N.C. General Assembly Legislative Update, 050415 | Eastern North Carolina Now

Modifying For-Hire License Logbook Requirement

    Senate Bill 374 (Modify For-Hire License Logbook Requirement) a bill that I crafted passed unanimously in the Senate and the bill has been sent to the House. In this legislation, the for-hire coastal recreation fishing licenses are altered to a voluntary requirement. It delays any such reporting until January 01, 2016, and requires the creation of a stakeholder's logbook advisory group. Also, the Division of Marine Fisheries would be required to institute a 12 month implementation process.

    With my encouragement Senator Norman Sanderson (R-District 2) introduced an amendment to my bill in committee opposing the authorization of a Joint Enforcement Agreement (JEA) between our state Marine Patrol inspectors and the law enforcement branch of the National Marine Fisheries Service. The Fisheries Reform Act of 1997 states that North Carolina has one of the most diverse fisheries in the United States, and that North Carolina will manage and regulate our coastal fishery resources. We strongly see no benefit to our state of a JEA with National Marine Fisheries Service. We don't need more federal encroachment on our state authority.

Legislation on Citations/Sheriffs Accept Faxes

    On Wednesday, April 28, 2015, I presented Senate Bill 192 (Citations/Sheriffs Accept Faxes) on the floor of the Senate. The bill passed unanimously in the Senate and has been sent to the House. The legislation changes the words "court cost" to just "cost" on all citations. This will solve confusion for the Clerks of Superior Courts. Several clerks expressed to me that folks will come-in to pay for a citation, but don't understand why they have to pay a court cost when they did have not appear in court. This bill also allows domestic violence protective orders and civil no-contact orders to be transmitted electronically. There are still several offices throughout the state that do not accept faxes. This bill has the support of the North Carolina Sheriff's Association.
I was honored to award and present medals to so many fine athletes at the Dare County Special Olympics. I commend all of the families, coaches and volunteers for their dedication to make the event possible.

Legislation on Restoring Firearm Rights

    Legislation that I'm sponsoring passed in the Senate on Tuesday, April 29, 2015. The legislation is Senate Bill 288 (Amend Laws Regarding Mental Commitment Bars). Currently, if an individual suffers from a major medical event such as a heart attack, stroke or major accidental trauma, and are declared incompetent due to the condition, the county clerk of superior court must submit thatindividual's name to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). Listing their name with NICS prohibits them from purchasing a firearm. After their recovery and the reinstatement of their legal competency, the clerk of court cannot remove the individual's name from NICS. Therefore, the person still would not be allowed to purchase a firearm. However, this legislation corrects that problem. After an individual's competency status is restored, they can submit a written request to the clerk of court to update their record in NICS. Upon verification, the clerk will be able to make the changes to NICS which will restore the person's firearm rights.

1st Senatorial District Local Act-1

    Last week, the Senate also passed Senate Bill 101 (1st Senatorial District Local Act-1) and the bill has been sent over to the House. The first part of this bill simply clarifies the vice-chair voting provisions for the Elizabeth City-Pasquotank County Board of Education. The Board adopted a resolution to request that the Legislature revise the session laws to clarify the role of the Chair and Vice Chair voting provisions. This is simply a technical correction. The other part of this bill authorizes Dare, Gates, Beaufort, and Hyde Counties to be included in G.S. 153A-15. Which requires County Commissioner approval before a local municipality government can condemn land inside the approving county. It currently applies to 85 counties in our state. Dare, Gates, Hyde, and Beaufort Counties are the only counties in Senate District 1 that are not included in G.S. 153A-15. These counties requested us to include them in G.S. 153A-15.

Contact: Jordan Hennessy
     jordan.hennessy@ncleg.net, •  (252) 619-3606


     300 N. Salisbury Street
     Room 525 • Raleigh, NC 27603

    Phone: (919) 715-8293  •  Fax: (919) 754-3296  •  bill.cook@ncleg.net