MARATHON SESSION CONCLUDES LEGISLATIVE YEAR

The General Assembly adjourned sine die just after 6 a.m. on Sunday, July 18, concluding a session that convened May 10. The effort to conclude the 2004 “short” session culminated in a series of floor sessions that began Friday, July 16, and were interspersed with committee meetings as legislators reduced the number of bills left to consider. Among controversial issues resolved in the waning hours of the session were proposals to restrict local governments in use of “amortization” to phase out non-conforming billboards, to impose a public school calendar providing for a September school start, to make legislative appointments, and to provide for a series of legislative studies. Legislation to modify the state budget for 2004-2005 was approved Saturday, July 17, in the form of a Conference Committee Report. The budget was sent to the governor the next day and signed into law July 20 as SL 2004-124.

Barring a special session in the fall, the General Assembly will next convene Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2005, at noon.

LEGISLATURE APPROVES COMPROMISE BILLBOARD BILL

The General Assembly approved and sent to the governor a revised proposal dealing with compensation to owners of off-premises billboards when signs are removed by counties and cities because they do not conform to zoning or land use standards. Following the governor’s July 9 veto of the original bill and the House vote July 12 to override the veto, the bill and the veto message were sent to the Senate where representatives of local governments, the outdoor advertising industry and environmental and planning groups were asked to work out a bill more acceptable to interested parties. The result was a bill, H1213, placing greater emphasis or relocation of non-conforming signs prior to determination of compensation to the sign owner. Details of the bill are described below.

NUMEROUS BILLS AWAIT GOVERNOR’S SIGNATURE

North Carolina’s Constitution provides the governor 30 days from adjournment of the General Assembly to sign or veto legislation. If neither action is taken, the legislation becomes law. As of early this week, 77 bills awaited gubernatorial action. This list includes a number of bills of interest to county officials. Among these are:

• H1213 – Outdoor Advertising Compensation
• H1420 – Regional Agency Debt Setoff
• H1464 – School Calendar Changes
• H1513 – Increase Local Government Death Benefit
• H1624 – Increase Retirees’ Contributory Death Benefit
• S277 – Exempt Higher Education Property
• S1054 – Increase Methamphetamine Penalties
• S1089 – Department of Transportation Authority to Receive Funds from Local Government
• S1148 – Care for Mentally Ill in Long Term Care Facilities
• S1152 – Studies Act
• S1210 – Phase II Stormwater Management
• S1244 – NC Cemetery Act/Fees/Bill Lee Tiers
• S1312 – Local Government/457 Plan

BUDGET PROVISIONS AFFECT COUNTIES

Among provisions included in the 2004-2005 Appropriations bills were several of importance to county officials:

• ADM school construction funding was not reduced.
• “Hold Harmless” funding (to compensate local jurisdictions whose 2002 sales tax revenues fall short of funds previously received as reimbursements) was extended through 2012.
• $4.1 million from the Clean Water Management Trust Fund was allocated to match other funds for Farmland Preservation.
• State employees received a salary increase of $1,000 or 2.5 percent, whichever is greater.
• Retirees received a 1.7 percent Cost-of-Living Adjustment.
• The More at Four Program received $51 million, about $9 million above that appropriated for 2004-2005 in the previous budget.
• $4 million was appropriated for additional local Child Protective Services workers, to be distributed to “address the needs of counties that have high caseload per child protective services worker ratios.”
• $1.125 million was appropriated to the North Carolina Institute for Public Health to continue development of “public health incubators” for “local public health departments in underserved regions.”
• $10 million was appropriated to the Mental Health Trust Fund.
• $4 million was appropriated to the Department of Health and Human Services for a “school nurse funding initiative,” providing for 80 school nurses in “areas in the greatest need for school nurses with the greatest inability to pay for these nurses.”
• Local school systems were granted “flexibility” in determining how to reduce expenditures from the State General Fund, based on estimates to be provided by the State Board of Education.

CLOSING

This Legislative Bulletin is the final Bulletin of the 2004 Legislative Session. We will resume publication when the General Assembly convenes in January 2005. A summary of the actions of the Legislative Session that affected counties this year will be sent out within the next few weeks and will be available at our Annual Conference in Buncombe County on Aug. 19-22, 2004.

Meanwhile, the Association has begun preparation for the 2005 Legislative Session. County boards, individual commissioners and affiliate organizations should submit proposed Legislative Goals to Association headquarters, P.O. Box 1488, Raleigh, NC 27602-1488 (Attention – Jim Blackburn), by Sept. 15, 2004.

BILLS OF INTEREST

CORRECTIONS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT
Updates

H918
“To increase the fee for service of process in civil cases and to earmark the increase to ensure timely service of process.” Rep. Wayne Goodwin (Richmond). (Bulletin #03-12, April 17, 2003; Bulletin #03-16, May 15, 2003; Bulletin #03-26, July 24, 2003; Bulletin #04-09, July 1, 2004; Bulletin #04-10, July 8, 2004; Bulletin #04-11, July 16, 2004). After being signed by the governor, this bill was enacted as SL 2004-113.

H1665
“To require the dispositional hearing of a juvenile who is in residential treatment be held in the county in which the juvenile is receiving treatment.” Rep. Philip Frye (Avery). (Bulletin #04-05, June 3, 2004; Bulletin #04-09, July 1, 2004; Bulletin #04-10, July 8, 2004; Bulletin #04-11, July 16, 2004). This bill was approved by the Senate on second and third reading July 16. It has been sent to the governor for signature.

