Legislative News & Raleigh Event: February 11, 2019 | Eastern North Carolina Now

News Release:

    The NC General Assembly schedule will be accelerating next week. Chairmen are scheduling their Committee meetings. Legislators are working with the Bill Drafting Division to draft and file bills.

    Committees for Monday, February 11 include the House Appropriations on Transportation.

    SCHOOL CALENDAR FLEXIBILITY BILLS

    To date, Legislators have filed eleven (11) Local Bills seeking "School Calendar Flexibility" for their local school systems. Two Senate bills and nine House bills filed tell us this will be a significant issue for 2019. It has been a contentious and hard-fought issue in the past.

    Please advise us if your county and your school board wish to obtain flexibility for the local school system in adopting the School Calendar. If so, your local Senator or Representative must file a Local Bill. It is important for your legislators to agree in advance to avoid contention within our local legislative delegation.

    Local Bills apply only to designated counties (fewer than 15). The following deadlines apply:

    House Local Bills must be sent to Bill Drafting by 4 pm on March 6 and must be filed in the House by 3 pm on March 28.

    Senate Local Bills must be sent to Bill Drafting by 4 pm on February 27 and must be filed in the Senate by 4 pm on March 14.

    The Crossover Deadline is Thursday, May 9. By that date, Public and Local bills must pass in one of the two chambers and "crossover" to the other chamber. (Certain bills are not subject to Crossover, but most are including these Local Bills.)

    Local Bills are not subject to gubernatorial veto.

    RURAL DAY EVENT

    The NC Rural Center will conduct Rural Day on March 26, 2019, at the Raleigh Convention Center. Click here for more information. Rural Day is the NC Rural Center's premiere annual event. Gov. Cooper and Lt.Gov. Forrest will speak in the morning. The keynote speaker is Mignon Clyburn, former Commissioner of the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC). One of the breakout sessions will focus on broadband needs in rural counties. Legislators will attend and conduct afternoon roundtable discussions by region. We are in the East Region. Joe and Henri plan to attend. If you are able and interested, we hope to see you there!

    We look forward to communicating with you regarding your county's issues. Please contact us immediately if you have any questions or comments.

    Contact: Joe McClees & Henri McClees
      McClees Consulting, Inc.

      Post Office Box 430
      Oriental, NC 28571

      Office (252) 249-1097
      Fax (252) 249-3275
      www.mccleesconsulting.com
      Joe McClees's mobile (252) 671-1585
      Henri's mobile (252) 671-1559