N.C. General Assembly Legislative Update, 022716 | Eastern North Carolina Now

Press Release:

    New Congressional Map that Addresses Federal Court's Concerns

    Last week, the North Carolina General Assembly reconvened for a special session to pass a new Congressional map to comply with a federal trial court's order. The eleventh hour decision by the three judge federal panel to redraw the districts within two weeks was very disappointing - even though five out of the six times that North Carolina's redistricting plans have been reviewed by the North Carolina Supreme Court, they have been validated as fair, legal and constitutional by our state's highest court. Moreover, the new map is also fair, legal, and most certainly constitutional - it splits fewer counties and precincts than any map since 1990 - it splits only 13 counties and 12 precincts. Since a stay was not granted by the U.S. Supreme Court, the primary date for only U.S. House of Representatives seats will take place on June 7, 2016. However, the primary date to vote for President and all other races will remain to take place on March 15, 2016. Below is a copy of the new congressional map.


    N.C. Agriculture and Forestry Commission Meeting in Belhaven

    The North Carolina Agriculture and Forestry Awareness Study Commission held our meeting Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016 at the Wilkinson Center in Belhaven, N.C. I am honored to co-chair this commission and was pleased to host this meeting in Belhaven. This commission is dedicated to formulating proposals in support of our agriculture and forestry sectors. It was outstanding to see the great turnout of local farmers at the meeting - we had roughly 175 folks attend. In Eastern North Carolina, drainage is one the most vital and complex issues facing our farmers. Since the meeting, we have followed-up with a number of questions and concerns to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service pertinent to the management of wildlife refuges in the area and drainage issues affecting farmland in the surrounding area. Agriculture is the largest industry in the State of North Carolina. The industry contributes $78 billion to the state's economy and accounts for more than 17 percent of the state's income, and employs 16 percent of the work force. Therefore, we need to focus attention on our state's number one industry (agriculture) to spur job creation and economic growth.

    Construction is underway to replace the aging Herbert C. Bonner Bridge in the Outer Banks. Preliminary work started earlier this week to construct the $246 million replacement bridge. The project involves building a 3.5-mile bridge, which will run parallel to the existing one over the Oregon Inlet. The Bonner Bridge is an important lifeline to our state's economy, and is the only highway connection between Hatteras Island and mainland North Carolina. Finally being able to replace the Bonner Bridge is a significant gain as well as relief to the residents of the Outer Banks and the millions of visitors that travel to the area each year. The replacement of the Bonner Bridge has been deliberated for the past couple of decades. I'm thankful for the support of my colleagues in the N.C. General Assembly, Governor Pat McCrory, N.C. DOT Secretary Nick Tennyson, and N.C. DOT Division 1 Board Member Malcolm Fearing for actually getting us over the finish line with this project. Click on the picture below to see a visualization of the Bonner Bridge replacement project.


    Audit on the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries

    Last week, the Office of State Auditor released the results of an audit of the Division of Marine Fisheries. This audit came at the request of Senators Norman Sanderson, Brent Jackson and myself. State Auditor Beth Wood, found several irregularities pertinent to the state's open meeting laws. Pursuant to North Carolina General Statute § 143-318.10(d) definition of "official meeting" includes "simultaneous communication by conference telephone or other electronic means. Therefore, an email exchange constitutes as an "official meeting." The audit states, "there does appear to be emails between commission members that violate open meeting laws. Four separate email chains dated January 14, 2015, September 8, 2015, July 20, 2015, and February 10, 2015, occurred between Commission Members." In each instance, the Commission's legal counsel, Phillip Reynolds, notified Commission Members of the open meeting laws and to stop such communication via email. Needless to say, for the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission to violate the open meeting laws on four different occasions, after being notified by their legal counsel is simply unacceptable and inexcusable.

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