RALEIGH, N.C. — Good morning and welcome to Today @NCCapitol for Thursday, June 27. This is WRAL's roundup of what you need to know about North Carolina state government today.
BUDGET AND TAXES: Lawmakers had not reached a consensus on either a tax overhaul bill or a state budget as of late Wednesday afternoon, virtually guaranteeing the General Assembly will be meeting well into July. House Speaker Thom Tillis has already said he expected budget negotiators to be meeting on Friday.
Sen. Tom Apodaca, R-Henderson, the Senate Rules Chairman, laid out what he expected to be the remainder of the legislative calendar for the chamber on Wednesday. He said that legislators would wrap up work today as usual and return to session on Monday. The last day of formal lawmaking next week, he said, would be July 3. Lawmakers would observe the July 4 holiday and be off for that weekend. When they come back on Monday, July 8, Apodaca said, legislators would be in for a long week and "stay until we're done."
Meanwhile, word on Jones Street is that Gov. Pat McCrory is getting impatient to sign both his first budget and a tax overhaul bill.
"I hope we can reach (a tax) consensus within the next week among the leadership. I don't want this to drag out much longer," the governor told the Associated Press Wednesday. "I either want to come to a consensus on a plan, or move on to many of the other important items we all have to deal with."
MCCRORY: McCrory met with reporters after signing a bill that overhauls how the state distributes transportation funding.
"My goal is to get people into jobs, not to continue to be on unemployment," he said. "People who are requesting this change want to keep the status quo, and that status quo has not been very beneficial to our state or families or individuals for the past two or three years.
SENATE TODAY: The Senate has a lengthy calendar today, much of it held over from Wednesday's session. Among the bills senators could consider are changes to permitting requirements for natural gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing, a bill to require applicants for public benefits submit to drug testing and revisions to the state's charter school laws. WRAL.com will carry the Senate session live at 11 a.m. Please check the Video Central box on the home page.
COMMITTEES: For a full listing of today's legislative committee check the main @NCCapitol page. Among the highlights:
Senate Judiciary 1 (10 a.m. | 1027 LB): The committee will take up a bill that would ban the uses of Sharia Law in North Carolina and a separate measure aimed at protecting food companies from liability in lawsuits over obesity. That same bill prohibits local governments from regulating the size of soft drinks.
House Regulatory Reform (11 a.m. | 643 LOB): The committee is expected to create
an omnibus environmental laws bill, although it's unclear what may be included in the legislation.
STORIES: Among the stories we were following Wednesday were:
Goolsby said the program was brought to his attention by Phil Berger Jr., a Republican district attorney from Rockingham County and the president of the North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys. Berger is also the son of Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger. "More than 2,000 criminals have taken advantage of this policy since 2008," the younger Berger wrote in a letter to McCrory. "What shocks the conscience more than the release of these dangerous individuals is the fact that victims and prosecutors are not aware of their presence in the community. The North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys requests that this policy be rescinded immediately."
Commissioner of Adult Correction David Guice defended the program last night, saying: “For over three decades, the home leave program has allowed for inmates who are nearing release to re-establish family relationships and community socialization in preparation for their transition back into the community. Every inmate is carefully screened and selected and undergoes a thorough investigation before admission into the program.”
PRISONS: Lawyers for the state of North Carolina say prison guards used "minimal force" in altercations with handcuffed inmates that left several with broken bones and one confined to a wheelchair. The office of N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper filed multiple motions this week seeking dismissal of a federal lawsuit filed on behalf of eight inmates who say they were abused while in solitary confinement at Central Prison in Raleigh. The state's filings do not specifically dispute that physical injuries were suffered by inmates who were restrained, but contend that prison personnel acted appropriately.
GAME NIGHTS: A bill that would clarify that nonprofits can hold casino-themed fundraisers met with skepticism in the House Judiciary A Committee Wednesday. House Bill 809, which Rep. Jamie Boles, R-Moore, said would to clarify state law, would allow nonprofit groups to hold four game nights per year. It would allow those attending the fundraiser to pay for chips that could then be used to play roulette, blackjack, poker, craps, keno and "Merchandise" wheel of fortune. At the end of the night, chips could be traded in for raffle tickets that could then be entered into drawings for prizes. The more chips somebody wins, the better the chances of winning the drawings.
TRASH: A southeastern Virginia city that borders North Carolina is casting a wary eye toward legislation that could allow a large landfill just over the state line. Chesapeake officials fear a landfill in Camden County, N.C., could degrade its drinking water supply, threaten the region's economic development and endanger the long-term viability of a Navy facility that straddles the state line and is used by multiple branches of the military.
FINLEY: The current chairman of North Carolina's regulatory body for telecommunications, electric and natural gas markets is Gov. Pat McCrory's choice to stay at that post for four more years. McCrory announced Wednesday he was reappointing Ed Finley of Raleigh as chairman of the state Utilities Commission.
TESLA: The
Triangle Business Journal reports, "A bill that would ban sales of cars directly to consumers was blocked by an N.C. House committee Tuesday, effectively shutting down what some view as the N.C. Automobile Dealers Association’s anti-Tesla campaign." The bill would have required Tesla to have dealership agreements in North Carolina like Ford, Honda and other car companies. The electric car maker said it didn't sell enough cars to make that practical.
