As the General Assembly continues to push toward possible adjournment by the end of this month, both chambers this week continued to consider and approve various pieces of the stalled 2019-2021 budget as stand-alone legislation, referred to as “mini-budgets.”
All eyes continue to watch the Senate as to when it may attempt to override the Governor’s budget veto. Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger explained this week that the process of passing mini-budgets may closely meet the spending provisions of the original budget bill. The legislature has not passed mini-budgets for teacher pay or capital construction funding to date. Override or not, Senate leadership has expressed their intention to adjourn this year’s legislative session no later than October 31, 2019. House leadership has not publicly committed to a specific adjournment date.
As the end of the month nears, the General Assembly will likely pick up the pace as both chambers strive to push bills, conference reports, and additional mini-budgets across the finish line ahead of adjournment. However, both chambers plan to take next week off as legislative leadership determines what measures will see action at the end of October. |
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Various "Mini-Budgets" See Legislative Action This Week
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With final approval of the previously legislatively approved 2019-2021 budget still in limbo, this week the General Assembly continued its practice of considering and approving various “mini-budgets.” Below is a brief summary of the action taken on mini-budgets this week:
House Bill 387 Growing GREAT
The General Assembly gave final approval to House Bill 387 Growing GREAT, pledging $150 million over a ten-year period ($15 million per year) from the State Capital and Infrastructure Fund (SCIF) to award to eligible recipients for eligible projects to expand broadband access in rural communities as defined in the bill. The bill also expands the Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology (GREAT) program to Tier 2 counties beginning on July 1, 2020, with the caveat that no more than one-third of funds appropriated to the GREAT program can be awarded to Tier 2 counties. Beginning July 1, 2021 no more than one-half of the funds appropriated to the program may be awarded to a Tier 2 county. Upon application, grants are awarded by the Broadband Infrastructure Office in the Department of Information Technology by scoring project applications. Projects involving partnerships between a provider and nonprofit or not-for-profit, are awarded a higher number of points in the scoring. The bill amends the current law by providing that a county that is not engaged in providing consumer broadband service qualifies as a nonprofit for the purposes of the GREAT grant program. The bill now heads to the Governor for consideration.
House Bill 1001 Raise the Age Funding
House Bill 1001 Raise the Age Funding, passed the Senate this week. The bill appropriates funds related to implementation of the 2017 law that changed the age of juvenile jurisdiction to 18 for certain offenses. The bill contains many of the same provisions from the comprehensive budget bill that is currently in limbo including nearly $64 million for additional court positions; funding for housing and transportation of juvenile offenders; and funds for county-based Juvenile Crime Prevention Councils. In addition, HB1001 includes funds for additional assistant district attorney positions in some areas of the state. The House approved the bill last week and it now goes to the Governor for his consideration.
Senate Bill 61 Community Colleges Budget/2019-2021 Biennium
This week the House approved Senate Bill 61 Community Colleges Budget/2019-2021 Biennium, providing funding for the community college system as previously seen in the 2019-2021 budget. However, the bill does not include funding for capital projects or salary increases for community college employees. The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration.
House Bill 100 DOT Budget for 2019-2021 Biennium
The House approved House Bill 100 DOT Budget for 2019-2021 Biennium this week. The bill enacts the Department of Transportation’s budget with adjustments consistent with the previously approved 2019-2021 state budget. The bill now heads to the Governor for his consideration.
House Bill 399 Extend Tax Credits/Other Finance Changes
The Senate approved House Bill 399 Extend Tax Credits/Other Finance Changes. The bill makes various finance law changes previously approved in the 2019-2021 budget including extending the historic rehabilitation tax credit and several sales tax exemptions for certain industries. However, the bill does not contain the language previously found in the budget requiring “marketplace facilitators” to collect and remit sales tax on behalf of third-party sellers. The bill now heads to the House for further consideration.
For more information on these and other state budgetary matters, please contact NCACC Legislative Counsel Adam Pridemore or Government Relations Coordinator Amber Harris.
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House and Senate to Negotiate Legislation Related to Non-citizens on Voter Registration Rolls
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The Senate voted not to concur with legislation this week aimed at removing non-citizens from the registered voter list. Senate Bill 250 Remove Foreign Citizens from Voting Rolls, which last week passed the House, requires clerks of superior court to maintain records of residents who are excused from jury duty because of citizenship status. Those records will then be sent to the State Board of Elections, which will review the voter registration and citizenship status of the person. If the person is found to be a non-citizen, county boards of election, at the end of an objection opportunity and process, will remove the person’s name from county registration records and make the same changes in the statewide computerized voter registration system. The House and Senate will appoint conferees to negotiate a final version of the bill.
