NCACC Weekly Update — June 16, 2023 | Eastern North Carolina Now

Press Release:

    Notable Activity

    Budget watch continues at the General Assembly with the end of the fiscal year only two weeks away. Legislative leaders in both chambers continue to negotiate both funding and policy changes in the legislation, but a consensus is unlikely by July 1. Senate members debated two bills impacting elections administration this week: Senate Bill 747 Election Law Changes and Senate Bill 749 No Partisan Advantage in Elections. Both bills passed the Senate Elections and Redistricting Committee and are likely to be heard on the Senate floor next week. NCACC urges members to read the legislation summarized below and share impacts with the Association and your members of the General Assembly.

    Action Items

    Senate Bill 747 Election Law Changes - Makes comprehensive election law changes impacting counties, including but not limited to:

• The transmitting, counting, reporting, and inspecting of absentee ballots.
• The process for removing foreign citizens from voting rolls.
• Prohibition of counties accepting private donations for conducting elections or employing individuals on a temporary basis.
• Retention and archival of voting records.
• The maintaining of a log of any person rendering assistance to a voter.
• Provisional ballots for same-day registration.
• The allowance of any eligible voter in a county to file a challenge of a voter's absentee ballot.
• Changes regarding the witnessing and signing of absentee ballots.
• Allocating precinct officials at one-stop voting places to the same level as election day, and other changes regarding precinct officials and poll observers.
• The extension of poll closing times statewide if extended in one county.

    The bill was filed last week and gained approval in the Senate Redistricting and Elections committee and will likely be considered on the Senate floor next week.

    Senate Bill 749 No Partisan Advantage in Elections - Revises the structure of the North Carolina State Board of Elections and county boards of elections. At the state level, the bill increases the number of members from five members to eight members and removes the governor's appointment power over the State Board of Elections and vests that duty to majority and minority leaders in the General Assembly and state party chairs. Regarding county boards of the elections, the bill:

• Reduces the number of board members from 5 to 4.
• Provides the board members be appointed as follows:
• One member appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate.
• One member appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
• One member appointed by the minority leader of the Senate.
• One member appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives.

    The bill also makes changes to the method by which county elections directors are appointed, by shifting the responsibility of filling a vacancy to the county board of commissioners, rather than the county board of elections.

    The bill was filed this week and gained approval in the Senate Redistricting and Elections committee and will likely be considered on the Senate floor next week.

    House Bill 600 Regulatory Reform Act of 2023 - Allows a local government to impose a system development fee to recoup costs incurred by the local government unit to purchase capacity in, or reserve capacity supplied by, capital improvements or facilities owned by another local government unit and clarifies that the system development fee does not include any charge or fee paid for such capacity. The bill also makes various regulatory changes impacting counties, including various stormwater and wastewater provisions and zoning and development regulations.


    Additionally, the bill prohibits local governments from regulating the operation of an online marketplace or requiring an online marketplace to provide personally identifiable information of users unless pursuant to subpoena or court order (language previously found in Senate Bill 325 Limit Online Marketplace Regulations). The bill gained approval in the Senate Judiciary committee and could be considered by the Senate and sent back to the House for concurrence next week. NCACC recommends our members discuss this provision with their county attorney and relay any resulting concerns with your Senate and House members.


   Contact: NCACC
   Email: communications@ncacc.org