Rep. Harry Warren (District 77), House of Representatives, Rowan County, (919) 733-5784, (919)733-5784, Warren@ncleg.net
♦ August 27, 2014
Hello, Friends!
The General Assembly finally ended its longer than expected “short” session this past week. The House adjourned on Wednesday afternoon; the Senate did likewise early Thursday morning.
Lasting 99 days, the 2014 short session was 50 days longer than the 2012 session, which was only 49 days (one of the shortest “short sessions” in recent history). The 2010 short session was 60 days. While the primary objective of the session was to adjust the second year of the biennium budget, the Legislature used the time to pass historic legislation. Some of the actions taken were in the form of individual bills; some were included in the budget adjustments. Here are a few of the more prominent features of the budget:
The budget, which will affect paychecks at the end of this month, will provide public school educators an average 5% raise – averaging $3,500 per teacher. Now that longevity pay will be paid monthly, rather than making those eligible wait a year to receive it, teacher’s monthly compensation will be an average 7% higher, overall. The $282 million investment will be a significant teacher pay increase moving North Carolina from 46th to 32nd in national teacher pay rankings.
In addition to the teacher pay raise and preservation of classroom funds, the budget agreement will:
· Reform and replace an archaic 37-step teacher pay system with a six-step schedule and a transparent compensation package
· Preserve current Medicaid eligibility
· Provide most state employees with a $1,000 pay raise and five bonus vacation days
· Increase pay for step-eligible State Highway Patrol Troopers between 5-6%
· Maintain funding at current levels for the state’s university system
· Fulfill the commitment to extend supplemental pay for teachers with Master’s degrees who have completed at least one course in a graduate program as of August 1, 2013
· Boost early-career teacher pay by 14% over the next two years to $35,000, making North Carolina a leader in the Southeast and fulfilling a promise made by state leaders in February
· Teachers assistants will be receiving a $500 increase in pay
· School Administrators will receive $800
The full budget was signed into law by the Governor and is posted to the North Carolina General Assembly website at http://www.ncleg.net.
Among the 492 bills passed in the short session, one of the most historic was legislation regulating coal ash, the by-product of power plants burning coal to produce electricity. By passing this bill, North Carolina became the first state in the nation to regulate coal ash. In Rowan County, the Buck Station has three active ash “ponds.” There are 33 such ponds in 14 locations across the state. Here is an overview of the legislation.
Senate Bill 729, Coal Ash Management Act of 2014
· Sets a firm 15-year timetable for dewatering and closing all unlined coal ash ponds in North Carolina and eliminates the practice of wet ash disposal.
· The plan requires the Dan River, Asheville, Riverbend and Sutton coal ash ponds to be excavated and closed as quickly as practicable and no later than 2019.
· The remaining ponds will be classified into three categories of risk. Sites determined to be high-risk must be closed within five years (by no later than 2019), intermediate-risk sites by no later than 2024 and low-risk sites by no later than 2029. High and intermediate-risk ponds may not be capped in place, instead, coal ash from those facilities must be stored in lined landfills or recycled toward a beneficial use such as concrete production or roadway construction.
· Low-risk ponds can only be capped in place if both DENR and an independent coal ash commission agree that this closure method is appropriate and long-term monitoring requirements are met.
· Following several days of productive dialogue, conferees agreed to further strengthen the environmental protections related to low-risk sites. The conference report directs that proposed closure plans to cap a pond in place must be designed to prevent future groundwater contamination.
In addition, the bill mandates that all future coal ash disposal must be managed in new or existing lined landfills with extensive groundwater monitoring. It also requires pond owners to divert storm water away from ash ponds and phase out the disposal of wet ash, the sludge that spilled into the Dan River, within five years. It immediately makes it illegal to construct or expand wet coal ash ponds statewide.
The Legislature also passed SB 734, The Regulatory Reform Act of 2014, which helped reduce the size of government by eliminating no less than eight boards and commissions. In some instances, the functionality of a commission/board was incorporated within other existing agencies/departments. It also established rules regarding the review and deletion or renewal process for regulations. The 47-page bill has more than 59 sections or provisions designed to help reduce redundancies and eliminate outdated and/or cumbersome regulations that stymie business growth and job creation in the private sector. The bill is referred to as an “omnibus” bill, meaning that it contains many unrelated provisions, usually with the same overall objective. Because this bill seeks to address regulatory reforms, it addresses a wide range of subjects from amending hotel carbon monoxide detectors to the management of venomous snakes and reptiles. It is a fairly easy read for the most part, as each section pertains to another subject.
