Longtime State Representative Cary Allred resigned from the General Assembly Monday afternoon.

The Alamance County Republican told NBC 17 News, “I’m sick of the legislature.  I’m sick of the legislative process.”

Read the full story

Monday at the North Carolina General Assembly
By The Associated Press

HEADLINES:

- Senate gives final OK smoking ban for restaurants, bars -compromise may be next
- House gives initial approval on making minor map changes toboundaries in 2 counties
- NC House agrees that parent should be cited if parent leaveschild unattended in car
- Senate plan wouldn’t allow NC gasoline tax to drop this summeras projected
- NC Senate votes for tax cut for property-heavy companies tolure possible $1B investment
- NC House committee clears bill to allow earlier public schoolstart date over tourism industry
- NC House committee approves more gradual, less costly steps toclean Jordan Lake water supply
- NC House panel approves expanding six-month lobbying wait totop assistants in state agencies
- NC House panel sidetracks bill allowing dozen cities to endnewspaper public hearing notices

THE BRIEF:

GETTING CLOSER: The state Senate’s final approval to a smoking ban in nearly all restaurants and bars is building momentum to restrict secondhand smoke in the country’s largest tobacco-growing state. The Senate voted 30-18 in favor of the measure that next returns to the state House, which passed a broader version last month and where bills that made similar attacks on secondhand smoking have died twice since 2005. Rep. Hugh Holliman, D-Davidson, the bill’s primary sponsor, said he believes House members will support a ban of some kind, whether it be the Senate version or a negotiated compromise.

REDISTRICTING: Two House districts would be changed to comply with a U.S. Supreme Court decision according to a new map for two coastal counties approved overwhelmingly in the House. The House voted 116-1 to shift precincts between districts represented by Reps. Sandra Spaulding Hughes, D-New Hanover, and Carolyn Justice, R-Pender. A final House vote could come Tuesday. The bill is then likely to clear the Senate with ease, then head to the U.S. Justice Department for approval. The Legislature had to redraw districts after the nation’s highest court in March upheld a state Supreme Court ruling that determined Hughes’ district was unlawful due to racial gerrymandering. The decision related to the Voting Rights Act.

UNATTENDED CHILDREN: A parent who leaves a child under age 9 unattended in a car could get cited by police in a bill approved overwhelmigly by the House. The parent would be given a warning on a first offense in the bill but a repeat offense would be punishable by a misdemeanor. The violator could complete an education program. A crime has occurred if conditions would cause a person to believe a child’s safety is at risk. The child also has to be out of the parent’s line of sight. Rep. Alice Underhill. D-Craven, the bill sponsor, said the bill is designed to create awareness about the dangers of leaving children alone. The bill goes to the Senate.

TAX HELD UP: Supporters of a plan that would prevent the state’s gas tax from falling two cents a gallon July 1 would generate tens of millions of dollars in needed funds for road building. Senators voted 27-19 to replace the current cap on the gas tax at 29.9 cents per gallon with a minimum rate of the same amount through mid-2011. Without the change, the tax is predicted to fall to 27.9 cents this summer because of lower gas prices. The change could generate another $68 million for roads because the tax would be higher than what’s projected. The measure was given initial Senate approval last week and now goes to the House.

BIG BUSINESS: North Carolina lawmakers have approved changing how the state’s corporate income tax is calculated for big companies, hoping the revision will attract a business considering a $1 billion investment. The Senate voted 36-10 to approve changing tax laws in ways that affect only a handful of multi-state companies. There was no discussion of the unidentified investor, which senators said was likely a high-tech company. The measure next heads to the state House. North Carolina calculates corporate taxes for companies that operate in many U.S. locations by considering how much of its property, payroll, and sales are in the state. The change would help companies that invest heavily in land and equipment, but have relatively fewer sales.

