Due to tomorrow's Good Friday holiday, we are bringing you the LeagueLINC Bulletin a day early, and in a slightly abbreviated form. We will be back next week on our regular schedule, with all of the latest from the Legislature and elsewhere on news important to cities and towns across the state. On behalf of the League staff, have a great Easter weekend!
In bipartisan votes, the House and Senate each gave their approval this week to legislation that will stabilize transportation revenue going forwarding, including local Powell Bill funds. SB 20 IRC Update/Motor Fuels Changes, which was quickly signed into law by Gov. Pat McCrory, provides an immediate cut to gas taxes, but also drops a volatile formula that had tied the tax to the wholesale price of gasoline. That formula, had it not been changed, would have led to a loss of more than $250 million in road-building and maintenance dollars in the next fiscal year, a drop that would have negatively affected Powell Bill funds.
Legislative leaders reached a deal on competing versions of SB 20 late last week. The League has been heavily involved in advocating for the legislation's passage since the Senate rolled out the bill in February. We want to again thank and congratulate legislators for coming to an agreement on this critical piece of legislation. Thanks also to Governor McCrory and to all of you for your work on behalf of its passage.
The gas tax, which had been set at 37.5 cents per gallon, immediately fell to 36 cents on Wednesday, a day after the bill's passage. It will fall to 35 cents in January and 34 cents in July 2016. Going forward, it will be adjusted once a year, instead of twice each year, and tied to new formula that focuses on population growth and inflation.
The League will continue to advocate for passage of other transportation measures that call for additional infrastructure investments and further stabilize transportation revenue streams. Read previous League coverage about the gas tax legislation here. Read media coverage about passage of the bill here. Contact: Rose Williams
After a House Regulatory Reform Committee hearing Tuesday in which the committee chair limited public comment to a total of three minutes, HB 255 Building Code Reg. Reform faced growing concerns from a variety of stakeholder groups. As a result, House leaders pulled the bill from consideration by the full House yesterday and redirected it for a second committee hearing, this time in the House Finance Committee. The League worked with primary bill sponsor Rep. Mark Brody and development community representatives earlier in the week to address concerns with the bill, and the League members appreciate the willingness of these interests to continue discussions as the bill receives more consideration. Now, the League is working to address three primary issues in the bill:
- A method for resolving disputes between building inspectors and residential contractors that does not involve action before a licensing board; rather, the League supports an informal appeals process within the local government unit
- Elimination of authority to conduct plan review of residential building plans for adherence to the state building code
- How to define what constitutes a "full inspection"
The bill will likely undergo further revision as it makes its way through the legislative process, and the League thanks Rep. Brody for creating an open channel of communication to discuss these remaining concerns. Read more background on the original version of this bill in last week's LeagueLINC Bulletin. Contact: Erin Wynia
Please join us in welcoming Karen Waddell to the Governmental Affairs Team as Government Affairs Coordinator. Karen comes to the League after spending the last five-and-a-half years as Paralegal to the Director of Government Affairs and Legislative Counsel at the N.C. Department of Insurance. In that role, she was the department's rule-making coordinator, a role that included drafting and filing rules, scheduling and conducting hearings, and monitoring and complying with deadlines. She also served as the department's Constituent Affairs Coordinator to the General Assembly, a role that involved a number of activities involving connecting and facilitating communication between various constituency groups, legislators and department personnel. Before working at the Department of Insurance, she served as a paralegal to private law firms and to a mortgage loan company acting as the loan processor and loan closer. In her role at the League, Karen will help coordinate Governmental Affairs Team activities, oversee bill tracking, facilitate contacts with legislators and members, and help plan and carry out team events. She replaces Cara Bridges, who left the League in January to take a position on the General Assembly's fiscal staff. Karen has hit the ground running, and we all here look forward to continuing to work with her as we go forward.
New Government Affairs Coordinator Karen Waddell
Legislation filed Wednesday would modify the 2014 statutory changes that required primary 911 call centers, also known public safety answering points (PSAPs), to have back-up capabilities. HB 512 - Amend/Clarify Back-Up PSAP Requirements would require that a primary PSAP only have made substantial progress toward implementation of a "plan and means" for 911 call-taking in the event 911 calls cannot be received and processed in the primary PSAP by a July 1, 2016 deadline. That deadline, falling on the date of scheduled 911 Fund disbursements, was established in last year's legislation.
