Hello, Friends!
The pace of activity in the General Assembly is beginning to pick up as more bills are being introduced and assigned to their respective committees. Soon committees will have enough bills to warrant meeting to properly vet them and move them on to another committee (serial referral) or directly onto the floor of the House for a vote. To date 86 bills have been filed in the House. I expect hundreds more will be filed before the cross-over deadline in May. This week, the House passed HB 3 the Eminent Domain bill on its third reading and sent it to the Senate for consideration.
Here is a recap of last week’s major events, as reprinted from the NCACC Legislative Bulletin. Early next week, I will send you a recap of this week’s activities. At this time, there are no committee meetings scheduled for next week, so I am unable to provide you with information in that regard.
Gov. Pat McCrory delivered his state of the state speech to the General Assembly on Wednesday.
McCrory delivers state of the state
Governor Pat McCrory gave his State of the State address to a joint session of the North Carolina General Assembly on Wednesday evening. The Governor’s speech centered around his plan for economic development, called “NC Competes,” and an immediate need for economic development tools to attract and retain businesses through incentive programs, tax credits, including historic preservation tax credits, education, and public infrastructure investment. He specifically stated a goal to enact two bonds for infrastructure programs – a $1.2 billion bond for transportation projects, and a $1.2-1.4 billion bond to rebuild and renovate public buildings called “Project Phoenix.” On education, the Governor stated goals to raise starting teacher pay to $35,000, eliminate unnecessary testing, and bring Wi-Fi connectivity to classrooms. The Governor touched on his ideas for Medicaid reform and briefly discussed Medicaid expansion but did not mention specifics. Finally, the Governor discussed the need for better coordination of veteran and military initiatives and proposed the creation of a Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.
Eminent Domain passes second reading in House
The first substantive bill introduced in the House this Session – H3 (Eminent Domain) – is moving quickly. Sponsored by Representatives Chuck McGrady, Paul Stam, David Lewis and Ken Goodman, the bill would amend the constitution to add a provision prohibiting the taking of private property by eminent domain except for a public use. The amendment would also require that just compensation be paid for the property taken, and that the amount of compensation be determined by a jury. The amendment would be submitted to the voters at the statewide election to be held May 3, 2016.
The bill also amends the statute governing eminent domain by revising the purpose for which property may be condemned by private, local public and other public condemnors. Under the bill, condemnors may only utilize eminent domain for a “public use.” The bill eliminates existing language that permits taking property by condemnation for a “public benefit.” The bill also clarifies that private condemnors may acquire property for the purpose of constructing “communication facilities,” “facilities related to the distribution of natural gas,” and pipelines or mains for the transportation of natural gas. In addition, the bill provides that private, local public, and other public condemnors may exercise eminent domain to acquire property for the connection of any customer or customers.
Representative McGrady told the committee it was the very same bill that passed overwhelmingly in the House last session. The bill arose out of the 2005 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Kelo v. City of New London, 545 U.S. 469 (2005). In that case, the Court held that the city could constitutionally exercise its powers under eminent domain to force the sale of private land to another private entity for development. The Court found that economic development was a “public purpose” sufficient to satisfy the requirements of “public use.” The Court stressed that whether eminent domain is authorized in a particular situation is matter of state law. The U.S. Constitution limits the purpose for such a taking to public use, but the states are free to impose further restrictions on its eminent domain powers. After being approved by the Judiciary II committee unanimously, the bill passed second reading in the House on Thursday by a vote of 111 – 4. It has been placed on the calendar for third reading on Tuesday. The House has passed a similar bill three times since 2007 but the Senate has failed to take up any of the bills.
Bills filed to restrict local zoning
Companion bills were filed in the House and Senate this week that would prohibit a county from adopting zoning and subdivision development and aesthetic regulations concerning building design elements for one and two-family dwellings, with some exceptions. H36 and S25 (Zoning/Design and Aesthetic Controls) are similar to legislation that was passed by the House in 2014. The Senate bill was referred to the Senate Rules Committee. The House bill was referred to the House Local Government Committee.
The prohibition would not apply to areas designated as local historic districts, areas listed on the National Registry of Historic Places or in areas designated as local, state, or national historic landmarks. It would not apply to regulations that are directly and substantially related to applicable safety codes under the North Carolina State Building Code or regulations that are required for participation in the National Flood Insurance Program. In addition, the regulations prohibited by this section cannot be applied in any zoning district, special use district, conditional use district, or conditional district unless consented to by all of the owners of all of the property to which they can be applied.
A similar bill passed the House in 2013 and made it as far as the Senate floor in May 2014 before it was pulled from the calendar and returned to the Senate Rules Committee, where it remained the rest of the session.
Thank you very much for the opportunity to represent District 77 and to work on your behalf for the betterment of Rowan County and the Great State of North Carolina.
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Harry
Representative Harry Warren
N.C. House of Representatives
District 77, Rowan County
611 Legislative Office Building
Raleigh, North Carolina 27603
(919) 733-5784
Harry.Warren@ncleg.net