SUMMER SCHOOL: Legislation that would let North Carolina schools start the academic year two weeks earlier each August cleared a state House committee. The House Commerce Committee voted 14-10 to recommend the proposal to the full House, where a vote is likely this week. The bill would allow public schools to open as early as Aug. 8. A 2004 law requires most schools to begin no earlier than Aug. 25 and end by June 10. The tourism industry is fighting the change because it would cut into traditional summer vacations. Education groups think earlier start dates would allow for exams before the Christmas vacation. The measure faces a Thursday deadline to pass the House or face a challenge to be considered in the next two years.

JORDAN RULES: A North Carolina House committee has set up a vote on legislation that postpones cleanup of a key water supply forcities from Durham to Greensboro but also doesn’t cost hundreds of
millions of dollars. A House judiciary committee approved a bill
overruling measures to clean up Jordan Lake that the state
Environmental Management Commission approved last year. The
committee instead approved a compromise between developers and
environmentalists that looks for lower-cost ways of reducing
stormwater runoff into the lake. Opponents wanted to avoid forcing
cities from making shopping centers and office parks reduce or
filter the pollution carried by rainwater. The bill next moves to a
vote in the full House this week.

LIMITING LOBBYING: A legislative panel thinks top assistants in
state agencies and leaders of North Carolina’s universities and
community colleges should have to wait six months before lobbying
their former employers. A House judiciary committee backed a
measure expanding the six-month waiting period before these
insiders could become paid lobbyists. The law now covers
legislators, statewide elected officials and agency heads appointed
by the governor. The proposed expansion also would include state
employees who lobby lawmakers for government agencies. Supporters
say a waiting period limits people with inside knowledge about
government operations, contracting and hiring decisions from using
that data for high-paying interest groups.

NEWSPAPER NOTICE: North Carolina lawmakers sidetracked a
proposal that would have allowed cities to announce public hearings
on their own web sites instead of advertising in a local newspaper.
A House judiciary committee rejected legislation that would have
allowed an experiment in a dozen cities, mostly in Wake and
Carteret counties. Advocates for North Carolina’s cities earlier
wanted to allow municipal governments statewide to halt spending on
the newspaper advertisements. Newspaper publishers argued that
would leave many people in the dark about upcoming plans. The
committee ultimately approved allowing only the Raleigh suburb of
Clayton the right to try electronic notices of upcoming public
hearings instead of newspaper notices.

MONDAY’S SCORECARD:

In the House:
- H266, to require the Department of Justice’s criminal
statistics division to collect and publish data on deaths resulted
by police officers using deadly force. The U.S. Bureau of Justice
Statistics said from 2003 to 2005 there were 58 arrest-related
deaths in North Carolina, legislative researchers said. Approved
115-2. Next: To the Senate.
- H439, to require the State Health Plan to pay directly for
city or county ambulance services or the city or county ambulance
driver as a way to reduce local financial losses from unreimbursed
payments. Approved 117-0. Next: To the Senate.
- H672, to require local management entities for mental health,
developmental disabilities and substance abuse services to report
twice a year if they choose to use single stream funding. Approved
117-0. Next: To the Senate.
- H722, would requires that glass tubes, which could be used as
crack pipes, and cigar splitters, which can be used to cut a cigar
so that it could be filled with marijuana, must be kept behind the
counter of retail stores that sell them. Approved 113-0. Next: To
the Senate.
- H787, to increase the criminal penalty for erasing a gun’s
serial number from a misdemeanor to a felony. Approved 112-0. Next:
To the Senate.

In the Senate:
- S143, to allow child support payments to continue until the
child is 21 if the child is attending college. Approved 37-11.
Next: To the Senate.
- S634, to impose penalties of between $5,000 and $15,000 for
falsely advertising a live musical act under the name of a
recording act with which it shares no members or legal rights to
the name. Sen. David Weinstein, D-Robeson, said unscrupulous
promoters were advertising acts like the Coasters and the Drifters
when none of the original members were appearing. Approved 48-0.
Next: To the House.
- S797, to require justices or judges who disqualify themselves
from a case to explain the reason in writing. Approved 48-0. Next:
To the House.
- S1004, to direct the Revenue Laws Study Committee to study
broadband and other communication services operated by local
governments and how they compete or complement commercial
providers. Approved 48-0. Next: To the House.

