End may be nearing

Legislators are beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel. Budget negotiators have almost completed their work, and House and Senate leaders announced that committees are to be shut down by July 28.

This means that committees will be working at breakneck speed next week to clear any remaining legislation. Action will be intense, and bills can pop up and move very quickly. The League staff will need to be extremely vigilant, and we ask you to do the same. This is a crucial time to stay in touch with your legislators on our advocacy agenda items.

The Medicaid relief/local government revenue package is the last major unresolved issue in the budget negotiations. The version of HB 1016 - State Medicaid Swap that passed the Senate would have the state assume the counties’ share of Medicaid costs and take over the third one-half cent local option sales tax (Article 44) on a phased-in basis. This version holds municipalities harmless and provides a growth factor for the future. (See last week’s Bulletin for more details.) The House has proposed including a new local option revenue source for public infrastructure, such as a real estate transfer tax, subject to voter approval. At last report, that was still in contention.

The League supports reasonable Medicaid relief for counties so long as our municipal revenues are not jeopardized. We also seek more local revenue options and state investment in infrastructure. In conjunction with the Partnership for North Carolina’s Future, we have been working to raise awareness of the vast infrastructure needs in our state. Please urge your legislators to act this session with both local revenue options, such as a real estate transfer tax, and a substantial bond package to pay for roads, schools, water and sewer, and open space preservation.

Make critical contacts on two union bills
The bill to allow collective bargaining by public employee labor unions did not come up in committee this week but is expected to be heard in the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday, July 25. HB 1583 – Restore Contract Rights To State/Local would eliminate the current statutory prohibition on collective bargaining by public employee organizations that has been in place since 1959. Please continue to contact your House members, especially those on the Appropriations Committee (listed below), in opposition to this bill. Our members support equitable treatment of municipal employees but we oppose bills that would, in effect, force collective bargaining with unions on municipal governments.

House Appropriations Committee
Rep. Michaux, Senior Chair; Reps. Adams, Alexander, Crawford, Haire, Jeffus, Tolson, and Yongue, Chairs; Reps. Allen, Allred, Avila, Barnhart, Bell, Blue, Bordsen, Boylan, Braxton, Brisson, Brown, Bryant, Church, Clary, Cleveland, Coates, Cole, Coleman, Cunningham, Current, Daughtry, Dickson, Dockham, Dollar, Earle, England, Fisher, Frye, Gillespie, Glazier, Goforth, Goodwin, Grady, Gulley, T. Harrell, Harrison, Hilton, Holliman, Holloway, Holmes, Hurley, Insko, Johnson, Justice, Justus, Killian, Kiser, Langdon, Love, Lucas, Martin, McAllister, McElraft, McLawhorn, Mobley, Moore, Neumann, Owens, Parmon, Pate, Pierce, Rapp, Ray, Samuelson, Saunders, Spear, Steen, Stiller, Sutton, Tarleton, Thomas, Tucker, Underhill, Wainwright, Walker, E. Warren, R. Warren, West, Wiley, Wilkins, Williams, Womble, Wray, Wright.

On a related note, SB 1271 – Firefighter/EMS Payroll Deductions was withdrawn from the State Personnel Committee without a vote and re-referred to House Local Government II, where it is likely to have a more favorable reception. This bill requires employers to make payroll deductions for union dues upon the request of the employee for any firefighter/emergency medical services personnel organization that represents a majority of eligible employees in the employer's department; any law enforcement organization that has at least 2,000 members statewide; and any employee organization or association that has at least 2,000 members statewide, at least 500 of whom are law enforcement officers. Local governments already have the ability to provide dues checkoff to employees but this should not be mandated. Please contact your House members in opposition to this bill.

Tip tax advances
On Thursday of this week the Senate Agriculture and Environment Committee approved a committee substitute for SB 1492 - Solid Waste Management Act of 2007. The bill sets new siting rules, permit fees and technical standards for landfills.

The League participated in a series of meetings with a large stakeholders group (including representatives of cities, counties, the private sector solid waste industry, state agencies, and environmental groups) that resulted in some positive changes to the original bill. Our overriding concern has been the potential cost to municipalities and, in particular, the proposed statewide tipping tax on solid waste disposal.

Version number 28 of the committee substitute, as approved on Thursday, still includes the state tax at a rate of $1.50 per ton. Proceeds are to be used for assessment and remediation of pre-1983 unlined landfills and recycling grants. A very limited liability protection would be afforded to local governments that might otherwise be responsible parties for those old landfills.

The League has long-standing policy to oppose the imposition of state taxes on local enterprise services such as solid waste collection and disposal. Our membership did not ask for and does not want a state tip tax. The partial liability protection proposed in the bill is simply not sufficient to convince our members otherwise.

The bill now goes to Senate Finance. We will continue to oppose those portions of the legislation that are harmful to municipalities. Please express your opinion to your senators.

Cell tower bill passes Senate
A new version of SB 831 – Wireless Telecommunications Facilities cleared the Senate this week. The League has been in ongoing negotiations with the cell tower industry, and this version of the bill reflects progress on some of our concerns. We still have a few issues in contention and will strive to work those out on the House side. The bill has been referred to House Finance.

Interbasin transfer to be voted
We expect the committee substitute for SB 1421 – Amend Interbasin Transfer Laws to move next week. The bill has been discussed twice in the Senate Agriculture and Environment Committee, and is scheduled to be heard again on Tuesday, July 24. We are told that a vote will be taken at that time.

