APRIL 27, 2001

Committee actions and floor votes

Senate passes session limits bill, measure doubling terms to 4 years
The Senate on Tuesday gave second- and third-reading approval to measures that would double the terms of legislators to four years and limit the length of legislative sessions to 135 calendar days in odd-numbered years and to 60 days in even-numbered years. S. 104 Four-Year Terms and Session Limits {Hoyle} and the related enabling legislation, S. 94 Implement Four-Year Terms and Session Limits {Weinstein} now go to the House. The bill calls for a statewide referendum in May 2002. If approved by voters, four-year terms would begin with the November 2002 elections. A similar referendum on four-year terms was rejected by voters in 1982. The session-limits measure specifies that lawmakers by majority vote could extend the length of a session by 10 days. Also, long sessions would start in the December following the November general election. That would allow for a one-day organizational meeting in early December to elect legislative leaders so that business can get started right way when they reconvene in January.  The floor votes came after the Senate Judiciary I Committee on Monday adopted a committee substitute for S. 94 that adds a new provision providing that the regular session of the House and Senate is to be held biennially beginning at noon on the first Wednesday in December after their election or the election of the governor, whichever occurs first. The committee also adopted a committee substitute for S. 104 that provides that the president pro tem of the Senate serves as the president of the Senate upon succession until the expiration of the term of office as senator or the qualification of a new lieutenant governor, whichever occurs first.

Senate passes bill changing winner-take-all presidential electors system
Voting largely along party lines, the Senate voted 34-15 on Tuesday to replace the state’s winner-take-all system of choosing presidential electors with a system in which electors are chosen by congressional districts. The bill, S. 70 Presidential Electors by District {Lee}, now goes to the House. Senate Republicans said Democrats wanted the change to Democratic presidential candidates will have a chance of winning some electoral college votes in North Carolina.  Under the bill, the presidential candidate who wins a majority of votes in each of the state’s 12 congressional districts (or, 13 after redistricting) would be awarded one electoral vote. Two additional at-large electors would be chosen based on the statewide vote total. A similar bill has been approved by a House committee. Nebraska and Maine use a similar system, and 21 state legislatures are looking at scrapping winner-take-all in light of the razor-thin margins in the last presidential election. Meanwhile, the House Election Laws and Campaign Finance Reform Committee on Tuesday adopted a committee substitute for H. 831 Election Changes {Alexander, Luebke} that provides that one-stop absentee voting begins on the third Thursday before the election. The committee substitute also changes the time that absentee voting ends from 5 p.m. on the Friday before the election to 1 p.m. on the Saturday before the election and authorizes county elections boards to extend the time to 5 p.m. on that Saturday.

Senate approves bill for appointment of appellate court judges
The Senate on Tuesday narrowly passed legislation calling for appellate court judges to be appointed by the governor instead of elected in partisan elections. The measure, S. 787 Judicial Appointment/Voter Retention {Odom}, would require Supreme Court justices and Court of Appeals judges to be appointed by the governor, confirmed by the legislature and then stand for retention elections. It was approved 31-17, one vote more than the 30 needed for a constitutional amendment measure to pass. The floor vote came after the Senate Judiciary I Committee on Monday adopted a committee substitute for S. 787 which deletes from the bill a provision that would have required that judicial retention elections be placed at the top of the ballot above all other elections or matters for decision, whether partisan, nonpartisan, or otherwise.

Senate approves ban on executions of the mentally retarded
The state Senate voted 31-18 on Monday to ban capital punishment for persons with an IQ of 70 or less on grounds that such individuals don’t have the capacity to appreciate their actions. During an hour-long debate on S. 173 No Death Penalty/Mentally Retarded {Ballance} supporters offered a concession to address fears raised by prosecutors that defendants would fake low results or hire a psychiatrist willing to give them a low score. The bill requires proof that defendants scored poorly on IQ tests before the crime occurred. There are 218 persons on death row in North Carolina and mental-health advocates estimate about 20 of them are retarded. A spokeswoman for Gov. Easley, a former prosecutor, would not say whether he would sign the bill into law if it passes the House.

