BLOGS: Keeping Up With Jones Street

Thursday, December 18, 2014, 5:04 PM

My white hanky moment


Here's the deal:   It is a sad but proud time for me.  My partner, compadre and political confidant Jimmy Broughton is leaving Womble Carlyle’s Government Relations to serve as Deputy Chief of Staff to Governor Pat McCrory.

Our history:   Jimmy and I arrived in Womble’s Raleigh office in January of 2011 to provide state government lobbying to Womble Carlyle clients.  Sharing the trenches the past four years I have treasured our renewed friendship from a long ago time in Washington, DC when I was a federal liaison on Governor Hunt’s Washington, DC staff and Jimmy was Senator Helms’ chief of staff.  He and I (famously only in our own minds) orchestrated and staged a leadership coup of the North Carolina Society of Washington in its centennial year.  To be fair, there was no opposition to our takeover but that ruins the perfectly good story of our bipartisan fight for power in DC.  Regardless, book clubs and supper clubs trembled and retreated to the shadows....

Superstar:   What will make Jimmy a valued advisor and confidant to Governor McCrory now is what made him critical to Senator Helms for more than a decade -- and will keep him my friend always.  Wherever Jimmy goes he exudes calm; he is rational; he is cautious, and at the right time he is decisive; he is absolutely trustworthy.  When Jimmy enters a frenzy-whipped room the volume and the temperature drop - this is a rare quality to which I will miss having regular access.  But I am grateful Jimmy is again sharing his talents with those we have elected to make important decisions with far-reaching impacts for all North Carolinians.  Governor McCrory is a lucky man - lucky, indeed.

So now:   Please join me in wishing Jimmy the best of luck.  His future success means success for us all.

Monday, December 1, 2014, 11:10 AM

Last NC Law Changes of 2014 - just in time for the holidays

Although the NC General Assembly adjourned last summer it is customary to allow some laws that require lead time for implementation to go into effect on December 1st.  The following is a list of NC laws that are new today:


SB 399 - An Act to Amend the Constitution to provide that a person accused of any criminal offense in Superior Court for which the State is not seeking a sentence of death may waive the right to a trial by jury and instead be tried by a judge.
  • Section 4 given the approval of the constitutional amendment. 
http://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2013/Bills/Senate/PDF/S399v6.pdf


HB 1050 - Omnibus Tax Law Changes.
  • Section 14.27
  • Section 15.2(b)). 
http://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2013/Bills/House/PDF/H1050v6.pdf


SB 786 - Energy Modernization Act (dealing with hydraulic fracturing).
  • G.S. 113-391.1(d) as enacted by Section 8(a)
  • G.S. 113-395.4(b) and G.S. 113-395.2(b) as enacted by Section 15(a)
http://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2013/Bills/Senate/PDF/S786v8.pdf


HB 1025 - DOT / DMV Changes.
  • Section 10 regarding the authorization and penalty for ramp meters used for merging traffic ramps
http://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2013/Bills/House/PDF/H1025v6.pdf


SB 744 - Appropriations Act of 2014
  • Section 6.6 regarding changes related to the disposition of settlement funds
  • Section 17.1(gggg) regarding criminal record expunction notification requirements updating notification of SBI to notification of DPS
  • Section 18B-14 regarding charging a fee for private hospitals providing toxicology services for a prosecutorial district
  • Section 34.30(b)(c)(d)(f) regarding unmanned aircraft
http://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2013/Bills/Senate/PDF/S744v9.pdf


HB 366 - NC Farm Act of 2014.
  • Section 10 adding agricultural facilities to first degree trespass
  • Section 11 requires written consent to operate an ATV on private property
http://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2013/Bills/House/PDF/H366v7.pdf


HB 1133 - Technical Corrections
  • Section 23 makes it a crime to furnish a cell phone to an inmate
http://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2013/Bills/House/PDF/H1133v7.pdf


HB 369 - Criminal Law Changes
  • Section 1 regarding expunction law changes
  • Section 2 regarding conditional discharge and use of probation
  • Section 3 regarding possession of marijuana periphenalia
  • Section 5 regarding unlawfulness to provide cell phone to inmate or for inmate to possess cell phone
  • Section 6 regarding threatening a legislative or executive officer
  • Section 9 makes it legal for a detention officer to carry a weapon on school campus
  • Section 10 removes several counties from prohibiting minors' use of firearms such as BB guns and air rifles 
  • Section 12 increases the penalty for the second offense for carrying a concealed weapon that is a firearm
http://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2013/Bills/House/PDF/H369v9.pdf


SB 734 - Regulatory Reform Act of 2014
  • Section 52 increases the penalty for removing a Venus Flytrap
http://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2013/Bills/Senate/PDF/S734v8.pdf


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