In the committees:
- H1022, to limit payments for an injured worker receiving
temporary total disability benefits to the greater of 300 weeks or
when the workers is eligible for full Social Security benefits.
Recommended for approval, House Insurance Committee. Next: House
Judiciary II Committee.
- H1485, to change the process by which insurers can recover
overpayments from doctors or hospitals. Recommended for approval,
House Insurance Committee. Next: House Judiciary II Committee.

AROUND THE STATEHOUSE:

The House and Senate entered their floor sessions earlier than
usual Monday night to take up dozens of bills, many sponsored by
lawmakers seeking to beat the Legislature’s self-imposed crossover
deadline and keep their bills alive through next year. The House
had 34 bills on its calendar, while the Senate had 42 to consider.
The House convened at 5 p.m. and the Senate followed at 6 p.m. The
House also held several unusual Monday afternoon committee meetings
to shuffle bills along.

ON THE AGENDA:

The Senate Judiciary I Committee said nearly 50 bills could be
considered Tuesday as legislators scramble to get bills heard and
sent to the floor. But it’s unlikely the panel will get through all
of them. The topics that could be considered in the committee
include attempts to end the Sunday hunting ban, to create a process
by which death-row inmates can get their punishment vacated if they
prove race played a significant factor in the case, and to expunge
a non-violent felony from a person’s record.

QUOTABLE:

“This is crossover week. There’s going to be some long
sessions.” – Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton, who presides over the Senate,
in urging senators to vote electronically from their desks instead
of raising their hands this week to help the chamber completed the
daily calendar in an efficient fashion.

HEADLINES:

- NC residents tell Perdue and Obama officials about health care costs and coverage problems
- NC weighs broad ban of indoor smoking from restaurants, bars, all other businesses
- House approves compromise on malpractice reporting level

THE BRIEF:

HEALTHCARE HOLES: Gov. Beverly Perdue and White House health reform director Nancy-Ann DeParle co-hosted one of five regional health care reform meetings around the United States to hear from citizens struggling with high health care costs and uneven coverage. Speakers at the forum at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro pleaded for solutions to their coverage woes. More than 700 people attended the regional meeting, the fourth of five being held nationwide as part of Obama’s process to focus attention on getting health care reform approved in Congress this year, with the ultimate goal of universal coverage.

SECONDHAND SMOKE: Tobacco’s fading influence on political leaders headed for a new test in the state that remains the country’s largest tobacco grower. The House was scheduled to vote Wednesday on outlawing smoking in restaurants, bars and almost all workplaces. A similar effort narrowly failed in the House two years ago, and this will be the third such attempt in four years. Health advocates have marshaled money and grassroots networks to overload House members’ offices with e-mails and telephone calls. If approved, North Carolina would become the 35th state with a smoking ban.

DOCTORS ORDERED: The House voted 115-0 in favor of a solution to a dispute pitting physicians with their state regulator over how much information about malpractice judgments and settlements to make public. The North Carolina Medical Board last year ordered that all judgments and awards over $25,000 be posted on the regulatory board’s Web site so that consumers could learn more about their physician. The North Carolina Medical Society, which represents doctors, argued that settlements that are less than $150,000 represent minor lawsuits, and publicizing them would hurt a physician’s reputation. The House approved legislation that would disclose medical malpractice lawsuits that were settled for a total
of $75,000 or more.

MONDAY’S SCORECARD:

In the House:
- H225, to authorize county managers to consider refund requests for overpaid excise stamp taxes. Approved 115-0. Next: Senate.
- H18, would amend the length of clinic time novice speech and language pathologists must gain with people suffering from various communication disorders. Approved 116-0. Next: Senate.

