WHAT HAPPENED: A peppy feeling on Jones Street
with more than 200 new bills emerging in the House and plenty of committee
movement.
WHAT IT MEANS: Two quick explanations -- 1) the
House hit a bill-filing deadline (for proposals not involving money) and 2) spring
break. The House had already planned to take a week off, and the Senate
scheduled downtime for the week of April 22.
ON TAP: One more House deadline for bills -- April 25
at 5 p.m. for all remaining public bills that specifically deal with
appropriations and finance. That's the last real deadline in the legislature
this year for new, individual bills, though there is one more big date ahead --
crossover, currently scheduled for May 9. Generally speaking, that's when bills
must have passed either the Senate or House to remain alive. This means you can
expect fast business when legislators return from break. And amid all that is
House budget development.
THE SKINNY: It's been busy, and will be
ahead. We thank our lawmakers and local leaders statewide for the job they're
doing together to make North Carolina better. Whatever your plans are this
holiday weekend, we hope you have a great and restful one.
The House
Alcohol Beverage Control Committee this week advanced
HB 91 ABC Laws
Modernization/PED Study, making changes to the state's system of
liquor distribution and sales, following input from League staff and amendments
from committee members. League staff addressed the committee with opposition to
a provision for mandatory consolidation of local ABC boards -- a provision the
committee ended up removing by amendment following the League's testimony.
The bill still contained provisions that allow
the purchase of individual bottles for special orders, local boards to charge
delivery fees when delivering liquor, local governments to permit Sunday
alcohol sales, and liquor tasting in local ABC stores. The bill's next stop is
the House Finance Committee.
Registration for CityVision 2019
-- the biggest and best annual conference for North Carolina's cities and
towns, May 14-16 in Hickory -- is
closing on Sunday. Don't miss your chance! Join us for two days
full of engaging keynote speakers and concurrent sessions that will give you
the tools you need to face challenges in your hometowns head on. This year,
CityVision will offer round table discussions following each general session to
address shared challenges, connect with regional partners and engage in
facilitated discussions to gain practical information that you can use
immediately.
REGISTER NOW! Bills
to better the broadband landscape in North Carolina continue their traction in
the General Assembly. Calendared for a committee hearing next Thursday is
HB 431 FIBER NC
Act, which addresses a key goal of localities in all parts of the
state. Member cities and towns are encouraged to contact their legislators and
ask their support of the bill, whose list of sponsors covers more than half of
the House. The bill, to be heard in the House State and Local Government Committee,
specifically would
authorize local
governments to build broadband infrastructure and lease it to
private operators, an arrangement that would give unserved or underserved
communities a path toward reliable, fast internet. Also in support of better
broadband access is
SB 310 Electric
Co-Op Rural Broadband Services, which received a favorable report
this week and now goes to the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill
would allow subsidiaries of the state’s electric cooperative corporations
to provide broadband services to one or more premises.
Two bills passed the Senate this week that
would affect two programs that offer grants to municipalities -- the Clean
Water Management Trust Fund (CWMTF) and the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund
(PARTF).
SB 356 Surplus
Property Proceeds to Parks and Water will add revenue to both
funding programs by directing a percentage of the money from the sale of state-owned
surplus property to each of the funds.
SB 381
Reconstitute & Clarify Environmental Boards expands the purposes
for which the CWMTF funds can be used to include (among others) the protection
and restoration of floodplains and wetlands and adds to the grant criteria and
priority considerations. The League thanks Sens. Andy Wells and Harry Brown for
thinking of additional ways to increase funding to these programs.
A
sweeping tax-law bill under discussion in the Senate includes, among many other
things, a four-year extension for the historic rehabilitation tax credit, a
program that has helped communities across the state revitalize, put aged
buildings back to work and broaden property tax rolls. Supporting a goal set by
cities and towns for this biennium, Section 5.2 of
SB 622 Tax
Reduction Act of 2019 would push the credit's sunset date to Jan. 1,
2024, from the currently programmed Jan. 1, 2020. Additionally, it eyes
internet sales taxation with a "marketplace facilitator" measure
designed to help the state collect taxes from additional online sales. A
portion of this revenue stream flows to local governments. Separately, the bill
requires all online accommodations booking companies to collect sales tax on
rentals facilitated through their online platforms. Those companies would have
to make an annual report to the N.C. Department of Revenue, which would include
a listing of the gross receipts and location of all rentals booked through that
company’s online platform in the prior year. This proposal, from Sens. Jerry
Tillman of Archdale, Ralph Hise of Spruce Pine and Paul Newton of Mount
Pleasant, came up for discussion in the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday.
The committee took no action.
In
other news, the House saw the filing this week of
HB 791 Law
Enforcement Agency Recordings, which if passed would achieve a
statewide goal of cities and towns. It would make several changes to the existing
laws on the release and disclosure of law enforcement agency recordings,
including allowing release or disclosure to the city manager, city council, or
citizen review board if there is a confidentiality agreement and it is done in
closed session. The League thanks sponsors Reps. John Faircloth, Stephen Ross
and Allen McNeill.
More
than 200 House bills surfaced this week on a filing deadline. They also include
HB 786 Emergency
Management Changes, which would ensure that disaster recover money
can be spent for housing -- addressing another goal of cities and towns this
biennium.
Follow along with all the bills relevant to
cities and towns via our
online bill
tracker.
