NC Rep. Harry Warren
♦ This will be the last regular weekly update of the General Assembly’s activities for the 2014 “short session. Although the General Assembly did not adjourn “Sine Die,” it will not be meeting in regular session over the next few months, but is scheduled to meet once again on August 14, 2014, and again on November 17, 2014.
Normally, when the General Assembly adjourns, it does so by naming a “date certain” that it will reconvene. When the General Assembly determines to adjourn to end that particular two-year session, the House and Senate close jointly in a ceremony known as “Sine Die,” meaning no specific date is named for the General Assembly to reconvene. This signifies that the House and Senate have determined that their work for the two-year session is complete and that the General Assembly will not reconvene until it is either called back into a special session by the Governor or until a new legislature, elected by the people, is ready to assume the responsibilities of governing the state, the date of which is “uncertain” or as yet, unscheduled.
There are several reasons why the General Assembly has not yet adjourned “sine die.” Although the primary purpose of the short session (the tweaking of the budget for the second year of the biennium) is completed, the Governor has ten days in which to sign the budget, veto the budget or to ignore it for ten days and let it pass into law without his signature. If the Governor were to veto the budget bill, SB 744, or any of several other bills awaiting his signature, the General Assembly must have the ability to reconvene to determine how it desires to respond. The members may decide not to act upon any veto or to determine if they have the necessary votes to override the Governor’s veto. To override the Governor’s veto requires approval by 60% of the members present in each chamber. In full attendance, the House has 120 members and would need 72 votes to override a veto; the Senate has 50 members in full attendance and would need 30 votes for an override.
Another reason the General Assembly has not adjourned permanently is due to several unresolved issues of some significance. Between now and August 14, conferees from the House and Senate will continue to work on resolving their differences regarding legislative requirements concerning the storage and/or removal of coal ash in North Carolina. Coal ash is the by-product of power plants that burn coal to produce electricity. Coal ash has been stored for more than 60 years in unlined, dugouts and saturated with water to keep the “fly-ash” and base ash in place, creating coal ash “ponds.” That process met the required standards of the time, as determined by the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). After decades of such storage, there are cases of coal ash seeping into nearby water supplies, ground water and rivers that supply water to towns and communities downstream from the respective plants. Incidents of pond wall breaches, such as the Dan River incident and deliberate discharging of ash slurry into a water body, such as the Cape Fear incident, have cast a light on the methods of storing coal ash and how those standards came into place to begin with. There is a federal investigation underway examining the past relationship between DENR and Duke Power. Meanwhile, the General Assembly is determining how to address the 33 existing coal ash ponds located at the 14 power plant locations around the state. There is a general agreement between the House and the Senate on their individual plans but a single provision of major significance is preventing them from reaching an agreement to present to each chamber for approval. We anticipate that will be resolved byAugust 14, at which time the General Assembly will reconvene and vote on the matter. At that time, I will be reporting on the legislation.
On June 24, Governor McCrory vetoed HB 1069 – Unemployment Insurance Law Changes. This bill contained some very important changes to our Unemployment Insurance program, including one that brings NC into compliance with a provision in federal law concerning the dissemination of information regarding unemployment claim determinations. Failure to make these changes will keep our state in non-compliance with federal law and will cost the state more than $57 million dollars in federal funding, as well as leaving North Carolina facing higher Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) rates for every employer in the State, whether presently here or considering relocating or expanding here. The Governor objected to a provision in the bill that outlines the nomination process for a three-member “Board of Review.” The Board of Review was created in 2011 legislation and is the last step before a claimant appeals to Superior Court to contest the determination of their unemployment claim. The Governor refused to name appointees to the Board by the date required or by the extended deadline the General Assembly gave him. The Governor has since named three appointees to the Board, but the provision within HB 1069 would nullify his appointments and reestablish the appointment process to give one appointment to each: the Speaker of the House, the President Pro-Tem of the Senate and the Governor. Because the Governor objected to that provision, he decided to veto the bill. This must be resolved before October. I am hopeful that we will expedite the resolution of this by overriding the veto onAugust 14. The Speaker attempted to resolve the issue this past week by incorporating all of the other provisions of HB 1069 pertaining to the unemployment changes into HB 1224 as an amendment. HB 1224, however, was killed in a House Finance Committee meeting that did not agree with its own provisions, which included placing caps on county taxing authority and removing LEA flexibility on County supplemental education funding among other unrelated provisions.
