June 5, 2015 Womble Legislative Update
By Unknown
It’s June – the month the legislature logically should be
wrapping up along with the state’s fiscal year but we’re nowhere close. There
are still big fights ahead on budget, taxes, economic development tools, solar
produced energy, and Medicaid. Stay tuned.
Vetoes
This week the House and Senate undertook to override two
bills vetoed by the Governor:
HB 405 –
Property Protection Act – sometimes referred to as “ag gag” was enacted
this week as the House and Senate both voted with the required supermajorities
to override the Governor’s Veto. The new law goes into effect January 1,
2016 as prescribed in the bill. Proponents of the bill argue that it
strengthens protections for trade secrets. Opponents argue it will have a
chilling effect on whistleblowers.
SB 2 –
Magistrates Recusal for Civil Ceremonies – was overridden by the Senate
early in the week but the House has not yet acted. The original House
vote for the bill (on May 28th) was 67-43 with 10 members not
voting. If all House members were present and voting they would require
72 votes to override the Governor’s Veto. But our experience has been
that a vote to override a veto and a vote for a bill are not the same thing so
the support does not always correlate. In this case we hear the numbers
are very close in the House and currently favor the Governor, but any member’s
absence changes the whole equation. So the Governor and the Speaker are
both lobbying members and urging good attendance. In a situation like
this we expect the Speaker to continue to list the bill on the calendar until
the right combination of members are in the chamber and then hold the vote.
That’s right, we think it’s just a matter of time.
The Right to Bear Arms
Another controversial bill making its way through the House
is HB
462 – Amend Firearm Laws – which makes some changes to current law such as
removing some misdemeanors from the list of convictions that prohibit a person
from obtaining a concealed handgun permit, having most misdemeanor convictions
count against a person for only three years for purposes of obtaining a
concealed handgun permit; stalking convictions would count for 5 years;
domestic violence convictions and assault on a law enforcement officer would
permanently prohibit obtaining a concealed handgun permit. The bill would
repeal the pistol purchase permit effective 2021, and bill includes several
other provisions. A version of the bill was examined and passed by a
House Judiciary Committee in early April, and it has bounced around various
committees ever since. Wednesday the latest version of the bill was
considered by the House Rules Committee (which is usually a slam-dunk spot for
approval) but the motion to give the new version of the bill a favorable report
passed only when the Chairman voted to break the tie. The bill is calendared
for full House consideration on Monday and we expect a fight. Don’t bring
a knife to a gun fight. Don’t shoot the messenger.
Still Curbing Voter Fraud
HB 100 –
Record Excusals from Jury Duty – heads to a second Senate Committee.
The Senate is considering a bill the House passed last week that requires
excusals from jury duty be recorded and reported to the State Board of
Elections since many of the reasons a person isn’t eligible for jury duty (i.e.
felony conviction) would also prohibit that person from legally voting in
NC. This voting rights bill is moving through the General Assembly with
very little controversy but plenty of interest.
Environmental Protection
HB 795 –
SEPA Reform – bill differences between the House and Senate versions were
resolved and a conference report has been adopted. It awaits ratification and
the Governor’s signature. Environmentalists are asking the Governor to
veto the bill which would increase the thresholds for when the State
Environmental Policy Act applies and increase the number of exemptions for the
Act. No word yet on what the Governor plans to do with the bill.
Abortion Wait Times
HB 465 –
Women and Children’s Protection Act of 2015 – gained final legislative
approval this week and was sent to the Governor who announced that he would
sign the bill into law. Pro Choice advocates argue this violates a campaign
promise made by McCrory in 2012 that he wouldn’t sign any further restrictions on
abortion into law.
The bill extends the waiting period for an abortion in NC
from 24 hours to 72 hours and contains a new provision that requires doctors
who perform abortions after the 16th week to send ultrasounds,
measurements, and other information to the NC Department of Health and Human
Services so that the state can ensure no abortions are being illegally
performed after 20 weeks. Several bipartisan provisions were added
that would increase the safety of women and children, including one to clarify
who can be charged with statutory rape or sexual offenses.
ABC Law Changes
HB 909 –
ABC Omnibus Legislation – was also sent to the Governor’s desk this
week. The bill makes changes to ABC laws in the state, including banning
powdered alcohol and allowing restaurants to fill take-home growlers with
wine. One controversial provision would allow distilleries to sell
containers of their own liquor to distillery visitors which would mark the
first time in North Carolina since Prohibition that bottles of liquor would be
sold by any entity other than via an ABC store. While there was plenty of
disagreement about that one provision, bill proponents argued that it would be
good for the industry and that job creation would follow the growth.
Retention Elections
HB 222 –
Retention Elections/Supreme Court – received concurrence approval in the
House and now awaits ratification and the Governor’s signature.
Up Next Week
In the House: guns and a veto override on the
House floor; state legislation implementing new federal law called The ABLE Act
in committee.
In the Senate: budget and tax cuts for
economic development.
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