Stewards of the Visual Exposition
Legislative Update - NACC
Press Release:
The Senate on Thursday passed a revised version of H1224 (Local Sales Tax Options/Econ Devpt Changes) that changes county sales tax authority. The current iteration still contains the 2.5 cent cap on sales tax for all counties except Orange and Durham, which are allowed to maintain their 2.75 cent combined tax. It changes the existing Article 46 quarter-cent tax to one-half cent, increases the Article 43 transit tax to a half cent for all counties, and adds a new half-cent authority designated for education needs. Education uses are limited to school construction and debt service for construction, teacher salaries, and community college funding.
All of these new and expanded sales taxes may be enacted in quarter-cent increments, and all require approval in a voter referendum. Counties may choose to enact a single half cent or any combination of two quarter cents, except for transit and general use together, as long as they remain within the cap. Several Senators made attempts to amend the bill on the floor to remove or delay implementation of the cap, but none of these were successful.
Earlier versions limited county authority by repealing the general use tax in Article 46, by forcing counties to choose between either a transit tax or education tax, and by tying a general use tax to a transit or education tax, regardless of the needs of a community. Your NCACC staff and our membership worked together to contact Senators with our concerns, resulting in a bill that expands sales tax authority for most counties.
The new sales tax language was added to an existing bill containing economic development provisions of interest to the NC Department of Commerce. The House has received the bill and referred it to the Finance committee for discussion. Interestingly, the House added a piece of the economic development language from H1224 to another bill today on the floor, raising the question of why it would be necessary to have such language in two places.
After strong signs of budget progress earlier in the week, the status of budget negotiations was still in question as of Friday afternoon. The House remained in town until after 3 p.m. in an unusual Friday session, but the Senate left town on Thursday. A series of sidebar conversations continue to occur between the leadership, budget chairs, and staff of both chambers as well as Gov. Pat McCrory. Remaining issues to resolve aside from the budget include coal ash and regulatory reform. In addition, the Senate passed H1181 (North Carolina Medicaid Modernization) on its first vote Thursday and is scheduled to take a final vote on that bill Monday. Included in H1181 are directions to the newly formed Department of Medical Benefits in crafting a Medicaid reform plan to examine the role of counties in Medicaid eligibility determination and whether regional or state eligibility administration would be more efficient.
The Senate completed its work on a bill that includes a provision to standardize county and city e-verify requirements on contractors and subcontractors with all other local public authorities. H369 (Criminal Law Changes) would clarify that counties and cities must ensure that their contractors and subcontractors, when engaged at the formal bid limits, comply with e-verify certification. This clarification amends last session's RECLAIM Act (H786), which required counties and cities to determine e-verify contractor compliance on all purchases and contracts, regardless of the dollar amount. Setting the e-verify contractor certification at the formal bid limit is in keeping with contractor e-verify requirements for school boards and other local public authorities and relieves an ineffective and time-consuming exercise for county finance offices. H369 is scheduled for a vote on concurrence in the House on Monday.
The Senate unanimously adopted a conference committee report on S793 (Charter School Modifications) on Thursday. The report contains two new provisions not included in earlier versions of the bill. For instance, a charter school would be permitted to expand to include one grade level higher or lower than what the school currently offers, without prior approval of the State Board of Education, provided that the school meets certain criteria:
The charter school must have been in operation for less than three years;
The academic performance of its students for the preceding year must have been comparable to that of other students within the LEA;
The charter school must have provided financially sound audits in the preceding year; and
It must have been in compliance with state and federal laws, its own bylaws, and other provisions set forth in its charter.
The conference report also directs the State Board of Education to adopt a process and rules for allowing fast-track replication of high performing charter schools. In addition to the existing requirements for charter schools, the Board must, at a minimum, require a board of directors to establish one of the following in order to qualify for fast-track replication:
That a charter school governed by the board of directors has student academic outcomes that are comparable to those of other students within the LEA and that it can provide three years of financially sound audits; or
That the board of directors has agreed to contract with an education or charter school management organization that can demonstrate its ability to replicate high performing charter schools in the State with proven academic success and financial soundness.
The fast-track process adopted by the Board must provide that decisions to grant or deny applications made through the replication process be completed within less than 150 days. The Board must adopt the rules and procedures for this process by December 15, 2014.