Two other 911 related bills -- HB 506 - 911 Fund Distribution and SB 571 - Expand Uses of 911 Fee -- would allow for an appeal of PSAP distribution denials, among other provisions. Contact: Sarah Collins
Nearly a third of the House bills introduced so far this session were filed this week, in part because that chamber faced a deadline to file all local bills by Wednesday. The House has one more significant bill filing deadline, April 16. Meanwhile, because the Senate's deadlines all passed last week, that chamber saw no bills filed this week. House bills of interest to municipalities filed this week included:
- HB 392 Fayetteville Charter/PWC Changes: amends the charter of the Fayetteville Public Works Commission to modify the make-up of and appointments to the utility's board, revenue-raising and revenue-sharing arrangements, and other operational and policy decisions made by either the utility or the City Council
- HB 395 Body and Dashboard Cameras/Law Enforcement: requires law enforcement officers in large jurisdictions to wear body cameras; includes language making body camera recordings subject to release to the public, with procedures for redactions
- HB 402 Study Municipal Elections in Even Years: directs a study of holding municipal elections in even years, including direction to solicit the opinions of municipal boards on this topic
- HB 403 Pole Attachment Compensation: attempts to clarify the law regarding disputes between municipal electric providers/non-profit electric cooperatives and private utilities regarding payment for use of utility poles; responds to recent litigation on this issue
- HB 404 Treasurer Modernization Act: expands the audit requirements for all pension systems managed by the Office of the State Treasurer, including the Local Government Employees Retirement System
- HB 405 Property Protection Act: companion bill to a Senate bill filed last week and explained in this article from last week's LeagueLINC Bulletin
- HB 418 Displaced Residential Land Tax Deferral: creates a new class of property -- residential land that is rezoned for non-residential uses but continues to be used for residential purposes after the rezoning -- for which payment of property taxes may be deferred
- HB 419 Protect Officers From Retaliation: enumerates employment protections for law enforcement officers who are whistleblowers
- HB 427 Repeal Partisan Elect'n/Lee Cty Ed Bd/Sanford: returns elections for the Sanford City Council and Lee County Board of Education to non-partisan status, reversing a successful bill from last session
- HB 430 County Omnibus Legislation: companion bill to a Senate bill filed last week and explained in this article from last week's LeagueLINC Bulletin
- HB 432 Counties/Internet Infrastructure: permits counties to pay for and build internet infrastructure, but limits provision of this service to private internet service providers
- HB 464 Regional Transportation Authority Revisions: adjusts the make-up and voting procedures of regional transportation authorities; lists duties of an Authority's chief administrator and clerk
- HB 470 Harnett Municipal Privilege License Tax: allows municipalities in Harnett County to levy a local privilege license tax in an amount not to exceed $100
- HB 477 LEO Privacy Protection: companion bill to a Senate bill filed last week and explained in this article from last week's LeagueLINC Bulletin
- HB 482 Employee Fair Classification Act: prohibits public and private employers from misclassifying employees as independent contractors and provides penalties for violations; creates a task force to make further recommendations regarding employers' misclassification of employees
- HB 483 Land Use Regulatory Changes: allows aggrieved applicants to a local government for a land use-related decision to bypass the board of adjustment and appeal the decision directly to a court of law; enlarges the scope of review of these local decisions during any judicial proceedings; allows a claim to move forward even if the aggrieved party continues to develop their land in reliance on the local government's decision; requires a court to award attorney's fees in cases in which the local government does not prevail, whether or not the court found the local government abused its discretion
- HB 499 Study/Public Records & Open Meetings: creates a new interim legislative study committee to "study ways to improve transparency of State and local government in North Carolina"
- HB 507 Durham Privilege License Tax: authorizes the City of Durham to levy a privilege license tax on businesses based on a tiered approach that accounts for the number of employees in each business, with a maximum tax of $5,000 for businesses with more than 100 employees
- HB 508 Alarm Registration Info Not Public Record: removes from the definition of public record any information received or compiled by a city's alarm registration program
- HB 509 Voter Freedom Act of 2015: modifies the procedures for qualifying unaffiliated candidates on the ballot for races including partisan municipal elections
