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Legislative
Actions
Lawmakers
give final approval to several election reform bills
The
General Assembly completed work Wednesday on five election
reform bills, including an omnibus measure that lengthens the
one-stop non excuse early voting period and gives more power
to the State Board of Elections over county elections boards.
Another bill received final approval that bans the use of
butterfly and punchcard ballots in the six counties that
continue using them.
H. 831 Election Changes {Alexander} makes several
changes to existing election laws. The measure provides a
greater role for the State Board of Elections in personnel
decisions concerning county election directors; enhances the
certification program for election officials; removes
limitations on two provisions concerning precincts; changes
the length of the one-stop voting period; allows county boards
of elections to use other one-stop sites instead of the county
board office as long as a nearby site is provided; allows
later acceptance of voter registration applications; provides
for electronic transfer of voter registration applications
from the Division of Motor Vehicles; updates the statutes
concerning voter registration list maintenance; requires
permanent voter registration numbers; applies the write-in
statute to Superior Court judge elections; corrects a
reference in the campaign finance law; requires that all new
precinct lines follow census block lines unless the executive
director of the state board of elections grants a waiver after
making certain findings; and renames the executive
secretary-director of the State Board of Elections the
"executive director."
The
House voted 61-53 to accept the Senate version of H. 831
sent it to the governor's desk for his signature. House GOP
members questioned several aspects of the bill, particularly
on provisions adjusting the hours for one-stop voting sites.
The sites allow voters to cast ballots during the three week
before the election in person without mailing in an absentee
ballot. The bill would let county boards to keep the one-stop
voting sites open through the Saturday afternoon before the
primary or general election instead of the Friday afternoon
before the election. The bill specifies that the sites can
remain open evenings and weekends.
The
measure gives the State Board of Elections greater authority
to fire county election directors. New county directors also
will be required to receive four weeks of training, and
current directors would have to complete a certification
program. The measure also requires that voter registration
rolls be updated according to federal standards.
By a vote of 105-4, the House on Thursday concurred with
Senate amendments to H. 34 Ban Butterfly and Punchcard
Ballots {Goodwin} and the measure was enrolled. It outlaws
the use of such ballots – the kind that caused such
controversy in Florida in the presidential election – in the
six counties that still use them (Cabarrus, Duplin, Forsyth,
McDowell, Mitchell, Onslow). The measure doesn’t give the
counties any money to pay for new voting machines, but it
gives them until 2006 to make the change.
Meanwhile,
the Senate gave unanimous second- and third-reading approval
Wednesday H. 1186 Voter Registration by Fax and H.
1193 Voter Address Change by Fax {both by Blue}, measures
that allow voters to register and change their address by
facsimile. Military personnel stationed overseas already have
the option to register by fax. The Senate also gave final
approval Wednesday to H. 1126 Clarify
Residency/Registration/Voting {Thompson}, a measure that
clarifies that state officials who work in Raleigh may
maintain a residence in another county for voting purposes.
Lastly,
the House concurred with Senate amendments to H. 57
Labeling Campaign Ads {Baker}, a bill that makes slight
changes to existing campaign laws requiring disclosure of an
ad's sponsor.
Senate
passes bill allowing schools to display Ten Commandments
The
Senate on Tuesday gave second- and third-reading approval to H.
195 N.C. History Taught in Fourth and Eighth Grade {Barefoot}
and returned the measure to the House for concurrence in
amendments. The vote was 44-6. As the name implies, the bill
requires the State Board of Education to implement two years
of instruction in state history and geography.
But
more contentious were provisions that allow public schools to
display the Ten Commandments in the classroom and require
school systems to develop a character education curriculum
that teaches students courage, integrity, kindness,
perseverance and other traits. The bill also orders local
school systems to develop "a reasonable dress code."
Opponents
charged that the bill unconstitutionally violates the
principle of separation of church and state and promotes
Judeo-Christian teachings over other religious teachings.
Addressing those concerns, Sen. Walter Dalton (D-Rutherford)
offered an amendment that added the Justinian Code, the Magna
Carta and the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence as
examples
of documents that could be
displayed in schools "in proper historical context."
In other legislative actions of note:
Streamlined sales tax passes House:
The House gave second-reading approval Thursday to S. 144
Streamlined Sales Tax {Kerr} and scheduled a final vote on
the measure for Monday. The Senate passed the bill in May.
Rep. Paul Luebke (D-Durham) explained on the House floor that
this bill would bring “fairness to brick and mortar
merchants” in North Carolina. Rep. Art Pope (R-Wake) echoed
support for the measure and indicated the bill is not a new
tax. 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. A
coalition, including NCCBI and the N.C. Retail Merchants
Association, has worked on this issue for about two years.
Senate
panel approves loophole closings: The Senate
Finance Committee on Thursday favorably reported H. 1157
Enforce Tax Compliance and Equality/No Fraud {Hackney}.
The bill passed the House last week. The legislation closes
three corporate tax loopholes. One provision in the bill would
prevent companies from deducting royalty payments as a
business expense when payable to affiliated companies. A
second change would prevent a corporation from avoiding paying
franchise tax on its assets by transferring them to an
affiliated limited liability company. Currently, limited
liability companies are not subject to franchise tax. A third
provision narrows the loophole on taxation of corporate
subsidiary dividends by making state law conform to federal
tax law.
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