This week in the House of
Representatives
April 13 – 17, 2015
Representative Carl Ford – District 76
Twelfth Week of the 2015 Long Session
Since the legislative spring break, nearly 500 bills have been filed in the House, totaling 941 bills for the Legislative Long Session by the close of business on Thursday. 29 Committee meetings were held to hear 88 bills, while 36 received a full hearing on the floor and were passed to the Senate. This rush of activity was to prepare for this week’s final bill filing deadline (after which no bills can be filed) and the impending crossover deadline (after which certain bills that have not passed from one chamber to the other are ineligible for further action).
This week the Local Government Committee, which I chair, heard 10 bills, almost all of which received unanimous favorable reports. I also filed two bills, House Bill (HB) 402 and 696. By the end of the week, HB 402 received its third reading on the House floor and crossed over to the Senate with only one dissenting vote. I look forward to continuing this productive, break-neck speed next week.
Bill Updates
“Study Municipal Elections in Even Years” – House Bill 402
In 2014, our last major election, 6.6 million registered voters cast a ballot, which is a 44.35% voter turnout. While we can always hope for greater voter participation than 44%, that number is very high compared to participation in 2013, the last municipal election. In 2013, only 490,000 eligible voters cast a ballot, which is only 14.5% participation across the State. In that election, only 8.8% of voters cast a ballot in Cabarrus and 13% cast a ballot in Rowan. While we work in Raleigh to scale-back government control and empower local communities to rule themselves, these elections are becoming more and more important.
To address this issue, I filed HB 402, which would direct the Joint (House and Senate) Legislative Elections Oversight Committee to study whether municipal elections should be held in even-numbered years, when most major elections are held. The Committee would be specifically tasked with considering voter turnout data, the cost to run municipal elections on odd-numbered years, and the preferences of local municipal elected officials. The Committee would be required to report to the 2016 Short Session, and would hopefully draft legislation to address the issue, should they discover that changes need to be made.
I am of the opinion that these odd-numbered year elections are a significant drain on taxpayer money, and that voter participation would increase if they were held alongside other major elections. It appears an overwhelming majority of my peers agree with me, as the bill passed the House on Thursday with only one dissenting vote. I look forward to the House and Senate studying this issue, should the Senate pass the bill.
“Billy Graham/National Statuary Hall” – House Bill 540
In 1864, Congress established the National Statuary Hall in the Old Hall of the House of Representatives in the United State Capitol, and authorized each state to contribute two statues that represent important historical figures of each state. Currently, North Carolina has two statues on display, former governors Zebulon Vance and Charles Brantley Aycock, given by the State in 1916 and 1932. In 2000, Congress passed legislation to allow states to request replacement of their statues.
After a surprising amount of debate, HB 540 passed the House on Thursday. The bill would request that the Federal Joint Committee on the Library of Congress approve the replacement of former governor Charles Brantley Aycock’s statue with a statue of Rev. Billy Graham. Born in 1918, Rev. Graham devoted his life to ministering and loving his fellow man. Through his crusades, he has preached to an estimated 2.2 billion people and served as a counselor to 12 Presidents and a great number of world leaders. There have been many great North Carolinians, but few have impacted the world as much as Rev. Billy Graham. I was proud to join my colleagues to enact this legislation to honor Rev. Graham’s life.
Before closing this newsletter, I want to take a moment to announce two new communications projects in the House, the Weekly Republican Address, and Town Hall Thursdays. The Weekly Republican Address will be a weekly YouTube video series that feature a different legislator each week and will go in-depth on what we are working on in Raleigh. Town Hall Thursdays will be a weekly event on Twitter during which certain members will provide information and field questions from the public on a certain legislative topic, such as economic development, tax reform, or education funding. This Thursday was the first Town Hall Thursday event, hosted by Rep. Susan Martin, which focused on Economic Development in Eastern North Carolina. You can participate in Town Halls by using #ncTHT. I hope that these events will increase transparency and awareness of our work in Raleigh. Please contact my office in Raleigh if you have any questions about these projects.
Thank you for taking the time to read about the work I was able to accomplish this week for Cabarrus and Rowan. Expect to hear big news as the 152nd resumes its legislative session and budget process.
Please share this newsletter with your friends and family in the district. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
God Bless,
Carl
Legislative Office: (919) 733-5881
District Office: (704) 305-3541