- HB 516 Counties Dissolve Certain Sanitary Districts: grants certain large counties the authority to dissolve a local sanitary district and assume ownership and operations of the district's system and assets, subject to voter approval
- HB 518 County Sales Tax Flexibility: modifies the Article 43A county sales tax to allow counties to use the tax either for public transportation or general purposes
- HB 527 Municipal Elect'n/Even-Numbered Years/Stanly Co.: changes all municipal elections in Stanly County to even-numbered years
- HB 530 Local Gov'ts/Inspect Bldgs & Structures: companion bill to a Senate bill filed last week and explained in this article from last week's LeagueLINC Bulletin
- HB 537 Protect Law Enforcement & Comm. Relationships: requires law enforcement officers in large jurisdictions to wear body cameras, though without the specific provisions making body camera recordings subject to release to the public that are found in HB 395 Body and Dashboard Cameras/Law Enforcement
- HB 538 Clarify Water & Sewer Authority Powers: conforms statutes governing water and sewer authorities to city statutes, allowing authorities to enter into reimbursement agreements with private developers and to offer rewards
- HB 542 Modify Sunset Re: Contingent Audits: makes permanent a prohibition on local governments' use of contingency fee-based audits, which local governments use to ensure proper valuation of property subject to taxation; is similar to SB 682 Modify Sunset Re: Contingent Audits, filed last week
- HB 544 County Sign Ordinance in Municipal Parks: requires any county-owned signs posted in municipal parks to conform to that municipality's sign ordinance
- HB 548 Zoning/Modernize & Reorganize: rewrites the entire zoning, planning, and land use statutes of the state as an effort by the N.C. Bar Association
- HB 552 Graffiti Vandalism: creates a criminal offense for graffiti vandalism of public and private property
- HB 553 Ordinances Regulating Animals: prevents cities from establishing a standard of care for "farm animals," which are defined in the bill
- HB 566 Amend Eyewitness ID/Show-Up: clarifies laws relating to eyewitness identification for law enforcement officers, and establishes procedures for law enforcement officers to conduct a "show-up"
- HB 569 Rural County Dev. Funds for Road Const.: allows counties where fewer than 15 percent of residents live within incorporated municipalities to use funds from a developer for road construction, rather than transferring the money to municipalities for road construction
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx has announced that $500 million will be made available for transportation projects in a new round of awards under the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery competitive grant program. A number of North Carolina cities and towns have received grants in previous rounds of program awards. The pre-application deadline for grant applications is May 4 and the final application deadline is June 5. Find more about the program and the grant application process
here.
Two series of League meetings will continue in coming days. The third meeting in a series examining the future of municipal finance is set to be held in Pineville on April 13, while the League's Listening and Visioning Tour with Executive Director Paul Meyer will come to more towns and cities over the next few weeks. The Pineville meeting is a part of a series that we are calling
A Path Forward: Vibrant Cities Today and Tomorrow. As in previous stops in Southport and Burlington, the meeting will examine the financial challenges faced by cities and towns across the state. Learn more about the event and register
here. The first stops on the League's Listening and Visioning Tour were held this week in Sylva, Marion and Wilkesboro. Next week's stops include Manteo, Ahoskie and Wake Forest. Join Paul and Grassroots Coordinator Vickie Miller at the events by registering
here.
HB 61 Local Control/Land Application of Biosolids was heard by the the House Local Government Committee today, but the meeting was quickly adjourned before a vote could be taken on a motion for an unfavorable report. The motion, had it been successful, could have killed the bill for the remainder of the two-year legislative session.
The attempt to kill the legislation came after several members of the committee requested more information and that discussions be delayed. Rep. Gary Pendleton told committee members that he wanted time to get feedback from the League. The League thanks Rep. Pendleton, along with Rep. Stephen Ross and Rep. Charles Jeter, who both noted that biosolids are already heavily regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Rep. Ross also pointed out the large cost implications for wastewater utilities if the bill should pass.
The League opposes this bill because it would limit the land application practices and disrupt well-established law that leaves regulation of biosolids at the state and federal levels. By allowing county boards to dictate how residuals from wastewater utilities are disposed, the bill could prove costly for municipal utilities if they are forced to change their treatment processes. Contact: Sarah Collins
