JULY 13, 2001

Election law changed to accommodate Hispanic voters
Several other election-reform bills advance in the legislature
North Carolina’s growing Hispanic population won recognition Monday when the House gave final approval to legislation that would require bilingual voting instructions in 111 localities. By a vote of 77-27, the House accepted Senate amendments to H. 1041 Ballot Instructions in Spanish {23 co-sponsors} and sent the bill to the governor's desk. New census figures put the Hispanic population in North Carolina at 378,963, a 393 percent increase over the 1990 total.

The measure requires counties and municipalities with a Hispanic population of at least 6 percent – which hits 19 counties and 92 towns -- to print ballot instructions in both Spanish and English. Up to now ballot instructions have been translated for Hispanic voters in 18 counties that asked for and received such help from the State Board of Elections. The bill would apply to this fall's municipal elections.

The measure is one of several voting-law changes in the hopper. Another bill winning passage Monday was H. 980 Children in Voting Enclosures {multiple co-sponsors}, a measure making it legal for parents to bring their children inside the voting booth -- a current prohibition that is often ignored. The bill, which would apply to children under 18, also will go to the governor after the House agreed to Senate amendments by a vote of 98-1.

A third election-law bill passed, H. 31 Presidential Elector Challenge {Goodwin}, which specifies that it will be up to the General Assembly, followed by the governor, to choose electors in a contested presidential election, such as happened in Florida. The House, by a vote of 91-5, agreed to Senate amendments and sent the bill to Easley.

Under the bill, if the secretary of state is unable by mid-December to certify a winner of the November popular state vote for president, the General Assembly would hold a special session to choose the electors six days before electors meet in Raleigh. If legislators could not decide on the electors by the day before the meeting day, the governor would appoint the electors.

Elsewhere in the election-reform movement, the Senate on Wednesday approved H. 34 Ban Butterfly and Punch Card Ballots {Goodwin} by a vote of 49-1.The bill was amended in committee Tuesday make clear that its provisions apply to official ballots in any referendum, primary, or other election. It applies in eight counties that continue using such ballots – Cabarrus, Duplin, Forsyth, McDowell, Mitchell, Onslow, Vance and Watauga. The measure now returns to the House for concurrence in the amendments.

Meanwhile, the Senate on Tuesday gave second- and third-reading approval to H. 57 Labeling Campaign Ads {Baker} and returned the measure to the House for concurrence in amendments. The amendment provides that, in a newspaper advertisement or insert, the total height of the disclosure statement need not constitute five percent of the printed space of the advertisement if the type of the disclosure statement is at least 28 points in size. Another change reduces from three seconds to two seconds the required length of disclosure statements for radio advertisements, provided the statement is spoken so that its contents may be easily understood.

Legislature pauses to honor Dale Earnhardt
The General Assembly paused this week to pass a resolution praising the life and memory of the late NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt. Watching from the galleries were Earnhardt's mother, Martha, and his daughter, Kelly, as lawmakers extolled the seven-time Winston Cup champion. Several lawmakers said it was appropriate to honor Earnhardt after his son Dale Jr.’s victory Saturday at the Pepsi 400 at Daytona. It was the first race there since his father was killed Feb. 18 in a crash in the final lap of the Daytona 500.


Billboard moratorium debate tales a local twist
The debate over billboards on Interstate 40 took a new twist this week when proponents of a total ban said they would consider a milder measure allowing counties to opt out after a local referendum.

Members of a House Environmental Committee on Tuesday briefly debated and heard a presentation by sponsor Sen. Brad Miller {D-Wake} on S. 1098 Outdoor Advertising Along I-40. The discussion exposed sharp differences among environmentalists and property rights advocates. It extends and enlarges the current moratorium on I-40 billboards from Wilmington to the Alamance-Orange county. Sen. Miller’s bill, which narrowly passed the Senate in April, makes the ban permanent and extends it the entire length of state. It applies only to new billboards, not the 792 already erected.

An amendment floating in the House would allow county commissioners to opt out of the ban if voters say so in a referendum.

Statistics released by supporters of the measure indicate there are 2,465 billboards on North Carolina interstates, four times as many as Virginia, advocates say.  There are 131 billboards on I-40 in Guilford County, 66 in Forsyth County, 29 in Davie County, 66 in Iredell, 66 in Catawba, 61 in Burke and 45 in McDowell.

Tony Adams, executive director of the N.C. Outdoor Advertising Association, told legislators that counties  can restrict billboards through local zoning laws and many, including Forsyth County, already do so.


Streamlined sales tax gets favorable report from House Finance
The House Finance Committee on Thursday favorably reported S. 144 Streamlined Sales Tax {Kerr} after accepting an amendment from Rep. Art Pope (R-Wake) to add the words “for home consumption” to the definition of prepared food. The bill passed the Senate in May.

At Thursday’s meeting, Kerr stressed that this is not a tax on the Internet but puts North Carolina’s brick and mortar businesses on the same playing field as those that are out of state.  The Department of Revenue estimates the state is losing $120 million to $140 million a year from Internet, catalog and home-shopping purchases on which use taxes -- the equivalent of sales taxes -- aren't collected. State budget analysts estimate that could grow to $450 million by 2003, $300 million in state taxes and $150 million for local governments.