Representative Harry Warren
♦You may have heard talk on the local news channels that this past week was “crossover” week at the General Assembly. Today was the deadline for bills that originate in one legislative chamber to be passed out and sent to the opposite chamber. All bills originating in the House needed to pass through any remaining committees and then be passed on the House Floor by the end of business today. The same was true for bills originating in the Senate. As a result, there were some very heavily scheduled committee meetings and long sessions this week. Monday sessions begin at 7:00 p. m. and adjourn when the calendar is completed. This past Monday there were 30 bills scheduled for a vote.
Here is a breakdown of some of the more notable public bills that were passed out of the House this week and some of the most recent bills signed by the Governor:
HB 311 – Repeal the Literacy Test. This bill would require a vote by the people to remove Section 4 of Article 6 from the State Constitution. This section is referred to as the “Literacy Test,” which required that in order to vote, a person had to be able to read and write any random piece of the State Constitution, in English. Although this provision has been long since been declared illegal, it has remained as a part of the constitution.
HB 628 – Protect/Promote NC Lumber. This bill seeks to protect North Carolina timber producers by requiring that sustainable building standards not disadvantage or forbid the use of building materials produced in this State. There was quite a bit of debate on this bill, ironically, mostly between Republican members.
HB 26 – Strengthen Laws/Vehicle Theft. This bill addresses the theft of vehicles ten years old or older. Apparently, “vintage” vehicles are more frequently stolen and dismantled for parts or for scrap than they are for transportation. This bill seeks to strengthen the laws protecting against the theft of vehicles for disassembly and resale of parts and to assist law enforcement in the investigation of organized criminal activity associated with the theft of vehicles.
HB 74 – Periodic Review and Expiration of Rules. HB 74 provides that readopting a rule to keep the rule from expiring, without making substantive changes to the existing rule, exempts the notice of the proposed text of a rule from having to include the text of the proposed rule.
HB 477 - Allison’s Law/Use of GPS Tracking Device/Domestic Violence Protective Order. This is an act allowing a court to consider as a type of relief in granting a domestic violence protective order the use of a GPS tracking device on a person who has committed acts of domestic violence and requiring the North Carolina Department of Public Safety to report on implementation and cost impact.
HB 593 – Register of Deeds Hours. This would require the Register of Deeds to maintain regular office hours.
HB 625 – Zoning/Health Care Structure. This bill relates to zoning provisions for temporary health care structures. The structures are gaining popularity as temporary care units for long term and/or terminally ill persons. Generally, they resemble small single room houses and can be rented or leased.
HB 67 – Local Government Regulatory Reform. This legislation creates new GS 160A-203 and GS 153A-145.1, both titled Certain Ordinances Prohibited. It provides that no city or county can enact an ordinance, rule, or regulation that, (1) authorizes an employer to withhold any labor union or labor organization dues from an employee’s pay, expense allowances, or other compensation, and (2) requires an employer to assume financial, legal, or other responsibility for an employee’s carbon footprint, which may result in the employer being subject to a fine, fee, or other monetary, legal, or negative consequences.
HB 765 – Jury Instructions for School Budget Dispute. This bill amends the instructions that must be given to a jury in a court action on a budget dispute between a local board of education and a board of county commissioners.
HB 794 – Voter Freedom Act of 2013. This is an act to amend the definition of “political party,” to amend the nomination process, to amend the requirements for unaffiliated and write-in candidates, to allow nomination by convention by smaller parties, and to provide that smaller parties electing to have primaries will have the results determined by plurality.
HB 813 – Ban Synthetic Cannabinoids. This would make the manufacture, possession, sale, use and delivery of certain imitation controlled substances unlawful.
HB 850 – Possession of Needles/Tell Law Officer. This act provides that a person who alerts a law enforcement officer of the presence of a hypodermic needle or other sharp object possessed by the person prior to a search by the officer shall not be charged with possession of drug paraphernalia for possession of the needle or other sharp object.
HB 428 – North Carolina School Bus Safety Act. This is an act to provide that the punishment for passing a stopped school bus in violation of GS 20-217 shall include a fine in all circumstances and a revocation of the person’s driver’s license in certain circumstances.
HB 615 – Remove Revocation for Driving while License Revoked. This bill repeals the punishment of revoking a person’s driver’s license for committing certain driving while license revoked offenses; prevents a person who is guilty of driving while license revoked from receiving a prayer for judgment continued; makes driving while license revoked a non-moving violation for certain purposes; and makes other conforming changes.
HB 684 – Increase Driving Safety on Curvy Roads. The legislation requires the Department of Transportation (DOT) to amend its policies on driveway access to provide for exceptions to the sight distance requirement for driveways in instances where the curves of the road are too close and frequent to provide for the sighting distances required in the published Policy on Street and Driveway Access to North Carolina Highways. This also affects speed limits in certain instances.
HB 796 – Exempt Certain Columbariums/Cemetery Act. This bill amends GS 65-47, providing that a columbarium that is built on the grounds of a private or a self-contained retirement community in a county where no commercially available columbarium exists, funded only by the residents of that community and reserved for the residents’ use, will be exempt from the provisions of the NC Cemetery Act.
HB 891 – Exploitation of Seniors/Freeze Defendants. This is an act to allow the district attorney to petition the court to freeze the assets of a defendant charged with financial exploitation of an elder adult or disabled adult and to establish a procedure to petition for the freezing or seizure of assets that may be involved in the violation.
HB 908 – White Collar Crime Investigation. This is a bill to increase the penalty for obtaining property by false pretenses for property of certain values and to provide that an enhanced penalty shall be imposed for committing a second or subsequent offense of false pretenses.
HB 912 – Voluntary Contributions to the General Fund. In the event that you feel like Warren Buffet – that you just aren’t giving enough, this act will provide space on the income tax return for individuals to make donations to the State of North Carolina for governmental services.
HB 465 – No Possession of Firearms/Undocumented Aliens. This bill would support federal law to prohibit persons who are not lawfully in this State from possessing firearms.
HB 714 – Abandon Firearms to State Control. This legislation modifies existing laws governing the disposal of guns confiscated in criminal cases and enables law enforcement to sell guns that are not unsafe due to wear, damage, age or modification or are missing a legible unique identification number.
These bills were passed into law this week and were presented to the Secretary of State:
HB 488 – Regionalization of Public Utilities. This is an act to promote the provision of regional water and sewer services by transferring ownership and operation of certain public water and sewer systems to a metropolitan water and sewerage district.
SB 83 – Encourage Volunteer Care in Free Clinics. This is an act to encourage volunteer health care in free clinics by limiting the liability of medical and health care providers, if the free clinic provides patients with notice of limited liability.
The May Town Hall meeting will be held on Friday, May 24th at the NC Transportation Museum from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. I look forward to seeing you there.
Sincerely, Harry
N.C. House of Representatives District 77, Rowan County
611 Legislative Office Building Raleigh,
North Carolina 27603
(919) 733-5784
