N.C. General Assembly Legislative Update, 061415 | Eastern North Carolina Now

Press Release:

Governor signs Senate Bill 112 (Commercial Fishing Courses/Coastal Colleges) into Law

    Yesterday, legislation urging all coastal community colleges to offer courses on commercial fishing and aquaculture was signed into law. I was a primary sponsor of the bill along with Senator Jerry W. Tillman (R-District 29) and Senator Norman W. Sanderson (R-District 2). We have a significant amount of potential for the aquaculture industry to become a greater source of income and economic prosperity for North Carolinians.

    For example, we currently import 75% of the oysters consumed in North Carolina, but yet we have the second largest estuary system in the United States and the largest contained in one state. Furthermore, we can look to Virginia to see what a successful program looks like. Last year, the State of Virginia reported a farm gate value of cultured shellfish at $64 million, which only accounted for half of the Chesapeake Bay. In contrast, we in North Carolina only produced $330,000 worth of cultured shellfish.

    Unfortunately, aquaculture courses are currently being offered at only two coastal community colleges - Carteret Community College and Brunswick Community College. However, under this new law, I'm hopeful that we'll see additional aquaculture courses offered within our coastal community colleges in the near future. The bill directs the North Carolina Community Colleges System Office to provide technical assistance to our coastal community colleges to offer courses on commercial fishing and aquaculture. For the aquaculture industry to grow in our state we need to make sure our coastal community colleges are offering courses that support the industry. To see a copy of the law click here.
Presenting Senate Bill 374 (Modify For-Hire License Logbook Requirement) to the House Wildlife Resources Committee on Tuesday, June 09, 2015.

   

Modifying For-Hire License Logbook Requirement

    Senate Bill 374 (Modify For-Hire License Logbook Requirement) a bill that I crafted passed unanimously in the House Wildlife Resources Committee. This bill amends the for-hire coastal recreation fishing licenses to a voluntary requirement to keep a logbook of "catch" and "effort". 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.

    The second part of this bill stops 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. Last year in a letter to the Director of the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, I was joined by 21 other legislators, including 17 House members in opposing JEA. This legislation is supported by the Recreational Fishermen Alliance of North Carolina and the North Carolina Fisheries Association. We don't need more federal encroachment on our state authority. To see a copy of the legislation click here.

   

Senate Bill Supporting First Amendment Religious Freedoms Becomes Law

    This week, the House followed the Senate's lead in overriding the governor's veto of a bill that protects the First Amendment rights of magistrates and registers of deeds' employees whose participation in marriage ceremonies would violate their core religious beliefs. With the override of both chambers of the Legislature, Senate Bill 2 became law on June 11th. This bill will preserve the ability of everyone who is legally eligible to get married, but makes clear that magistrates and registers of deeds' employees with religious objections have the right to recuse themselves from performing all marriage ceremonies - without fear of losing their jobs or facing criminal prosecution. To see a copy of the law click here.

    Required Number of Operating Brake Lights Bill Signed into Law

    Recently, Senate Bill 90 (Required Number of Operating Brake Lights) legislation that I sponsored was signed into law. This bill clarified state statute as to the number of "rear lamps" required on a vehicle. This issue of whether one or two stop lamps are required by North Carolina law was the subject of a recent Supreme Court case, State v. Heien. In that case, the defendant was stopped in a motor vehicle with only one operating stop lamp, gave consent to a search of his vehicle, and was charged with drug trafficking. The defendant challenged the validity of the traffic stop and search by arguing North Carolina law only required one operable stop lamp. The United States Supreme Court in an 8-1 decision upheld the search as lawful, finding that even though North Carolina law only requires one operable stop lamp, the mistake of the officer was reasonable. Therefore, this bill just simply requires two rear brake lights - one on each side of the vehicle. The bill was supported by law enforcement agencies: N.C. Sheriffs' Association, N.C. Troopers Association, and the N.C. Association of Chiefs of Police. To see a copy of the law click here.


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     Room 525 • Raleigh, NC 27603

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