The conference report was heard on the House floor Friday morning. During the debate, several members raised concerns about the bill's failure to specifically protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students from discrimination. Other members argued that the bill fails to fully address transparency issues by not requiring the disclosure of salary information for non-teacher charter school personnel employed by a private education management organization. The proponents of the report responded that the bill prohibits discrimination of any sort by a charter school and that the report now subjects charter schools to the same requirements under the public records law as traditional public schools.
The House adopted the conference report for S793 by a vote of 62-36.
The proposed committee substitute for H1133 (Technical and Other Corrections), sponsored by House Rules Chairman Rep. Tim Moore, reported favorably out of his committee Thursday. The bill has three parts. Part I makes purely technical amendments to state law as recommended by the General Statutes Commission. Part II makes additional technical corrections and other amendments to state law. Part III makes several reporting date changes for the State Board of Education and Department of Public Instruction.
The bill does a few things that are of some significance to counties. A provision requested by the NC Sheriffs' Association authorizes local confinement facilities to give or sell vapor products to inmates who are involved in an authorized smoking cessation program. The sheriffs maintain that the ability to offer e-cigarettes to these inmates will help with disciplinary issues.
H1133 also contains a provision that advances one of the goals that the counties have had in prior legislative sessions. The provision allows for one commissioner from each appointing board of commissioners — Lee, Harnett and Chatham — to be appointed to the Central Carolina Community College Board of Trustees. Under current law, only one commissioner may be appointed jointly by the boards of county commissioners in the administrative area of a community college to serve on the board of trustees.
H1133 was heard on the House floor this morning. The House adopted an amendment offered by Rep. Hager to add the JDIG provisions that are currently included in H1224. After a spirited debate, the bill was approved by the House 61-35 and will be sent to the Senate.
Contact:
- Johanna Reese, Government Relations Director
- David F. Thompson, Executive Director
Go Back
Senate passes revised county sales tax bill
The Senate on Thursday passed a revised version of H1224 (Local Sales Tax Options/Econ Devpt Changes) that changes county sales tax authority. The current iteration still contains the 2.5 cent cap on sales tax for all counties except Orange and Durham, which are allowed to maintain their 2.75 cent combined tax. It changes the existing Article 46 quarter-cent tax to one-half cent, increases the Article 43 transit tax to a half cent for all counties, and adds a new half-cent authority designated for education needs. Education uses are limited to school construction and debt service for construction, teacher salaries, and community college funding.
All of these new and expanded sales taxes may be enacted in quarter-cent increments, and all require approval in a voter referendum. Counties may choose to enact a single half cent or any combination of two quarter cents, except for transit and general use together, as long as they remain within the cap. Several Senators made attempts to amend the bill on the floor to remove or delay implementation of the cap, but none of these were successful.
Earlier versions limited county authority by repealing the general use tax in Article 46, by forcing counties to choose between either a transit tax or education tax, and by tying a general use tax to a transit or education tax, regardless of the needs of a community. Your NCACC staff and our membership worked together to contact Senators with our concerns, resulting in a bill that expands sales tax authority for most counties.
The new sales tax language was added to an existing bill containing economic development provisions of interest to the NC Department of Commerce. The House has received the bill and referred it to the Finance committee for discussion. Interestingly, the House added a piece of the economic development language from H1224 to another bill today on the floor, raising the question of why it would be necessary to have such language in two places.
State budget status still up in the air
After strong signs of budget progress earlier in the week, the status of budget negotiations was still in question as of Friday afternoon. The House remained in town until after 3 p.m. in an unusual Friday session, but the Senate left town on Thursday. A series of sidebar conversations continue to occur between the leadership, budget chairs, and staff of both chambers as well as Gov. Pat McCrory. Remaining issues to resolve aside from the budget include coal ash and regulatory reform. In addition, the Senate passed H1181 (North Carolina Medicaid Modernization) on its first vote Thursday and is scheduled to take a final vote on that bill Monday. Included in H1181 are directions to the newly formed Department of Medical Benefits in crafting a Medicaid reform plan to examine the role of counties in Medicaid eligibility determination and whether regional or state eligibility administration would be more efficient.