S1054
“To provide that the unlawful distribution of methamphetamine that proximately results in the death of a person is second degree murder, to make it an aggravating factor to manufacture methamphetamine in a location that endangers a child, to increase the criminal penalty for the unlawful manufacture of methamphetamine, and to increase the criminal penalty for the possession of precursor substances for methamphetamine, as recommended by the Joint Legislative Corrections, Crime Control, and Juvenile Justice Oversight Committee, to require the Commission for Health Services to establish decontamination standards for property used for the manufacture of methamphetamine, to impose an enhanced sentence for conviction of manufacture of methamphetamine if the offense results in serious injury to a law enforcement officer, probation or parole officer, EMS employee, or firefighter and to provide immunity from civil and criminal liability for certain good faith actions of a person participating in a methamphetamine watch program.” Sen. Walter Dalton (Rutherford). (Bulletin #04-02, May 13, 2004). This bill was approved by the Senate on third reading July 6. It was favorably reported in the House on July 9 and approved on second and third reading July 14. Following concurrence by the Senate in House changes, the bill has been sent to the governor for signature.

PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT AND LAND USE
Updates

H1213
“To require local governments to pay monetary compensation for removal of lawfully erected off-premises outdoor advertising signs and to authorize local governments to enter into relocation and reconstruction agreements with owners of nonconforming off-premises outdoor advertising signs.” Rep. Bill Culpepper (Chowan). Following agreement to this revised proposal, this bill has been sent to the governor for signature. The revised bill creates provisions in Chapters 160A and 153A of the General Statutes (dealing with cities and counties) providing for relocation of billboards by mutual agreement between sign owners and the local government. The bill provides for arbitration of relocation disputes. It also retains provisions for monetary compensation of the owner if relocation is not feasible. Monetary compensation is defined as “the fair market value of the off-premises outdoor advertising in place immediately prior to its removal and without consideration of the effect of the ordinance or any diminution in value caused by the ordinance requiring its removal.” Factors to be considered in determining value include its property tax value and the factors used to value personal property listed in G.S. 105-317.1(a).

S1244
“Authorizing the North Carolina Cemetery Commission to increase certain fees, making clarifying changes under the North Carolina Cemetery Act, and modifying the formula used to determine the enterprise tier designation of a county.” Sen. David Hoyle (Gaston). An amendment added by the House to this bill on July 7 added a section providing for recalculation of tiers contained in the “Bill Lee Act,” Article 3A of Chapter 105 of the General Statutes. G.S. 105-129.3(b) provides for designation of counties to tiers (1-5) by the Secretary of Commerce. Previously, calculations were made based on unemployment, per capita income and population growth over a three-year period. This bill changes the three-year period to “the preceding 12 months.” Following Senate agreement to the additional section, the bill was sent to the governor for signature.

PUBLIC EDUCATION
Updates

H1464
“To reduce by five the number of noninstructional teacher workdays; to provide that public schools shall open no sooner than August 25 and close no later than June 10 except in year-round schools, in schools in any local school administrative unit in a county that have been closed eight days per year during any four of the last ten years because of severe weather conditions, energy shortages, power failures, or other emergency situations, or in certain schools with modified calendars; to allow the State Board of Education to grant exemptions from the opening and closing date requirement for purposes of accommodating special programs and schools; to clarify that local boards of education may offer supplemental or additional programs outside of the school calendar; to ensure that teachers are paid in August, to provide that five noninstructional teacher workdays are protected for teachers to complete instructional and classroom administrative duties; to require that at least seven noninstructional days are designated as days on which teachers with accumulated vacation leave may take that leave; to provide that the reduction in teacher workdays does not reduce the annual rate of pay for teachers and other employees; to provide that nothing in this act shall be construed as changing the pay cycle for noncertified employees; to direct the State Board of Education to study noninstructional teacher workdays; to provide that nothing in this act requires the General Assembly to appropriate funds for its implementation or requires local school administrative units to expend additional funds for its implementation; to provide that this act applies to schools beginning with the 2005-2006 school year; to provide that the act applies in all one hundred counties and in all local school administrative units; and to provide that the act is effective when it becomes law.” Rep. Connie Wilson (Mecklenburg). (Bulletin #04-03, May 20, 2004; Bulletin #04-11, July 16, 2004). Following extended debate and negotiations, both the House and Senate voted to approve the report of the conferees on this bill in the waning hours of the session July 18. It has been sent to the governor for signature.

TAXATION AND FINANCE
Updates

S277
“To exempt from property tax educational property held by a nonprofit entity for a public or private university or community college located in North Carolina.” Sen. Tony Rand (Cumberland). (Bulletin #03-06, March 6, 2003; Bulletin #03-16, May 15, 2003; Bulletin #03-17, May 22, 2003; Bulletin #04-09, July 1, 2004; Bulletin #04-10, July 8, 2004). This bill was withdrawn from the House Rules Committee on July 18. It was amended on the House floor, approved on second and third reading and sent to the Senate. The Senate voted to concur in the House amendment and the bill has been sent to the governor for signature. The House amendment deleted provisions that made the exemption retroactive to 2001 and made the retroactive repeal a defense to county tax collection efforts.