Introduced in the House:
- H907, to clarifies that money available to judicial candidates receiving public campaign support cannot receive matching funds for communication that supports or opposes all candidates for the same office. Sponsor: Rep. Melanie Goodwin, D-Richmond.
- H905, would create a tax credit for alternative fuel vehicles and infrastructure. Sponsors: Reps. Angela Bryant, D-Nash, Pricey Harrison, D-Guilford, and Joe Tolson, D-Edgecombe,
- H914, would exempt the pay of National Guard and Reserve members from state income tax. Sponsor: Rep. Ric Killian, R-Mecklenburg.
- H925, to authorize sharing of confidential information within the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct quality assessment and to coordinate effective care. Sponsor: Rep. Martha Alexander, D-Mecklenburg.
- H926, would allow the use of systems that continuously monitor for alcohol in probationers ordered to abstain. Sponsors: Reps. Martha Alexander, D-Mecklenburg, Bill Faison, D-Orange, and David Guice, R-Transylvania.
- H930, to expand the rights of mortgage debtors and constrain debt collection means. Sponsors: Reps. Deborah Ross, D-Wake, and Larry Hall, D-Durham
- H944, would require appointees to state offices or commissions to list the contributions they or members of their immediate family made to political campaign committees. Several sponsors.
- H941, would extend to all state taxpayers the waiver of penalties if their tax debt is less than $50,000, a treatment enjoyed by U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. Sponsor: Rep. Jerry Dockham, R-Davidson.

AROUND THE STATEHOUSE:

- Republicans used their weekly press conference to spotlight bills seeking to take the redrawing of legislative district lines out of the hands of the politicians who use the process to favor friends, punish enemies, and build the advantage of the party in power. Districts are redrawn every decade after census results are published. Minority Republicans said companion bills filed in the House and Senate would take the responsibility away from legislative leaders and place it in the hands of an independent panel. House Minority Leader Paul Stam, R-Wake, said nearly a dozen states have taken similar steps. Rep. Nelson Dollar, R-Wake, noted that dozens of legislative districts had just one candidate last year because the way they were drawn so favored one party that fielding a competitor was pointless.

- Gov. Bev Perdue signed legislation formally authorizing Grandfather Mountain as the states newest state park. An agreement for the purchase of 2,456 backcountry acres of Grandfather Mountain for $12 million was announced in September. The purchase from the heirs of deceased owner Hugh Morton is expected to be completed later this spring.

ON THE AGENDA:

House Speaker Joe Hackney told members to expect a lengthy floor calendar on Wednesday and to “prepare accordingly.” The session will be preceded by Democratic and Republican caucuses and is expected to feature a debate on an indoor smoking ban, the most controversial issue to come to a vote so far this session.

QUOTABLE:

“Lord if it be thy will, and we know we are pushing the limits of our petition here, let our team from the Old North State whup up on them there folks from South Carolina and bring them home safely to us, even if them old bones end up needing to be wrapped, taped and iced for a few days. Amen.” House Chaplain Rev. James Harry, who opened the House session on the day many lawmakers planned to travel to Columbia, S.C., to play and attend their biennial basketball game against South Carolina legislators.

A new proposal calls for the state General Statutes Commission to recommend any changes in pronouns to the state constitution or laws by 2010.

An existing state law says that any reference to a “he” should be read as “he or she” for legal purposes.

RALEIGH, N.C. – Results from the Civitas Institute’s latest poll released today indicates a majority of North Carolinians are certain they know which party controls Congress and the Governor’s office, but only half of the respondents said they are aware of who controls the General Assembly. 

According to the live caller poll of 600 North Carolina voters, 77 percent of respondents correctly identified the Democratic Party as currently controlling Congress. This marks a significant improvement since Civitas last asked an identical question in July 2008, when only 51 percent of voters correctly identified the Democrats as in charge of Congress.

“With the election of a Democratic President, voters’ are more aware as to who is actually running Washington,” said Civitas Institute Executive Director Francis De Luca.  “President Bush’s term in office somehow clouded the picture as to who was in control of Congress. Voters knew Bush was a Republican, so they transferred that knowledge to think Republicans controlled Congress as well.”

