GENERAL ASSEMBLY CONVENES

Two of counties’ priority goals – relieving counties of the crushing Medicaid burden and providing state support to meet the estimated $10 billion public school needs – are expected to be among the major issues discussed by the General Assembly this year. The Association urges all county officials to become actively involved in achieving these goals by communicating your county’s specific needs to your legislators on a regular basis. The Association has created a special section on its Web site to track bills of interest to county officials. Please visit www.ncacc.org/legislation/about.html frequently for updates on key legislation.

HACKNEY, BASNIGHT ELECTED TO LEADERSHIP POSITIONS, TALK MEDICAID

Rep. Joe Hackney (D-Orange) was elected speaker of the House on Jan. 24, while Sen. Marc Basnight (D-Dare) was re-elected Senate president pro tempore. Basnight will serve his eighth term as president pro tem. Rep. William Wainwright (D-Craven) was chosen as House president pro tem, the chamber's second-ranking member. During his introductory address, Speaker Hackney listed Medicaid relief for counties as one of several legislative initiatives he would like to have addressed during this session. During his annual press briefing the day before the legislative session, Sen. Basnight also mentioned Medicaid as an issue that he would like to see progress on. “I believe it would be a bit of a failure if we leave this session without some work done in that regard, not just minor work, but some major improvement in the local governments’ responsibility (to pay for part of Medicaid),” Basnight said in The Kinston Free Press.

COMMITTEE REJECTS IMPACT FEES, LAND TRANSFER TAXES FOR SCHOOLS

The House Select Committee on Public School Construction finalized its recommendations for the 2007 General Assembly on Jan. 23, and the committee voted unanimously to reject a proposal that would authorize counties to impose impact fees and land transfer taxes for school construction needs. The proposal would also have authorized all counties to enact adequate public facilities ordinances (APFO). The recommendation had been contained in a draft report, but the committee voted that recommendation down during its final meeting. The committee did vote to approve allowing counties to enact a half-cent sales tax for school capital needs. The tax would have to be approved by referendum.

NCACC LEGISLATIVE BULLETIN SCHEDULE

The Legislative Bulletin will be communicated either electronically or in hard copy format to county officials, legislators and other interested recipients every Thursday during the legislative session. If you received a hard copy of this issue and would like to receive the bulletin via e-mail, please send your name and e-mail address to communications@ncacc.org. Additionally, as events warrant, the Association will send e-mail alerts to the Legislative Bulletin e-mail list.

You may obtain information about the status of any bill by contacting the Legislative Library, located in the Legislative Building, by telephone at (919) 733-7779, or by personally visiting the Librarians’ desk located on the second floor of the Legislative Building. To obtain a free copy of any bill through the mail, call the Printed Bills Office at (919) 733-5648. Identify the bill being requested by house of origin and number (for example, SB33).

The Internet home page for the General Assembly is www.ncleg.net. We encourage you to explore this site. You can find all bills by either number or text search, including all bills referenced in the NCACC Legislative Bulletin, in printable versions on this site. Should you need assistance with a search, please do not hesitate to call the NCACC staff.

While the Association does not advocate on behalf of local legislation, we know how important these bills are. We can provide information for you on the status of any local bills in which you have an interest on an informal basis. Let us know if we can help you in this way.