Senate eases e-verify requirements for local governments
The Senate completed its work on a bill that includes a provision to standardize county and city e-verify requirements on contractors and subcontractors with all other local public authorities. H369 (Criminal Law Changes) would clarify that counties and cities must ensure that their contractors and subcontractors, when engaged at the formal bid limits, comply with e-verify certification. This clarification amends last session's RECLAIM Act (H786), which required counties and cities to determine e-verify contractor compliance on all purchases and contracts, regardless of the dollar amount. Setting the e-verify contractor certification at the formal bid limit is in keeping with contractor e-verify requirements for school boards and other local public authorities and relieves an ineffective and time-consuming exercise for county finance offices. H369 is scheduled for a vote on concurrence in the House on Monday.
Charter school bill on its way to governor
The Senate unanimously adopted a conference committee report on S793 (Charter School Modifications) on Thursday. The report contains two new provisions not included in earlier versions of the bill. For instance, a charter school would be permitted to expand to include one grade level higher or lower than what the school currently offers, without prior approval of the State Board of Education, provided that the school meets certain criteria:
The charter school must have been in operation for less than three years;
The academic performance of its students for the preceding year must have been comparable to that of other students within the LEA;
The charter school must have provided financially sound audits in the preceding year; and
It must have been in compliance with state and federal laws, its own bylaws, and other provisions set forth in its charter.
The conference report also directs the State Board of Education to adopt a process and rules for allowing fast-track replication of high performing charter schools. In addition to the existing requirements for charter schools, the Board must, at a minimum, require a board of directors to establish one of the following in order to qualify for fast-track replication:
That a charter school governed by the board of directors has student academic outcomes that are comparable to those of other students within the LEA and that it can provide three years of financially sound audits; or
That the board of directors has agreed to contract with an education or charter school management organization that can demonstrate its ability to replicate high performing charter schools in the State with proven academic success and financial soundness.
The fast-track process adopted by the Board must provide that decisions to grant or deny applications made through the replication process be completed within less than 150 days. The Board must adopt the rules and procedures for this process by December 15, 2014.
The conference report was heard on the House floor Friday morning. During the debate, several members raised concerns about the bill's failure to specifically protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students from discrimination. Other members argued that the bill fails to fully address transparency issues by not requiring the disclosure of salary information for non-teacher charter school personnel employed by a private education management organization. The proponents of the report responded that the bill prohibits discrimination of any sort by a charter school and that the report now subjects charter schools to the same requirements under the public records law as traditional public schools.
The House adopted the conference report for S793 by a vote of 62-36.
Technical Corrections Bill approved by House
The proposed committee substitute for H1133 (Technical and Other Corrections), sponsored by House Rules Chairman Rep. Tim Moore, reported favorably out of his committee Thursday. The bill has three parts. Part I makes purely technical amendments to state law as recommended by the General Statutes Commission. Part II makes additional technical corrections and other amendments to state law. Part III makes several reporting date changes for the State Board of Education and Department of Public Instruction.
The bill does a few things that are of some significance to counties. A provision requested by the NC Sheriffs' Association authorizes local confinement facilities to give or sell vapor products to inmates who are involved in an authorized smoking cessation program. The sheriffs maintain that the ability to offer e-cigarettes to these inmates will help with disciplinary issues.
H1133 also contains a provision that advances one of the goals that the counties have had in prior legislative sessions. The provision allows for one commissioner from each appointing board of commissioners — Lee, Harnett and Chatham — to be appointed to the Central Carolina Community College Board of Trustees. Under current law, only one commissioner may be appointed jointly by the boards of county commissioners in the administrative area of a community college to serve on the board of trustees.
H1133 was heard on the House floor this morning. The House adopted an amendment offered by Rep. Hager to add the JDIG provisions that are currently included in H1224. After a spirited debate, the bill was approved by the House 61-35 and will be sent to the Senate.
Contact:
- Johanna Reese, Government Relations Director
- David F. Thompson, Executive Director
| Mayor O'Neal's March to Washington, DC: Part II | Statewide, Government, State and Federal | Possible Severe Weather: July 28, 2014 |
Home
Contact
About
Service Rates
Privacy Policy
Follow on Facebook
Subscribe to Newsletters
Rss Feed
Keywords
Eastern NC Now & ENC NOW © Copyright 1998-2024 All Rights Reserved.
