficient and that House leaders have operated under rules that permit more open and thorough debate in committees and on the floor.
Budget
The state Senate approved its proposed budget this week, clearing the way for negotiations to begin on the final plan. Their $20 billion proposal cuts both the income tax on the highest wage-earners and the sales tax by a quarter percent and spends $263 million less than the House proposal. It would provide no money for Medicaid relief to the counties, while the House has suggested giving the counties $100 million. The Senate plan would also spend $82 million less than the House for health and human services and decrease the reserve fund allocation by $133 million. The University of North Carolina system would get $60 million more, but community colleges would get $8 million less than what the House proposed. Teachers, community college faculty and university employees would get 5 percent raises — the same as the House proposed — but state employees would get a 4 percent raise, a quarter-percent less than what was proposed in the House plan. The Senate proposes borrowing $1.2 billion to pay for about 30 construction projects. That’s nearly three times more than the House proposed borrowing. Budget negotiators in the House and the Senate will begin meeting soon to work out the differences in the plans. The intention is to have the spending plan in place by July 1, the beginning of the next fiscal year.
Ethics
Elected officials convicted of job-related corruption would lose part of their government pensions under a Senate bill now making its way through the House. The bill (SB659) cleared the Judiciary I committee on Tuesday and now heads to the Committee on Pensions and Retirement. The measure was approved in the Senate unanimously. It would require elected officials to give up the state-funded portion of their retirement funds if they are convicted of felonies relating to public corruption or election laws fraud.
Justice
Two bills that would change the death penalty in North Carolina were modified this week so that they can stay alive past last week’s crossover deadline. One bill (HB1691) would suspend executions in North Carolina for two years to allow the state to re-examine the administration of the death penalty and to ensure the penalty does not violate constitutional provisions against cruel and unusual punishment. The other bill (HB1526) would reduce the number of aggravating factors that make defendants eligible for the death penalty. The bill is intended to allow prosecutors to focus their resources on the worst crimes.
Public Safety
Willfully killing a police animal or an assistance animal, such as a seeing-eye dog, could soon become a felony in North Carolina. House members unanimously approved a bill (SB34) Wednesday strengthening the penalty. The bill would also make killing a law enforcement animal or an assistance animal an aggravating circumstance for other criminal offenses. The proposal now goes to the governor to be signed into law.
Operations
House members voted this week to create a commission that would review state programs to determine if they are necessary. The group of 18 lawmakers would not conduct financial audits of programs. Sen. Daniel Clodfelter, the sponsor of the bill (SB1132), said that North Carolina is one of only four states without such an internal review. The bill now returns to the Senate so that they can consider changes made in the House.
Please remember that you can listen to each day’s session, committee meetings and press conferences on the General Assembly’s website. Once on the site, select “audio,” and then make your selection — House Chamber, Senate Chamber, Appropriations Committee Room or Press Conference Room.
I introduced the below bills that were approved in House Committees:
* SB 777 Amend Certified Public Accountants Criminal Punishment (identical to HB 519) received a favorable report in Judiciary III on May 31st. Bill will increase the criminal penalty for the unlawful use of the title “certified public accountant” (CPA) from a Class 3 misdemeanor to a Class 1 misdemeanor.
* HB 792-Northampton County Occupancy Tax received a favorable report in Finance on May 31st. Bill authorizes Northampton County to levy a 6% occupancy tax. At least two-thirds of the proceeds would be used to promote travel and tourism and the remainder would be used for tourism-related activities. The bill conforms to the guidelines supported by the NC Travel and Tourism Coalition and adhered to by the House Finance Committee. Bill received a favorable recommendation from House Finance Subcommittee on Occupancy Tax on May 30, 2007.
The following people visited my office:
The House will return to session Monday at 7 p.m.
As I’ve said many times before, I hope you will continue to let me know how you feel about the issues that are being 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.