The General Assembly is sending Gov. Roy Cooper legislation to sign in flurries. Bills that landed on the governor's desk this week included the
Build NC Bond Act, which would greenlight a new program of transportation bonds
as reported in this Bulletin in recent weeks. Governor Cooper is expected to sign that bill, which received support from the N.C. Department of Transportation. Lawmakers also sent him
SB 616 HOPE Act, which provides new leverage over the opioid crisis. Additionally on Governor Cooper's desk is
HB 379 Recodification Working Group, which would direct all units of local government to create a list of ordinances enforced as a criminal offense, with a description of that conduct, and submit the list to two legislative oversight committees by a tight timetable of Dec. 1.
Additionally in the mix is
SB 335 Budget Technical Corrections, which received final legislative approval on Friday. It amends the state's recently approved spending plan and includes two provisions of interest to cities. It would rewrite a budget provision that would have effectively prevented any light rail projects from moving forward in the state. Instead, any current projects, such as the Durham-Chapel Hill light rail project, must meet tight deadlines to secure alternative funding sources. The bill also removes a budget provision that had prevented cities from requiring schools to pay for transportation improvements as part of the land use approval process for those developments. That provision, however, is restored in
HB 374 Regulatory Reform Act of 2018. That bill would also place into law numerous provisions and add a new topic to an ongoing legislative water/sewer enterprise study, requiring an investigation into the authority for mandatory connections of certain subdivision-level water/sewer systems. Newly filed this week was
SB 813 Asheville City Council Districts, which would change the system of electing city council members in Asheville from an at-large system to a district-based system of representation with one at-large seat, beginning with the 2019 municipal elections. Lawmakers further cast final votes in favor of
HB 351 Utilities/Rate Base/Fair Value Determination, which would authorize water and wastewater utilities to use a fair value determination when acquiring utilities owned by local governments.
The House floor calendar at the time of this writing included what's poised to be a great win for cities and towns. That's in
HB 573, which would set up a new process called "vacant building receivership" as a tool for local governments to address blight and clean up vacant properties.
Last week's Bulletin lays out the steps. The bill from Rep. John Faircloth received unanimous backing in the Senate Commerce and Insurance Committee last week and this week cleared the full Senate. Cities and towns thank Rep. Faircloth for his time and attention on this issue.
Otherwise, the word on Jones Street is that lawmakers are putting most immediate attention on bills that need a stop at the governor's desk. While the legislature is in session, the governor has 10 days to take action on a bill -- by either signing it into law, vetoing it, or letting the 10-day window pass with no direct action, in which case the pending becomes law. The legislature, per the size of its majority, can override any of the governor's vetoes. When the legislature is out of session, that 10-day window shifts to 30 days, so it's likely the legislature will put emphasis on those bills needing the governor's action, in the interest of wrapping up the 2018 session. Not all bills need the governor's signature to become law, a local bill being an example. That said, such bills in waiting may receive legislative attention after they dispose of the bills that do require the governor's eyes.
