Advocacy efforts bear fruit

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We have seen two examples recently of the power that county commissioners can exert on both state and federal issues.

In November, President Barack Obama signed into law a bill that repealed the onerous 3 percent withholding mandate that was enacted when the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act was passed in 2005. The original mandate would have required local governments to collect 3 percent of the value of any contracts and send the money to the IRS as prepayment for taxes.

North Carolina county commissioners joined with their counterparts from other states for the past six years to raise awareness of this issue with our Congressional delegations. The final version of H.R. 674, which fully repealed the withholding requirement, passed the House 422-0 on Nov. 16! President Obama signed the bill Nov. 21. The Senate also passed the bill unanimously with a 95-0 vote on Nov. 10.

In Raleigh, our efforts were focused on a bill that would give counties flexibility in deciding how to organize our local human services delivery. The Senate had passed S433 in April by a 40-9 vote, but the bill was held up in the House and did not see a vote before the General Assembly adjourned in late June.

House leadership decided to run with it during the General Assembly's Nov. 27-29 mini-session, and the concerted efforts of county commissioners across the state nearly helped us get the bill through the House. Many commissioners contacted their House members while the bill was being debated. While we may not have gotten the result we wanted – at least not yet anyway – there was no doubt that legislators were listening.

In the end the bill was undone by a procedural issue, but it was clear that a majority of House members supported our effort. The bill is still eligible for the 2012 Short Session, and we expect that we will be successful then.

These are two prime examples of why it is important for local officials to be engaged at the state and national levels. The National Association of Counties is holding its 2012 Legislative Conference from March 3-7 in Washington, D.C. This is an excellent educational opportunity to learn more about how federal issues can impact counties. Registration for the conference opened in late November.

The NCACC will host its annual County Assembly Day on May 30, shortly after the General Assembly convenes for the 2012 short session on May 16. Please put this date on your calendar and plan to come to Raleigh to learn more about state issues that impact counties – and more importantly, how you can help influence these decisions.