Senate passes bill protecting car dealers from manufacturers
The Senate on Wednesday gave second- and third-reading approval to S. 470 Clarify Motor Vehicle Dealer Franchise Laws {Hoyle} just hours after the bill was amended and favorably reported by the Commerce Committee. The committee substitute changed the way the original bill set up an informal dispute resolution procedure for dealers and car manufacturers. The committee substitute creates a mediated settlement conference procedure that involves these steps: Dealer requests conference with letter stating grievance. Dealer determines whether both sides will be represented by counsel. Commissioner appoints mediator. Parties select time and place; if they disagree, mediator selects. Manufacturer or distributor responds to grievance. Parties bear the expense of the mediation. Mediator promotes settlement, does not impose his or her judgment. If mediation fails, dealer may bring a civil action. The bill now goes to the House.

Senate bill limits ‘soft money’ from national parties
The Senate on Wednesday gave second- and third-reading approval to S. 8 Restrict National Soft Money {Gulley, 7 others}, a measure that restricts the flow of so-called “soft money” donations from national party political to the campaigns of North Carolina office seekers. The measure, which passed on a 35-15 vote, closes a loophole created two years ago that allowed the national Democratic and Republican parties to evade a $4,000 limit on contributions to state candidates. However, as passed the bill is weaker than a version approved Tuesday by the Judiciary I Committee. The committee substitute limited donations from national political parties to specific uses, including office rent, telephone bills, voter registration drives and the like.

Senate rejects Charlotte’s bid for radar cameras to catch speeders
By a 26-22 vote on Wednesday, the Senate rejected a bill, S. 857 Charlotte Photo Radar {Odom}, that would have allowed Charlotte to use radar and cameras to catch speeders and then mail them a $50 ticket. Charlotte already is one of several cities that use cameras at dangerous intersections to photograph drivers who run red lights. The bill would have expanded that program to allow automated radar systems to catch speeders.

House approves moratorium on health insurance mandates. . .
The House gave second- and third-reading approval Wednesday to H. 1048 Moratorium On Health Insurance Mandates {Hurley, Owens, Redwine, Shubert}. The action came after the House Insurance Committee on Monday adopted a committee substitute for the bill for that adds a provision specifying that the bill does not prohibit an expansion of coverage in an individual or group health benefit plan or policy if the expansion of coverage is deemed to be cost-efficient based upon a cost-benefit analysis performed by the Department of Insurance.

. . . while expanding access to out–of-network eye doctors
By a 71-44 vote, the House on Wednesday gave second-reading approval to H. 1109 Managed Care/Patient Access {Nye}, a measure that would require insurers to pay for care provided by eye doctors and optometrists not in their networks. The House passed the same bill in 1999 but it died in the Senate. Opponents said it will raise health insurance costs. A final vote on the bill is expected Thursday.

House passes bill expanding ‘no excuse’ early voting to primaries
The House gave second- and third-reading approval Wednesday to H. 977 Early Voting {Nesbitt}, a measure that expands the one-stop absentee voting used in the November general election to party primaries. Last fall about 400,000 people voted over a three-week period before the November election. Unlike mail-in absentee ballots, they weren't required to give a reason for voting before election day. The bill now goes to the Senate. Also Wednesday, the House passed several other election reform bills, including H. 1041 Ballot in Spanish {Lucas}, H. 1186 Voter Registration by Fax {Blue}, H. 1192 Poll Closing Times {Blue}, H. 1046 Election Data by Precinct {Alexander}, and H. 1191 Canvass Show Under/Over Votes {Blue}.

House passes baby abandonment bill
The House on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a bill, H. 275 Infant Homicide Prevention Act {Haire}, that allow unwed parents to leave their babies with responsible adults and avoid criminal penalties. Supporters say the measure, which was approved 108-9, will reduce deaths of babies abandoned or killed by their parents. Since 1987, 22 babies across the state have been killed or died after being abandoned by young parents. Before sending the bill to the Senate, the House voted 59-57 to prohibit married couples from being able to abandon their babies without facing criminal penalties.