The General Assembly is scheduled to meet on November 17, to address reforms of the state Medicaid program. During the budget negotiations, this was a real point of contention between the Senate and the House. The Senate had proposed an unrealistic 11% pay increase for teachers, funded by reducing optional Medicaid coverage and changing eligibility requirements. The House objected strenuously, and ultimately, the House won out. However, Medicaid overruns are draining the state and must be controlled. Reasonable modifications and cost saving measures must be enacted immediately. We hope that between now and November 17, we will be able to reach an agreement with the Senate on exactly what those measures should be. I will send you follow up information as this develops.
The budget has been passed and awaits the Governor’s signature. He has stated that he intends to sign it. You have probably heard news reports about the 260-page budget, but here are some of the key aspects of it and a link to the budget bill (SB 744), if you would like to research it yourself. I am including a review of the past week activities and hope you find it informative.
What the budget does:
EDUCATION HIGHLIGHTS
· The budget contains a substantial pay raise for teachers and consolidates the existing 37-step pay plan into a 7-step format. The increased salaries at each step reflect an average 5% or so increase in teacher pay.
· Teacher “Longevity Pay,” which has normally been paid annually to teachers with ten years or more employment, is now paid monthly instead. Teachers will receive their normal longevity pay this October, but going forward, it will be paid monthly, as part of their monthly paycheck. It has not been “done away with.” Due to longevity pay being paid monthly, teacher pay will be an average of 7% higher than the current base pay. The average pay increase is about 5% or so, with a range of .29% to as high as 18% depending upon individual factors.
· Teacher Assistants have been fully funded and they, along with office workers and other non-certified personnel, will receive an average $500 raise. School administrators will be getting about $800 more in compensation.
· Funding, around $42 million, has been appropriated to fill approximately 760 more teaching positions and to help reduce class sizes in kindergarten and first grade.
· $840,000 has been allocated to the Opportunity Scholarship program for low income qualifiers.
· Nearly $12 million dollars has been restored to education funding that was cut last year due to reduced student enrollment.
PUBLIC SAFETY
· The State Bureau of Investigation was relocated from the Attorney General Office to the Department of Public Safety.
· The Fountain Correctional Facility (Nash County) and the North Piedmont Correctional Facility (Davidson County) were closed. Both were women’s facilities.
· Funding was increased to move misdemeanor offenders to county jails instead of state prisons. Counties will receive $40 a day per inmate.
· Approximately $2 million was invested to incarcerate probation violators in a Burke County facility.
COMMERCE
· Film Tax Credits were modified into a $10 million grant program.
· Historic Preservation Tax Credits, although an amendment to include them was passed in a House Finance Committee, were removed in negotiations by the Senate.
· About $2 million was allocated for a public-private incubator for an NCSU project to design computer chips and other technological innovations
· Provisions were not included for a “closing fund” for the Commerce Department to use for attracting new businesses.
There are, of course, hundreds of other aspects of the budget that you can review by going to this link. These were just some of the more controversial subjects. I realize that this is long but I did want to report to you, as promised.
(Certain items of this report provided by and reprinted with the permission of MVA Public Affairs.)
GOVERNOR’S DESK
This week, the Governor signed:
HB 1033, Special Assessment/Dam Repair
HB 1195, Fiscal Integrity/Pension-Spiking Prevention
HB 625, Zoning/Health Care Structure into law.
HB 1193, Retirement Technical Corrections Act of 2014
SB 883, Mitigation Buffer Rule/Wastewater Treatment
I addition, the Governor issued Executive Order 62, which directs the Department of Natural Resources to “continue to implement all regulations and laws.” Included in the Governor’s press release are the following directives:
· Begin groundwater assessments of coal ash ponds at all 14 of Duke Energy’s facilities. These assessments are the first step toward closure of the ash ponds.
· Take steps necessary to authorize the dewatering ponds at four priority facilities – Riverbend, Asheville, Sutton and Dan River.
· Hire additional staff resources to handle the increased workload of the items above.
