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| Bulletin #09-25 |
Thursday, July 16, 2009 |
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT
When the General Assembly will adjourn is anyone's
guess. Since 2003, the latest the Legislature left town was Sept. 2. That
occurred in 2005, when lawmakers passed three continuing resolutions before
adopting a budget Aug. 11. In 2007, legislators passed a budget July 30 and
adjourned Aug. 2. In 2001, the state was mired in budget discord and
redistricting. The Legislature adopted a budget Sept. 26, but did not finally
adjourn until Dec. 6.
CR SQUARED
The House
and Senate finalized work on the second stopgap spending measure on Wednesday to
keep state government operating while budget negotiations continue. The Senate's
initial version called for an open-ended continuing resolution, but House
conferees pushed for a two-week expiration period to spur budget action.
H1504
lowers authorized spending from 85 percent of the 2009 budget to 84 percent and
expires July 31. Rumors abound regarding progress on budget negotiations – end
of session estimates range from two weeks to two months. While there appears to
be general agreement on the spending plan and the amount of new revenues to
support the plan ($990 million), there appears to be little agreement on how
those new dollars are to be raised. The Senate is advocating for a restructured
sales tax system that broadens the base and lowers the rates; the House favors
fewer services subject to sales taxes and recommends a sales tax increase and
raising the income tax on upper income brackets.
ANNEXATION BILL DOESN’T COVER ANY NEW GROUND
The General
Assembly’s Fiscal Research Division released its fiscal notes for
H524 (Annexation – Omnibus Changes) on Tuesday. H524 was re-referred to the
House Appropriations Committee last week after a motion by Rep. Mickey Michaux
(Durham), who is the chair of the Appropriations Committee, for a fiscal note
and subsequent appropriation to carry out the requirements under the law. Since
Appropriations did not hold any formal meetings, no action was taken on the bill
this week.
ETHICS BILL UPDATE
A House bill that would require county commissioners to receive ethics training
has been stalled in the Senate again.
H1452 (Local Government Code of Ethics)
has been twice withdrawn from the Senate Calendar. The Association continues to
monitor the bill and work with interested Senators to make sure that any
amendments to the bill do not interfere with a county commissioner’s ability to
conduct his/her official responsibilities. It is currently on the Senate
calendar for consideration on Monday.
WIND MILL LEGISLATION STIRS UP DEBATE
After much spirited
floor debate on wind turbines' impacts on mountain viewsheds,
S1068, "Permitting
of Wind Energy Facilities," was withdrawn from the Senate's Wednesday calendar
and re-referred to the Senate Agriculture committee. The third edition of S1068
expanded permitting of wind energy facilities beyond the coastal CAMA counties
to all areas of North Carolina, but it stipulated that wind farms would not be
permitted on mountain ridge tops if they violate the Mountain Ridge law. S1068
changes to the Mountain Ridge law would limit permissible windmills to those
associated with a residence, for use within that residence, and with a height
limit of 100 feet.
BILLS OF INTEREST
The Association has created a section on its Web site to track bills of interest to county officials. Visit www.ncacc.org/legislation/about.html for updates on key legislation.
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Bill: |
H81 |
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Sponsor: |
Cleveland (R14) |
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Title: |
NOTICE OF SPECIAL/EMERGENCY MEETINGS |
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Comments: |
This bill adds e-mail to the list of ways in which a local government
can notify the media or others that have requested notification
regarding the scheduling of an unscheduled meeting or an emergency
meeting of a governing body. For unscheduled meetings, it also requires
a governing body to post the notification on the door of the building or
in an area otherwise accessible to the public in the building where the
meeting will be held if that building is typically closed during the
48-hour period prior to the meeting. The bill requires public bodies
that have Web sites to post their regular meeting schedule on the Web
site and to post any notices of special meetings on the Web site if the
Web site is maintained "by one or more of its employees." The House
agreed to the Senate changes, which made the effective date to Oct. 1,
2009. |
|
Bill: |
H1389 |
|
Sponsors: |
Rapp (D118); Fisher (D114); Harrison (D57) |
|
Title: |
FINANCE ENERGY IMPROVEMENT WITH ASSESSMENTS |
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Comments: |
This bill grants to cities and counties the authority to enter into
contractual loan arrangements with residents or businesses to help
finance energy efficiency improvements to real property. The bill
enables local governments to tap into funds from the American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to set up the loan funds. The loans would be
repaid through assessments on the property. The governing board must
designate an area for which the program will be applicable and must hold
a public hearing before it can begin the program. The bill passed the
House on July 16. |
|
Bill: |
S547 |
|
Sponsor: |
Atwater (D18) |
|
Title: |
CHATHAM Transfer of Development Rights |
| |
|
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Category: |
Legislative Goal |
|
Comments: |
This is a local bill that authorizes the Chatham County Board of
Commissioners to implement a program that allows for the transfer of
development rights as a tool to preserve agricultural lands. The
Association’s goal is for all counties to have the authority to transfer
development rights. |
|
Bill: |
S698 |
|
Sponsor: |
Boseman (D9) |
|
Title: |
CITY/COUNTY/SANITARY DISTRICT FEES/INTERNET |
|
Comments: |
A House committee substitute changed the nature of this bill to make it
applicable only to the imposition of or an increase in fees "applicable
solely to the construction of development." The governing board must
provide notice at least seven days in advance before any meeting in
which it has on the agenda the consideration of an imposition or
increase in any fee. The bill also includes a mandatory "period of
public comment." If the governing body has a Web site, it may post the
notice on the Web site. The bill was amended on the House floor to
change the effective date from Aug. 1, 2009, to Sept. 1, 2009. |
|
Bill: |
S831 |
|
Sponsor: |
Clodfelter (D37) |
|
Title: |
EXTEND CERTAIN DEVELOPMENT APPROVALS |
|
Comments: |
This bill extends the life of certain state development permits and
approvals for builders who may have put projects on hold due to the
economic situation. The bill affects any permit that was current and
valid at any point between Jan. 1, 2008, and Dec. 31, 2010. For such
permits, the "running of the period of the development approval" is
suspended through Dec. 31, 2010. This means that any permit that was
active on Jan. 1, 2008, is automatically extended for however many
months were left on the permit as of Jan. 1, 2008 – but not more than 36
months – beginning Jan. 1, 2011 |
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