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END OF SESSION SPARKS FLURRY OF ACTIVITY With legislators trying to adjourn for the summer, the Legislative Building was a flurry of activity this week. Sessions lasted well into the evening and included numerous recesses to allow committees to meet and review legislation. Both the House and the Senate are in session Friday and, depending upon their progress, may meet on Saturday as well – but all signs point to the General Assembly adjourning for 2010 before Sunday. The Association will publish a final edition of the Legislative Bulletin next week that will include a review of any issues of interest to counties that were included in the usual studies bill, and will report on any last-minute issues that were adopted after this edition of the Legislative Bulletin was mailed. U.S. HOUSE PASSES COLLECTIVE BARGAINING LEGISLATION The United States House passed a comprehensive bill late last week that requires states and local governments to offer collective bargaining rights to public safety employees. After several attempts to pass the bill failed in the Senate, the House decided to try another vehicle and rolled the text of H.R. 413, “Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act of 2009,” into a bill that includes the supplemental appropriations for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and spending for numerous domestic programs. Under the bill, all counties, cities and states will be required to collectively bargain with public safety employee labor unions over wages, benefits and working conditions. One set of rules will be developed at a later date to guide the process. The mandatory collective bargaining provisions override longstanding North Carolina law that prohibits collective bargaining in the public sector. Both of North Carolina’s Senators, Richard Burr and Kay Hagan, have voiced their opposition to collective bargaining. HOUSE CONCURS WITH SENATE CHANGES TO 911, ABC BILLS The Senate approved slightly revised versions of the ABC and 911 bills this week, sending them both back to the House for concurrence. The House agreed Thursday to the Senate changes to the 911 bill (H1691 – Use of 911 Funds). The bill has been sent to Governor Beverly Perdue for her signature. The bill accomplishes two long-standing county legislative goals – to expand the use of the 911 funds and to add local government representation to the 911 Board. The ABC bill passed the Senate on Wednesday with several changes that affected local ABC boards but did not materially impact the legislation as it relates to counties. The House voted 109-0 on Thursday afternoon to accept the Senate changes. The bill will be sent to Governor Perdue for her signature. YADKIN COUNTY ADDED TO WAKE COUNTY E-MAIL BILL A local bill that applies only to Wake County and its municipalities and to Yadkin County has passed the Senate and the House. Currently, if a local government maintains a list of e-mail addresses used to communicate with citizens, those lists are considered public records and can be requested by citizens. Public records laws require the government to provide the list in electronic format, making it easy on the person who is making the request to send an unsolicited e-mail to the names on the list. This bill changes the requirement so that the government has only to make the list available for inspection and does not have to make the list available in an electronic format. It also clarifies that a local government can only use the list for the purpose for which it is intended or in case of a public health or public safety emergency. The bill passed second and third reading in the Senate on Wednesday after it was modified to include Yadkin County. The House concurred with the Senate’s changes on Thursday. BILLS OF INTEREST The Association maintains 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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