FOOD FOR THOUGHT

After weeks of starts and stops on a state budget, the General Assembly has finally started to stop for good. Published reports indicate that the House is planning to return to Raleigh next week for an abbreviated session, with a possible adjournment on Wednesday, while the Senate appears intent on leaving town Friday, Aug. 7. The last few days of a session after the budget has been passed are sometimes called the witching hour, as bills that were presumed dead suddenly find new life. The Association legislative staff will closely monitor the remaining days of the session to ensure that bills we’ve killed once before remain dead.

BUDGET CONTAINS GOOD AND BAD FOR COUNTIES

The Legislature finally passed a state budget this week after Senate and House Democrats agreed to a $19 billion spending plan that raises nearly $1 billion in new revenues for 2009-10 and almost $1.3 billion for 2010-11. The good news for counties is that the General Assembly honored the Medicaid relief plan agreed to two years ago. This means that counties – as of July 1 – are officially out of the business of funding Medicaid services. The General Assembly also left intact the lottery funds for school construction, increased funding for school nurses – an Association legislative goal – and fully funded the Juvenile Crime Prevention Councils and the Criminal Justice Partnership Program. Food and lodging inspections fees were also increased to $75 and $250, respectively, which should result in additional revenues for counties. Public education took less of a hit than proposed in the Senate or House budget versions. Still, local school districts must find $225 million in cuts without impacting K-3 class size.

But as the Legislature giveth, the Legislature also taketh. Gone for the biennium is the corporate income tax dedicated to school construction (commonly known as the ADM fund). This will represent a $125 million hit to counties. Also taken, permanently, is the $18 per day reimbursement the state provides to counties for housing misdemeanants. This will result in a loss of about $10 million annually. The budget also takes two-thirds of the counties’ beer and wine revenues for 2010, which amounts to about $7.7 million. The state will no longer reimburse counties for office space provided to probation officers, and the state will shift to counties the funding responsibility for child support offices, beginning July 1, 2010. This impacts 28 counties served by 16 state-run offices at a cost of about $4.1 million per year.

COUNTIES ALLOWED TO OFFER HEALTH BENEFITS TO FORMER COMMISSIONERS

House and Senate conferees appear to have agreed on a plan that allows counties to continue offering health benefits to former commissioners. The compromise plan will require a commissioner to have served for at least 10 years before becoming eligible for the benefit. However, commissioners who served less than 10 years but are already receiving the benefit because of their county’s policy will be grandfathered in. In addition, the plan will allow the county to decide who will pay for the benefit (the county or the commissioner, or a shared arrangement). The bill excludes counties that participate in the State Health Plan from offering this benefit. The conference report was approved by both the House and Senate on Thursday. S468 (Authorize Insurance for Former Employees), sponsored by Sen. Floyd McKissick (Durham), accomplishes an Association legislative goal.

BILL REGULATING PUPPY MILLS MOVES FORWARD

S460 (Commercial Dog Breeder Regulation), sponsored by Sen. Don Davis (Wayne), gives counties authority to investigate complaints lodged against commercial dog breeders. The bill passed the Senate on Wednesday and has been referred to the House Commerce, Small Business, and Entrepreneurship Committee for consideration. This bill would eliminate abusive practices, provide humane care for the treatment of dogs and establish standards for their care at commercial breeding facilities. Commercial breeders would be defined as a person who maintains 15 or more female dogs of breeding age and 30 or more puppies for the purpose of sale. This bill authorizes the Department of Agriculture to establish standards for the commercial breeding operations and to provide a consumer protection registry that would list all registered commercial breeding facilities. This bill requires commercial breeders to register online with the Department of Agriculture and establishes penalties to those operations that fail to provide adequate care to animals.

TRANSPORTATION BILL MOTORS TOWARD FINISH LINE

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.