The most recent version considered by the committee requires an applicant for interbasin transfer to provide additional information, including a description of every available, planned or potential source of water in the receiving river basin and a description of existing, planned or reasonably foreseeable water transfers and withdrawals from the source basin. The bill would require enhanced public notification and informational meetings, a comprehensive environmental impact statement (with public hearing on its adequacy), and participation in mediation among the interested parties. It requires the Environmental Management Commission to make a draft determination on the transfer petition and hold public hearings on it. The transfer would have to meet additional criteria for the EMC to approve it, including that there are no reasonable alternatives and that the applicant will not resell any of the transferred water. The bill expressly states that projected future water needs in a receiving river basin are subordinate to projected future water needs in the source basin. As currently written, the committee substitute would apply to any application for an interbasin transfer that has not received final approval as of the effective date, including all administrative and judicial review.

We have heard from municipalities on both sides of this complex issue. The League adopted a position statement earlier this year supporting further study by the General Assembly. If your municipality has an interest in this legislation, contact your senator as soon as possible to make your position known.

Setting the record straight
An Associated Press article this week contained allegations that local governments spent $247,000 lobbying for the land transfer tax in this legislative session. This is a misleading statement, and we would like to set the record straight.

The League is required to file reports on how much the organization spends on lobbying, as defined in the state statutes. Your League staff makes every effort to comply fully with the reporting requirements.

For the first two quarters of 2007, we reported lobbying expenses of $37,496, an amount that includes the time spent lobbying by the registered lobbyists on the League staff, our co-sponsorship of a reception on the opening day of the session, Town Hall Day expenses, and other items.

This amount has been spent monitoring more than 1,000 bills introduced this session that affect cities and towns. We have lobbied or are actively lobbying on perhaps 75 to 100 bills during the session and may comment to legislators on hundreds of others.

Giving local governments the authority for a land transfer tax, subject to voter approval, is a high legislative priority for the League, but far from the only one, as any reader of the Legislative Bulletin knows. The League staff has spent many lobbying hours working on bills dealing with issues ranging from local authority to provide broadband to gang prevention to solid waste issues. Our lobbying efforts cover a wide range of bills, many dealing with technical or complex issues. Also, the lobbying expenses reported reflect the time that League staff members spend working with state agencies on various issues, including working with agency staff on proposed regulations affecting cities and towns. Please note that the League does not have a PAC and does not make political contributions of any kind.

The League is a member of the Partnership for North Carolina’s Future, which is conducting a campaign to raise public awareness about the state’s infrastructure needs, to encourage citizens to contact their legislators about investing in the future, and to urge legislators to act now. The partnership has sponsored television commercials about the state’s infrastructure needs and about the land transfer tax. These are aimed at citizens and ask them to get involved in the process.

We believe that the amount of money that the League spends on lobbying is reasonable and we try to use this money as wisely as possible toward the advocacy agenda set by the membership.

Following are some of the bills that were introduced or acted upon this week. If you need a copy of these or any other bills, please contact the Legislative Printed Bills Office at 919-733-5648 or the League office. Remember that bills and legislative calendars are now available on the Internet at http://www.ncleg.net. Please contact the League staff if you have any particular interest or concern regarding any piece of legislation.


Finance & Taxation

Bill: HB 1036 - AMEND ALLOCATION OF TVA PAYMENT
Sponsors: Haire (D119)
Status: House Calendar for 7/23
Provides that payments received by the state and local governments from the Tennessee Valley Authority in lieu of taxes are to be apportioned between local governments on the basis of each unit's percentage of the total value of TVA property in the state (rather than based on the percentage of lost taxes to each).

Local Bills

Bill: HB 483 - CHAPEL HILL CAMPAIGN FINANCE OPTIONS
Sponsors: Insko (D56)
Status: SL 2007-222
Authorizes the town to conduct a program of public campaign financing.


Bill: HB 1217 - NAVASSA ANNEXATION AGREEMENT
Sponsors: Hill (D20); Stiller (R17)
Status: Passed House
Authorizes the town to enter into an agreement for payments in lieu of annexation.

Bill: SB 607 - DURHAM UNFIT DWELLINGS
Sponsors: Atwater (D18)
Status: SL 2007-219
Authorizes the city to order dwellings unfit for human habitation to be repaired or demolished after boarding up for six months.

Utilities
Bill: HB 1395
Sponsors: Brubaker (R78); Cole (D65)
Title: ELECTRIC SUPPLIERS/ELECTRICITIES ASSIGNMENT
Status: Favorable report from House Public Utilities; re-referred to House Judiciary II
Comments: Provides that an electric membership corporation or a city may petition the Utilities Commission at any time with respect to the provision of electric service within any service area not previously within the scope of a service area arising under or protected by a service area agreement filed with and approved by the Commission. Grants authority to the Commission to reassign territory and to designate territory as unassigned subject to customer choice. Sets forth standards for Commission to use in making the assignments. Prohibits Commission from considering rate differentials between the involved city and the involved electric supplier. Provides that any assignments made by the Commission shall survive annexation of all or any part of the affected territories.

Bill: HB 1755 - COORDINATE STATEWIDE ENHANCED 911 SYSTEM
Sponsors: Brubaker (R78); Howard (R79); Saunders (D99); Holliman (D81)
Status: 07/23/2007—Senate Calendar
Consolidates the state’s Enhanced 911 system under a single board that will establish a uniform service charge to be collected by all voice communication service providers. Authorizes the Board to levy a monthly Enhanced 911 charge on each voice communications service connection at 70 cents per month or a lower amount. Sets forth detailed provisions as to the distribution of funds to public safety answering points and the uses that may be made of the funds.