Short Session
– Surprise! – Ends Up as Just That
The General
Assembly adjourned its so-called short session on
July 13 after a 13-hour meeting in which a few
bills of major importance were passed and
hundreds of other pieces of legislation were
"postponed indefinitely" -- given a
merciful death. It was the earliest adjournment
date of a short session -- those held in
even-numbered years whose main purpose is to
adjust the state's two-year budget -- since 1988,
when lawmakers went home on July 12. See the complete
list of bills ratified by the General Assembly.
The final day saw a resolution of the bill to
outlaw video poker machines, agreement on how to
divide the tobacco settlement money for two trust
funds, and a compromise reached on legislation to
allow the first-ever toll roads in North
Carolina. And as lawmakers were trying to
complete their business and leave town, tempers
became heated over a seemingly innocuous change
in state law governing how county elections
boards determine the locations for one-stop
voting -- places where voters can apply for and
cast absentee ballots in the days before an
election. Before, local elections boards, which
include Republicans and Democrats, had to be
unanimous in choosing such one-stop voting sites.
But the House took up a bill (actually, it was
tacked onto a bill to limit fundraising by
lobbyists during legislative sessions) that said
the State Board of Elections could pick a
county's one-stop voting site if the local board
couldn't agree on a location.
The House GOP leadership slammed the idea as
diluting the strength of Republicans on local
elections boards. Angry House Republicans held up
signs saying "Shame," and each wanted
the floor to express their opposition. Democrat
House Speaker Jim Black, even as he called
security guards to stand by outside the chamber,
allowed each GOP member to speak that wanted to.
That raucous debate took more than four hours
before the bill, S.
767 Lobbyist Waiting Period, finally passed
on a party line vote of 61-48.
NCCBI's legislative agenda fared well this year.
First and foremost, the association achieved all
of its objectives for education, including the
fourth and final step in raising teacher salaries
to the national average, the final installment in
extending Smart Start into all 100 counties, and
continued funding under the Excellent Schools Act
for teacher bonuses in high-performing schools.
NCCBI also cheered when the General Assembly
approved legislation calling for a fall
referendum on issuing $3.1 billion in higher
education facilities bonds. NCCBI is leading the
campaign for passage of the bonds.
Perhaps NCCBI's biggest win of the session -- in
terms of how it will level the playing field
between the business community and the state
regulatory agencies -- was a major rewrite of the
state's Administrative Procedures Act. The
rewrite will make the process fairer and faster
when a business person wants an independent
arbiter to review a decision by a state
regulator. See a
complete story on that issue.
In addition, the General Assembly took important
steps toward implementing recommendations by the
Rural Prosperity Task Force. After the Senate
passed a session limits bill last year, this year
the House didn't seriously debate session limits
or four-year terms for legislators.
"In general, I think we had a very good
session," said NCCBI Vice President of
Governmenta Affairs Leslie Bevacqua.
"Heading the list of things we're proud of
is the education bonds, naturally, and full
funding for the other educational objectives --
which is no small accomplishment in a tough
budget year. But," Bevacqua added,
"we're very happy about passage of the
Administrative Procedures Act rewrite because I
think that will make life a lot easier for
companies when they have to deal with all the red
tape of state government. The bottom line is,
there weren't any major bills passed that I would
say are bad for business."
The legislature spent days debating whether to
outlaw video poker machines. The Senate passed a
total bill, but the House didn't want to go that
far and the thorny issue was handed to a
conference committee. The compromise reached
basically outlaws any additional machines but
grandfathers the ones already operating in the
state. The legislation says no location --
they're mostly found at truck stops and small
convenience stores -- may have more than three
machines.
And after being declared all but dead, the
legislation to allow toll roads in the state was
resurrected and approved. Pared down
substantially from its original version, which
called for five toll roads to be built by the
state and five others built by private
developers, the bill that was adopted on the
legislature's final day allows only one toll road
as a pilot project. Further, the DOT will not be
allowed to use its broad powers to condemn and
acquire land for the private developer; it can
use its powers only to develop access roads
leading to the toll road. The legislation is H.
1630 Toll Roads.
Other bills of interest that were passed in the
session's final days include:
H.
1431 Tobacco and Health Trust Funds. This
measure sets the formula for dividing North
Carolina's proceeds from the national tobacco
settlement.
H.
1499 Interlock/Open Container Changes. This
bill makes it illegal for a passenger in a car to
have an open alcoholic beverage.
H.
1804 Establish Juvenile Department. This
measure elevates the Office of Juvenile Justice
and Delinquency Prevention to department-level
status.
S.
1192 Criminal Record Checks/Long-Term Care.
This new law requires the operators of rest homes
and other long-term care facilities to conduct
criminal record background checks on all
prospective employees.
S.
1183 NCRR Amendments. This measure gives the
board of directors of the N.C. Railroad broad
powers to operate the railroad like a business,
while still requiring annual reports to the
General Assembly.
S.
1252 Brownfields Tax Incentive. This measure
induces developers to reclaim brownfields by
reducing local property taxes over a five-year
period. During the first year, the tax exclusion
is 90 percent.
S.
1266 Uniform Electronic Transactions Act.
This measure seeks to make it easier to conduct
business over the Internet by using electronic
signatures.
S.
1381 Reallocate Water Bond Funds. This
measure makes more of the money from the 1998
state bond issue for water and sewer improvements
to be available as grants to local governments,
instead of low-interest loans.
S.
1460 Film Industry Incentives. This new law
makes grants available to filmmakers who produce
works in the state by offering grants of up to 15
percent of the value of the production.
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