The General Assembly continues to work on a budget proposal and has directed state agencies to operate at a 15 percent reduction until a final plan is approved.
As I’ve said before, this is an extraordinarily difficult year to craft a budget. We are cutting more than $2 billion in spending and would have to scale back even more if not for some one-time federal stimulus money the state will receive. We are making these cuts as strategically as we can and in ways that will do the least harm.
While we have remained busy working on the state’s budget, we have also worked hard to pass legislation that we hope will improve your lives. The following information highlights some of the legislation that has made it through the House this week.
I hope you will contact me if you have questions, or if I can be of service. Thank you as always for your support and your interest in our state.
I wish you and your families a happy and safe July Fourth holiday.
Improving Government
Lawmakers have passed a bill that will transfer the functions and funds of the North Carolina Turnpike Authority to the Department of Transportation (HB 1617). The change means the turnpike authority will now be under the direct supervision of the Secretary of Transportation. The intent of the legislation is to conserve expenditures and improve efficiency. The General Assembly created the Turnpike Authority in 2002 in response to concerns about congestion and growth. The authority was granted permission to develop and operate up to nine projects.
State facilities that provide mental health, developmental disabilities, and substance abuse services will now be required to disclose certain information about death reports, facility police reports, and incident reports (SB 799). The intent of the legislation is to improve transparency. The bill now goes to Gov. Perdue to be signed into law.
Legislative drafting offices and state agencies will now be directed to use certain respectful references to people with disabilities in the preparation of legislation and rules. The legislation, known as “People First,” has passed both bodies of the legislature and will now be sent to Gov. Perdue to be signed into law (SB 208).
Jobs/Economy
On Tuesday, members of the House voted to extend the sunset of the Job Development Investment Grant Program, commonly known as JDIG (SB 467). Among other things, the bill will establish procedures for animal control officers to scan animals for owner information on microchips; require that euthanasia be conducted according to rules approved by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, if such rules exist; and require that, before animals are sold or put to death, they be made available for adoption under procedures that allow the public to inspect them, unless they are found to be unadoptable due to injury or defects of health or temperament.
The NC Board of Medicine will now be required to publish certain judgments, awards, payments, and settlements involving physicians. The legislation, which has passed both bodies of the legislature and been signed into law, requires disclosure of medical malpractice lawsuits that were settled for a total of $75,000 or more (HB 703).
All municipalities and counties will now be authorized to give a single annual notice to chronic violators of their public nuisance ordinances before the local government can act. A chronic violator is a person who owns property whereupon, in the previous calendar year, the city gave notice of violation at least three times under any provision of the public nuisance ordinance. The bill, which has passed both bodies of the legislature, will now go to Gov. Perdue to be signed into law (SB 564).
Probation officers would be allowed to transfer low-risk misdemeanants with no special conditions to unsupervised probation under a bill that has now passed both bodies of the legislature (SB 1089). Such a transfer to unsupervised probation will not relieve the misdemeanant of the obligation to continue making court-ordered payments under the terms of the misdemeanant’s probation. The bill will now go to Gov. Perdue to be signed into law.
Notes
On Monday night, members of the House officially honored the 75th anniversary of the Blue Ridge Parkway with a House Joint Resolution (HB 1655). The parkway continues to be the most visited of all the 391 units in the National Park System, attracting over 20 million visitors annually and contributing more than $2.3 billion annually to the region’s economy.
On Thursday, members of the House officially honored the 250th Anniversary of Halifax County with a Senate Joint Resolution (SB 1104). Several officials from Halifax County joined the House in the Gallery to celebrate the passage of the Resolution.
On July 1, 2009, a number of new state laws went into effect. The newly effective laws include:
Wray’s Legislation
SB-43 (HB-39) Require Boating Safety Education
HB-866-Community Development Target Areas
Meetings/Events
Please invite me to attend your county, city, community or civic, etc. meetings or events.
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.
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.