General Assembly adjourns

The General Assembly adjourned the 2006 session early this morning after putting the final touches on an ethics and lobbying bill.  HB 1843 – State Government Ethics Act creates conflict-of-interest standards for legislators and state officials, increases economic disclosure requirements, prohibits campaign contributions and most gifts by lobbyists, and increases lobbyists' reporting requirements.

Following are some of the other issues that were acted upon in the final days of the session.

Eminent Domain
As we reported last week, the General Assembly has ratified legislation to clarify the state's eminent domain statutes, and the bill now awaits the Governor's signature.  HB 1965 – Eminent Domain Restrictions limits eminent domain to the uses specified in G.S. 40A-3 and prohibits the use of eminent domain under the urban redevelopment law to acquire non-blighted parcels.  In the waning hours of the session, a provision was inserted into the technical corrections bill, SB 1523 , to delay the effective date to August 15, 2006.

Motor Vehicle Tax
We are glad to report that efforts to repeal the combined motor vehicle registration renewal and property tax collection system were not successful.  That law, passed in the 2005 session as HB 1779, will allow cities and counties to capture an estimated $80 million per year in taxes that currently go uncollected.  HB 1779 passed the House and Senate unanimously in 2005 and the new system was scheduled to go into effect in 2009.  As a compromise to address concerns about the implementation, SB 1523 – 2006 Technical Corrections Act delays the effective date until July 1, 2010, or when the Division of Motor Vehicles and the Department of Revenue certify that the necessary integrated computer system is operational, whichever comes first.

Stormwater
Legislation clarifying the Phase II stormwater regulations was enacted as SB 1566 – Stormwater Management 2006 and sent to the Governor.  The bill will add 26 counties and approximately 100 municipalities to Phase II post-construction coverage.  (The additional municipalities covered because they are in one of 26 counties will not be required to implement the program themselves.)  It clarifies that cities have the authority to adopt and enforce ordinances implementing stormwater programs, but that DENR may not require municipalities to implement illicit discharge detection and elimination programs in their extraterritorial jurisdictions.  Other provisions of the bill establish a lower threshold for triggering stormwater control requirements in areas near shellfishing waters and require development in coastal areas to have controls capable of managing greater amounts of rainfall.  The bill sets forth the circumstances under which development activities will have a vested right to continue without complying with the post-construction stormwater management practices.

Economic Development
The General Assembly ratified its modifications to the state economic development tax credits program and sent HB 2170 – Bill Lee Changes to the Governor.  Under this legislation, the state's tier structure would go from five to three, and enhanced credits would be available in economically distressed counties, agrarian zones and urban progress zones.  The urban progress zones replace development zones and focus more narrowly on urban poverty areas.  The Governor has already signed into law legislation to extend and expand the Job Development Investment Grant program-- HB 2744 – Economic Development Program Modifications.

Landfill Moratorium
The General Assembly approved a one-year moratorium on permits to construct new landfills in SB 353 – Landfill Moratorium And Studies .  The moratorium is in effect from August 1, 2006 to August 1, 2007 to allow the state time to study solid waste disposal issues.  The bill includes a series of exceptions to the moratorium, listed below:

- An amendment, modification, or other change to a permit for a landfill issued on or before 1 June 2006.

- A permit for a horizontal or vertical expansion of the landfill permitted on or before 1 June 2006.

- A permit to construct a new landfill within the facility boundary identified in the facility plan of a landfill permitted on or before 1 June 2006.

- A permit to operate a new landfill if a permit to construct the new landfill was issued on or before 1 June 2006.

- A permit for a sanitary landfill used only to dispose of waste generated by a coal-fired generating unit that is owned or operated by an investor-owned utility subject to the requirements of G.S. 143-215.107D.

- A permit for a sanitary landfill determined to be necessary by the Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources in order to respond to an imminent hazard to public health or a natural disaster.

Final bulletin on the way soon
Keep an eye out for our wrap-up Legislative Bulletin with a synopsis of the entire session, coming your way soon.  In the meantime, please contact the League staff if you have questions regarding any piece of legislation.  Remember that copies of bills are available online at http://www.ncleg.net or from the Legislative Printed Bills Office at 919-733-5648.