The following bills have now passed both houses and were presented to the Governor this week:
- HB 272, DOT/DMV Changes #2.
- HB 366, NC Farm Act of 2014.
- HB 1133, Technical and Other Corrections.
- HB 884, Dropout Prev./Recovery Pilot Charter School
- HB 1145, Insurance and Registration for Mopeds
- SB 163, Reclaimed Water as a Source Water
- SB 648, NC Commerce Protection Act of 2014
- SB 853, Business Court Modernization
- SB 403, Omnibus Election Clarifications
- SB 744, Appropriations Act of 2014.
- SB 193, Modify P3 Ethics Reporting Requirements
- HB 1133, Technical and Other Corrections
ON THE FLOOR
This week, the Senate passed these bills (as well as others listed above):
- HB 1181, NC Medicaid Modernization. This bill was placed on the House calendar for July 30, where the House failed to concur with the Senate Committee Substitute.
- HB 1086, NC and SC Rail Compact. This bill was then sent to the House as a Senate committee substitute and has been assigned to the House Rules Committee for their consideration.
- HB 1224, Local Sales Tax Options/Econ. Devpt. Changes. This bill was then sent to the House as a Senate committee substitute and has been assigned to the House Rules Committee for their consideration.
The House approved the following bill (as well as others listed above):
- SB 859, Cities/Regulation of Vacation Rentals. This bill was ratified on July 31, 2014, and is now law.
In addition, the House has reconsidered a vote earlier in the week and has now concurred in the Senate’s version of HB 1133, Technical and Other Corrections. Finally, the House approved SB 763, Revenue Laws Tech. Changes and Other Changes. Several changes were made to the bill in committee that would have modified eligibility for the renewable energy tax credit and would have modified and extended the tax credits for historic rehabilitation. The bill received preliminary approval by the full House, but ultimately the credit modifications/extensions were not enacted.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Senate Rules Committee:
On Wednesday, HB 761, the Regulatory Reform Act of 2014, was considered. This bill which seeks to provide further regulatory relief to the citizens of North Carolina by providing various administrative reforms, eliminating unnecessary regulations and modernizing outdated regulations.
On Thursday, the Committee passed three bills:
- SB 881, Adjournment Sine Die, that is a joint resolution providing for the adjournment of the 2013-14 regular session of the General Assembly to a date certain and limiting the matters that may be considered upon reconvening. When the Senate and House adjourned on Saturday, they stand adjourned to reconvene onThursday, August 14 at Noon. During this time, only matters in conference, bills relating to state litigation matters and bills returned by the Governor with his objections can be considered. When the Senate and House adjourn on Friday, August 15, they are adjourned to reconvene on November 17. During this time, only bills related to Medicaid, matters in conference, bills relating to state litigation matters, bills returned by the Governor with his objections and a joint resolution adjourning the regular session of the General Assembly sine die can be considered.
- SB 884, 2014 Pro Tem Appointments, which makes appointments to various public offices upon the recommendation of the President Pro Tem.
- HB 1086, NC and SC Rail Compact, that seeks to establish the North Carolina and South Carolina Rail Compact.
House Finance Committee: The Committee met on Wednesday, July 30.
· The committee recommended that the House not concur with Senate changes to HB 1224, Local Sales Tax Options/Econ Devpt. Changes (which made changes with respect to various economic development programs and counties’ ability to levy local sales taxes).
- HB 366, NC Farm Act of 2014.
The House has since agreed to conference reports on modified versions of each of these bills.
IN THE NEWS
Charlotte Business Journal: Coal ash bill put off to November as N.C. Senate adjourns
Raleigh News & Observer: NC House balks at McCrory’s new incentive program for relocating businesses
Charlotte Observer: Film industry advocates warn NC against cutting tax subsidies
Raleigh News & Observer: NC budget deal includes teacher raises, but no Medicaid overhaul
Raleigh News & Observer: Senate, House closer on regulatory reform
The Associated Press: NC Senate signs off on farm bill
As always, I hope you have found this informative and helpful. I thank you for the opportunity to represent you and the whole of District 77 in the State House of Representatives.
Harry
Representative Harry Warren
N.C. House of Representatives
District 77, Rowan County
611 Legislative Office Building
Raleigh, North Carolina 27603