Voters’ knowledge of which party controls the N.C. Governor’s office also improved. In July 2008, 61 percent of voters correctly identified the Democrats as controlling the N.C. Governor’s office. This month, 69 percent of voters again correctly identified the Democrats.

“Perhaps now after five consecutive gubernatorial elections won by Democrats, voters are finally coming to know who is in charge in North Carolina,” added De Luca.  “However it is disconcerting when three out of 10 voters cannot say that Democrats are in charge.”

While showing slight improvement since July, voters still are largely unsure as to which party controls the N.C. House and N.C. Senate. Only half of voters (50 percent) correctly said the Democrats were in charge of the N.C. House and Senate. In July 2008, only 49 percent of voters said they thought Democrats controlled the N.C. House and just 40 percent correctly identified the Senate leadership.

“With the electoral sweep Democrats enjoyed last November, an improvement in voters’ knowledge of the party in power should be expected. However, with only half of voters correctly knowing who is in charge of the N.C. General Assembly, that knowledge of federal government control has not trickled down to the state legislative level,” said De Luca.  

Full text of questions:

“Which political party, Democratic or Republican, controls Congress?”

Democratic- 77%

Republican- 9%

Not Sure- 14%

“Which political party, Democratic or Republican, controls the North Carolina Governor’s Office?”

Democratic- 69%

Republican- 12%

Not Sure- 18%

“Which political party, Democratic or Republican, controls the North Carolina Senate?”

Democratic- 50%

Republican-12%

Not Sure- 37%

“Which political party, Democratic or Republican, controls the North Carolina House?”

Democratic- 50%

Republican- 19%

Not Sure- 39%

The study of 600 registered voters was conducted March 16-19, 2009. All respondents were part of a fully representative sample of registered voters in North Carolina. For purposes of this study, voters we interviewed had to have voted in either the 2004, 2006 or 2008 general elections or were newly registered voters since 2008.

The confidence interval associated with a sample of this size is such that: 95 percent of the time, results from 600 interviews (registered voters) will be within +-4% of the “True Values.”  True Values refer to the results obtained if it were possible to interview every person in North Carolina who had voted in either the 2004, 2006 or 2008 general elections or were newly registered voters since 2008.

North Carolina Senate and House Republicans will host a press conference Tuesday in the legislative press conference room at 9:15 a.m.

Tuesday’s press conference will include remarks from Senate Republican Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) and House Republican Leader Paul Stam (R-Wake) regarding private school choices including President Obama’s call for educational options.

RALEIGH, N.C. –  Girls Scouts from across the state will come to the Capital City to meet their legislators and watch the General Assembly in session.  Afterwards, Girl Scouts will host a Cookie and Milk Reception at the General Assembly from 3 to 4:30pm.  More than 150 Girl Scouts from across the state are expected to attend.

Four weeks into the General Assembly session and and not much has happened, the N&O reports.

RALEIGH, N.C. — N.C. Young Democrats will advocate passage of three laws in partnership with members of the House and Senate on Feb. 24.

The Young Democrats of North Carolina will lobby members of the North Carolina General Assembly to support the Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Tax Credit, the Prohibit Smoking in Public & Work Places Act, and the School Violence Prevention Act.    

Preceding the effort will be a press conference held in the North Carolina General Assembly Legislative Building Press Room at 10:40 a.m. 

The following members of the North Carolina General Assembly will be on-hand to discuss specific pieces of legislation: N.C. House Majority Leader Hugh Holliman (Davidson County), N.C. Sen. Josh Stein (Wake County), N.C. Rep. Rick Glazier (Cumberland County) and N.C. Rep. Tricia Cotham (Mecklenburg County).

“In 2008, young people across North Carolina demonstrated that the application of our energies, our resolve, and our commitment to North Carolina’s future can accomplish great things,” said President of the Young Democrats of North Carolina Zack Hawkins. “The Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Tax Credit, the Prohibit Smoking in Public & Work Places Act, and the School Violence Prevention Act each represent a worthy investment in the people of our state by placing North Carolina on the cutting edge of the green-energy economy, promoting public health, and ensuring a safe learning environment for our children.”