Today @NCCapitol (June 15): Income tax cap headlines legislative agenda

The state Senate will consider a bill that would cap the state's income tax rate at 5.5 percent. In committee, senators will push for private tax rulings to be unveiled to the public.

Posted 10:00 a.m. Jun 15, 2016 — Updated 11:56 a.m. Jun 15, 2016

Mark Binker

and

Laura Leslie

RALEIGH, N.C. — Good morning and welcome to Today@NCCapitol for Wednesday, June 15. Here's what's going on around the General Assembly:

Senate seeks to lower constitutional cap on income tax

SENATE FLOOR (2 p.m.): The state Senate will take up a bill that would lower North Carolina's income tax cap from 10 percent to 5.5 percent. The current state personal income tax rate is 5.75 percent, and it is scheduled to fall to 5.499 percent in 2017. Voters would get a chance to weigh in on a constitutional amendment, which is favored by Republican Senate leaders, capping the income tax rate starting in 2017. WRAL.com will carry this meeting live online.

RELATED (10 a.m.): Senate Democrats will lay out why they think an income tax cap is a bad idea at a 10 a.m. news conference.

HOUSE FLOOR (2 p.m.): The state House will take up bills dealing with overtime rules for workers at certain seasonal attractions and continue debate on a bill that purports to combat food stamp fraud. The food stamp bill saw robust debate Tuesday but was withdrawn from the calendar before a vote.

COLA (11:30 a.m.): State government retirees will call on lawmakers to grant a cost-of-living adjustment to those drawing state pensions. The state House included a COLA in its version of the state budget, but senators said such an increase was too expensive. WRAL.com will carry this news conference live online.

COMMITTEES: The General Assembly publishes full committee calendar daily. Here are some of the things we'll be watching:

Senate Finance (1 p.m.): Senators will take up Senate Bill 481, a measure dealing with crowd-funding. Sen. Tamara Barringer, R-Wake, tells WRAL News she will ask the committee to attach language that would force the Department of Revenue to publish private letter rulings, which grant companies special tax treatment.

House Judiciary IV (10 a.m.): House members will review Senate Bill 867, which would require most public school personnel to undergo background checks.

House Judiciary III (12:30 p.m.): House members review a bill that will set safety standards for zip lines and challenge courses following a death at a summer camp last year.

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