For more information on election-related legislation, please contact NCACC Government Relations Coordinator Amber Harris.
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Criminal Ordinance Reporting Deadline Quickly Approaching
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Earlier this legislative session, the General Assembly passed legislation extending the deadline by which counties and cities must submit a list of local ordinances that are subject to criminal punishment pursuant to G.S. 14-4(a). NCACC strongly urges your county to submit the required report by the noted deadline, November 1, 2019, if you have not already done so. A list of counties that have and have not submitted the required reports, as compiled by the Joint Legislative Administrative Procedures Oversight Committee, can be found here.
Background:
Senate Bill 584 (Session Law 2019-198) Criminal Law Reform is part of a long-term project to reorganize North Carolina’s Criminal Code, initiated by last year’s House Bill 379 Recodification Working Group. That bill contained the requirement that counties submit a list of local ordinances that are subject to criminal punishment no later than December 1, 2018. SB584 extends the report filing deadline to November 1, 2019, and limits the report requirement to counties with a population of 20,000 or more according to the last federal decennial census, and cities or towns with a population of 1,000 or more. SB584 further prohibits any ordinance adopted on or after January 1, 2020 and before January 1, 2022 by a county or city required to submit a report from including a criminal penalty unless that county or city has submitted the required report by November 1, 2019.
Because last year's law did not specify a format for the ordinance report, a range of possible formats could likely comply with the law. If you wish to organize the information in the table, below is a template you may choose to use. Regardless of your chosen approach, please consult with your attorney in developing the report to ensure compliance with the law.
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In previous discussions with legislative staff, they expressed a preference to receive reports by e-mail. They requested that local governments send their reports to both the committee chairs and the General Assembly staff to the Joint Legislative Administrative Procedures Oversight Committee and the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Justice and Public Safety, as follows:
Again, NCACC strongly urges your compliance with this reporting requirement in order to avoid the penalty of the prohibition of criminal enforcement of newly adopted local ordinances between January 1, 2020 – January 1, 2022.
For more information on criminal ordinance reporting requirement, please contact NCACC Legislative Counsel Adam Pridemore.
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Negotiations Continue on Sales Tax Flexibility Legislation
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With session scheduled to possibly conclude by the end of the month, NCACC encourages counties to continue to reach out to legislators and ask they move forward on important county priorities.
As previously reported by NCACC, the Senate voted not to concur with House changes to Senate Bill 681 Rural Health Care, Local Sales Tax Flexibility, Utility Accounts, which includes a provision on one of NCACC’s primary goals—greater sales tax flexibility. Both chambers have appointed conferees to negotiate a final bill. Because SB681 includes several different provisions, it is possible that the conference committee could remove the sales tax flexibility language. As negotiations are ongoing, NCACC urges you to contact the House and Senate conferees and express to them how retaining the sales tax flexibility language will benefit your county.
Talking points to consider when contacting a conferee:
- Please retain the sales tax flexibility language currently found in SB681.
- The provision is not a mandated sales tax increase, but rather authorizes counties, subject to voter approval, to levy an additional local option sales and use tax at either ¼ cent or ½ cent within current sales tax caps.
- By supporting local option sales tax flexibility, you are giving each county a choice about expanding their revenue base to meet local needs.
- The tax must be approved by voters in a referendum and it must be placed on the ballot in quarter-cent increments.
- Counties are able to use specific ballot language designating “public education purposes” on the ballot.
- Counties could use the tax for public school capital needs, teacher supplements, community college needs, or any public purpose, depending on the ballot language.
- Counties spend on average 30% of their budgets on education and need this tool to help pay for the high costs of school construction, which add up to more than $8 billion statewide.
- Counties appreciate every dollar appropriated by legislators to help meet these staggering needs.
- Having this additional tool can help counties contribute more toward public education, or various mandated services for residents like social services, public health, safety and more.
For more information on sales tax flexibility, please contact NCACC Associate General Counsel Paige Worsham.
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Legislation Addressing County Goals Still in Play
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As the session winds down, legislation addressing Association priority legislative goals remains in committee or otherwise awaits action. Please contact your legislators to express your support for these important proposals:
House Bill 431 Fiber NC Act: allows local governments in under/unserved areas to build broadband infrastructure and lease that equipment to service providers. HB431 gained approval in the House State and Local Government committee and now resides in the House Finance committee, though no date has been set for its hearing. NCACC encourages its members to call your House member(s), especially any of those on the House Finance committee, and urge them to support counties’ top legislative goal of expanding broadband access to unserved and under-served areas of North Carolina.
House Bill 79 Academic Alignment/Boards of Education & CC: allows local boards of education to align school calendars with the start of the local community college. The bill passed the House earlier in session and now sits in the Senate Rules committee.
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