Other actions of interest

The Senate on Thursday gave second- and third-reading approval to S. 1024 Amend Appointment of EMC Members {Carter}, which would change membership on the Environmental Management Commission.  Currently, the governor makes 13 appointments, the president pro tem of the Senate and the speaker of the House of Representatives make two appointments each. S. 1024 gives the governor 11 appointments and gives the president pro tem of the Senate and speaker of the House three appointments each (adding one at-large appointment for each). The bill also adds language that “in making appointments to the commission, the appointing authorities shall ensure that the geographic regions of the state are fairly represented.”  Terms of members would be changed for EMC members from six years to four years. The bill now goes to the House.

The House on Thursday gave second- and third-reading approval to H. 1009 Consistent Risk-Based Remedial Actions {Allen, 20 others}, a measure which is supported by NCCBI and Manufacturers and Chemical Industry Council of North Carolina. The bill directs the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Department to develop a risk-based approach to environmental cleanup as a voluntary alternative to certain state cleanup programs. The Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources would adopt rules to implement the risk-based program, including methods to assess, prioritize and remediate contaminated sites that would apply to a wide range of contaminants. The rules would be consistently applied to cleanup activities, but would allow for reasonable distinctions among contaminated areas based on relevant factors, such as (1) the nature of the environmental contamination, (2) the risk of harm posed by the contamination, (3) the size and complexity of the contaminated area, and (4) the current and anticipated future uses of the contaminated area and adjacent lands.

The House gave second- and third-reading approval Tuesday to H. 351 Utilization Review and Grievance Changes {Hurley, Dockham}, a measure that makes technical and substantive changes in the state law governing managed care utilization review and grievance procedures. The action came a day after the House Insurance Committee adopted a committee substitute for the bill. The measure now goes to the Senate.

The Senate gave third-reading approval Wednesday to S. 937 Certificate of Need/Adult Care Homes Regulated {Purcell}, a measure that sets rules for development of adult care homes. The action came after the Senate Health Care Committee on Monday adopted a committee substitute for the bill that includes a finding that those who received exemptions under 1997 and 1999 legislation have had time to complete development plans and initiate construction of beds in adult care homes and includes a finding that because of that legislation, beds allowed under the exemptions above will count in the inventory of adult care home beds available to provide care to residents in the State Medical Facilities Plan. The measure now goes to the House.

The Senate on Wednesday gave second- and third-reading approval to H. 142 Amend Marriage Statutes {Sutton}, a measure that specifies that youths under 14 can’t get married and require a District Court judge’s permission for youths under 16 to get married. Current law allows mothers or expectant mothers as young as 12 to get married with a parent's permission. The bill now goes back to the House for concurrence in Senate amendments

The House on Tuesday gave second- and third-reading approval to H. 1113 Financial Records Kept Confidential {Baddour}, an act that limits disclosure of consumer financial information to third persons and provides for education of the public on those limitations. The measure now goes to the Senate.

The House on Tuesday gave second- and third-reading approval to H. 1118 Fraud Against Financial Institutions {Church}, an act that makes it a Class I felony for an individual to defraud a bank, savings bank, S&L or other financial institution. The measure now goes to the Senate.

The House on Tuesday gave second- and third-reading approval to H. 1304 Teacher Loan Program {Gibson, Morris, McLawhorn, Coates}, a measure that requires the state Treasurer and the N.C. Housing Finance Agency to develop pilot programs to provide new teachers with mortgage assistance and other incentives to stay in the classroom for at least three years. The measure now goes to the Senate.

The Senate on Tuesday gave second- and third-reading approval to S. 109 Require Experience for Death Penalty Cases {Wellons}, a measure that requires the state Supreme Court to adopt rules establishing minimum standards for defense attorneys, prosecutors and judges handling capital cases. The bill now goes to the Senate.