Also passed this session was HB 1133, AN ACT TO MAKE TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS TO THE GENERAL STATUTES AND THE SESSION LAWS, AS RECOMMENDED BY THE GENERAL STATUTES COMMISSION, AND TO MAKE ADDITIONAL TECHNICAL AND OTHER CHANGES TO THE GENERAL STATUTES AND SESSION LAWS. This lengthy tittle explains the intent of the bill, which was another omnibus bill. The Governor has already signed it into law. It is also another fairly easy read, with many of the provisions pertaining to law and public safety.
In the last days of the session, the General Assembly also agreed on passing SB 3, J-MAC MODIFICATIONS. J-MAC is the acronym for the Job Maintenance and Capital Development Fund. The significance of this bill is the modifications of qualifying provisions in order to permit awarding approximately $12 million dollars to the Evergreen Packaging Corporation in Canton, North Carolina to assist in the conversion of their boilers to gas-fired. The cost of this mandate for the conversion, (a recent federal Environmental Protection Agency decision) threatens to shutter the plant that has sustained the Canton area for more than 100 years, employing over 1,200 local people. The J-MAC program requires job guarantees and other concessions, much like J-DIG and other incentive programs.
Other News:
On the last legislative day, the House, with a very bipartisan vote, did not “concur” with the Senate on HB 718, Ensure Adequate Funds for TAs/Rev Allocation. HB 718 was a very simple bill that corrected a technical mistake in the state budget that inadvertently prevented the intended flexibility for LEAs to reallocate money funded for teachers and/or teacher assistants. The correction was a very simple fix and the bill, SB 718, should have been a stand-alone bill. The Senate, however, included a provision, (Section 3 of the bill), which required the House to pass another bill, HB 1224, Local Sales Tax Options/Economic Development Changes, in order for SB 718 to take effect. While this parliamentary move is permissible by rule, that doesn’t make it right. HB 1224 had been rejected by the House on an earlier vote and has no connection to the simple technical fix needed for the teacher funding formula provision. HB 1224 was an omnibus bill that include provisions to:
§ Cap local sales tax options for counties and municipalities
§ Expand the J-DIG funding by $16 million
§ Create a “Catalyst Fund” of $20 million for the Secretary of Commerce to use as “up front” money to attract/lure companies to North Carolina in addition to existing incentive programs
This was a very bad bill and was poorly written; it would require another bill (HB 189) to be passed to fix issues with it. Many of the House Republicans (28) and twenty-six (26) of the Democrat members voted “not to concur” with the bill and defeated the motion 47-54.
Capping the sales tax for local municipalities and counties was an unnecessary overreach of the state government into local affairs. Local governments are already required to get General Assembly approval to place a tax issue on the ballot and Section 10 of HB 589, Voter Information Verification Act (VIVA), requires that the referendum be held during a county general election or even-year primary to ensure the most voter participation.
Expanding the J-DIG funding without requiring that awards be given to tier 1 and tier 2 counties doesn’t accomplish the goal of developing and growing the poorest, most needy counties. Currently, over 85% of J-DIG funding has been going to tier 3 counties. The J-DIG program is a helpful and effective tool, overall, but increasing the funding should include caveats that guarantee tier 1 & 2 counties will benefit from their tax dollars being used in this program.
While Texas and several others, have similar “Catalyst Funds,” the provision for the Catalyst Fund for North Carolina was too broadly written and gave too much latitude for self-governance to satisfy many House members. Also, some members felt the allocation of $20 million “walking around” money was premature, if not unnecessary. We have just enacted a statewide tax revision that lowered North Carolina Corporate income taxes and will lower them even more as the new tax model settles in over the next three years. Additionally, major insurance and regulatory reforms enacted by the Republican legislature over the last four years, have succeeded in elevating the state from 44th in the country to the 17th best tax environment. Other rankings have the state listed in the Top 10 best places to do business. Creating a “Catalyst Fund” at this time only succeeds in expanding the “incentive” mentality and devalues the attributes that make North Carolina an attractive place to do business.
For a complete listing of bills passed during this session, you can go to the NCGA website and follow the prompts to view the list. Please click HERE to locate the bills that interest you to review the text, history, and votes.
This has been a recap of the last week of the General Assembly. I hope you have found it informative. When the General Assembly adjourned “sine die,” it adjourned, for all intents and purposes, for good, signifying the end of the 2013-2014 Legislative Session. There is the possibility that the Governor could call the General Assembly to reconvene for a specific matter, such as to revisit the J-DIG or Catalyst Funding, but for the House and Senate leadership’s part, it’s over. The 2015-2016 Legislative Session will convene on January 14, 2015. Between now and then, I will be working on 7 or 8 statewide “public” bills and several “local” bills, in preparation for filing as soon as the new session begins.
Thank you for allowing me to represent you in the House on behalf of District 77. It is an honor to serve and a public trust that I appreciate completely. I will send you updates as events happen and will resume the weekly newsletter and monthly town halls when the new session begins. Thank you very much.
Harry