The House on Wednesday gave second-reading approval to H. 1308 Extend Low Sulfur Gasoline Implementation {Gibson}, a measure that would delay for two years -- until 2006 -- a requirement for North Carolina gas stations sell only low-sulfur gasoline. The action came after the House Environment and Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday by a 10-8 vote, favorably reported the bill. Rep. Pryor Gibson (D-Montgomery), a co-chair of the panel, told the committee that while he favors clean-air legislation and was a major supporter of the 1999 act establishing the low-sulfur gasoline mandate, he doubted that refineries would be able to supply North Carolina’s needs by the current deadline.

The House on Wednesday gave second- and third-reading approval to H. 1312 Extend Swine Moratorium {Gibson}, a measure that extends for another two years the current moratorium on new or expanding industrial hog farms. The vote was 87-13.

The Senate Education/Higher Education Committee on Monday adopted a committee substitute for S. 927 Modify Laws/Students With Disabilities {Lucas}. The substitute adds provisions throughout the bill to make clear that the obligations placed by the statutes and by the bill on local educational agencies also apply to charter schools. The measure was then re-referred to the Appropriations Base Budget Committee.

The House Education Committee on Monday adopted a committee substitute for H. 243 Teacher Retirement Eligibility {Bell, 23 others}. The bill makes certain part-time public school teachers eligible to participate in the Teachers’ and State Employees’ Retirement System. The committee substitute limits that eligibility to part-time teachers who work between 20 and 30 hours a week and who (1) are employed in low-performing schools or (2) are employed in the teacher’s area of certification and that area has been found by the State Board of Education to be in critical teacher shortage. 

The House on Wednesday gave second- and third-reading approval to H. 599 Revised Consumer Finance Act {Church}, a measure that, among other things, sets the maximum interest rates that finance companies can charge for small loans. The Rules Committee on Monday reported without prejudice a committee substitute for the bill had been reportedly favorably by the Financial Institutions Committee on April 5. As reported by the Rules Committee, finance companies can charge no more than a 30 percent (now, 36 percent) interest on loans not exceeding $6,000; and a set loan processing fee of $25 (was, 5 percent of loan amount up to $50). However, fees and interest rates are higher for other loans. The bill now goes to the Senate.
 
The House on Wednesday gave second- and third-reading approval to H. 948 Redefine Special ABC Area {Haire}. The action came after the House ABC Committee on Monday adopted a committee substitute for the bill for that adds a provision that the bill does not apply in Swain County and a provision that if that exception for Swain County should be held by a court to be unconstitutional, that holding does not affect the validity of the remaining portions of the bill.  

The Senate on Wednesday gave second- and third-reading approval to S. 347 Use of State Property/Blount Street Historic District {Rand}, a measure that will allow the state to sell several historic homes in the Blount Street Historic District near the Governor’s Mansion in downtown Raleigh. As amended and approved by the Rules Committee on Tuesday, the measure directs the Department of Administration and the Capital Planning Commission to modify the Capital Area Master Plan for state government to provide for the sale to private or public entities of state-owned property within the district. The bill calls for preservation or conservation agreements on all properties sold; provides for private negotiation and sale; requires 45-day comment period for sales where the intended use is not residential. Proceeds from the sale of the historic buildings would be used for maintenance of the Governor’s Mansion and other similar purposes.

The Senate Insurance Committee on Tuesday amended and favorably reported S. 461 Insurance Information Privacy {Swindell, 5 others}, a measure to make the North Carolina Information and Privacy Protection Act comply with the consumer information privacy requirements in the federal Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.  As amended, the bill requires notice of information practices be provided to applicants or policyholders before the initial disclosure of personal information; allows an insurance institution, its affiliates, and other financial institutions to provide joint notices and to provide a single notice to joint applicants; deletes notice requirement where applicant’s last known address is invalid or to policyholders whose policy has lapsed and the institution has not communicated with the policyholder for 12 consecutive months; and provides that if an agent does not share covered information and the agent’s principal provides required notices, the agent is not required to provide notice.

The House Insurance Committee on Wednesday favorably reported a committee substitute for H. 360 Health Insurance Omnibus Changes {Dockham, Hurley}, a measure that clarifies the law on stipulations as to jurisdictions and limitations of actions and the preferred provider plan law.  Among other things, the committee substitute deletes original bill’s provision that no health or life insurance policy or annuity contract could contain a provision depriving an insured or beneficiary of the right to a trial by jury.

The Senate on Thursday gave third-reading approval to S. 1098 Outdoor Advertising Along I-40 {Miller}, a measure that extends the current moratorium on new billboards along the interstate from the Triangle to Wilmington and expands the ban to include the area all the way to the Tennessee border. The vote was 25-23, with 22 Democrats and three Republicans voting for the measure and 11 Democrats and 12 Republicans voting against it.


Bills of interest introduced this week

Note: The House and Senate deadline for introducing non-financial bills, which has passed, does not apply to bills that impact appropriations. The measures summarized below fit that description.

  H. 1379 INCOME TAX THROWBACK RULE {Insko, Luebke}. Provides that in apportioning corporate income to this state for tax purposes, sales delivered to another state where they are not taxable are treated as sales in this state. Provides that sales of tangible personal property take place in N.C. if (1) property is received in N.C. by purchaser other than U.S. government, or (2) property is shipped from NC and purchaser is either U.S. government or a taxpayer not taxable in state of purchaser. Effective for tax years beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2002. Referred to Finance.  

  H. 1381 LOCAL WATER QUALITY PLANS {Culpepper}. Requires certain local governments upstream of the coastal area to develop and implement water quality management plans, to include the development of water quality management plans as a purpose for which Clean Water Management Trust Fund grants may be awarded, and appropriates funds to implement this act. Establishes a cooperative state-local program for water quality management in eight coastal river basins. Creates a 15-member Clean Water Commission, with the governor, speaker of the House and president pro tem of the Senate each having five appointments. Requires each local government with jurisdiction of land within a watershed that drains into the coastal area to develop and adopt a local water quality management plan that meets or exceeds minimum standards set by the commission. Effective July 1, 2001. Referred to Environment.  

  H. 1388 REMOVE SUNSET ON STATE PORTS TAX CREDIT {Hurley, McComas, Preston, Smith}. Removes the sunset on the state ports tax credit and excludes wood chips from the state ports tax credits. Effective for taxable years beginning on or after March 2, 2000. Referred to Finance.

  H. 1411 TAX INCENTIVES FOR ALTERNATIVE FUEL VEHICLES {Tolson}. Provides incentives to increase the use of alternative fuel vehicles in privately owned fleets, including:  (1) exempt transfer of title of alternative fuel vehicles from the highway use tax; (2) make alternative fuel vehicles a special class of property exempt from property taxes tax; (3) provide for refunds of excise tax on motor fuel for alternative fuel vehicles. Credits range from 10 percent to 50 percent of purchase price for various types of alternative fuel vehicles. Referred to Finance.

  H. 1412 AID TO PRIVATE COLLEGES/UPPER INCOME STUDENTS {Luebke}. Decrease the aid to private institutions for a student who is, or can be claimed as a dependent by, an upper tax bracket taxpayer. Ties decrease to a cited section of the Internal Revenue Code. Effective July 1, 2001. Referred to Appropriations. 

  H. 1417 EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT/INCREASE UPPER RATES {Insko, Luebke}. Allows state income tax credit of 10 percent of the amount of earned income tax credit on individual claims and is qualified for under section 32 of the Code. Requires secretary of Revenue to refund excess to taxpayer if credit exceeds the amount of tax imposed reduced by the sum of all credits allowable. Raises the marginal tax rate on highest individual incomes from 7.75 percent to 8 percent. Effective for taxable years beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2002. Referred to Finance.  

  H. 1422 BACK-TO-SCHOOL SALES TAX HOLIDAY {Boyd-McIntyre}. Exempts certain items purchased during the first weekend of August from the sales and use tax and to make conforming changes. Items covered include clothing, clothing accessories, or footwear (each with a sales price of $125 or less) and school supplies with a sales price of $30 or less. Excludes specified items, including jewelry, cosmetics, eyewear, wallets, watches, athletic wear, layaway items, business and trade items, and rentals. Referred to Finance.

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