FERRY TAX UPDATE at the end of this legislative week | Eastern North Carolina Now

    News Release:

    Thanks to you who have contacted House Transportation Committee members to thank them for the passage of House Bill #475 "Ferry Tolling Alternatives".

    House Bill #475 Edition #2

    This bill is an important part of our strategy to stop ferry taxes on ferries.

    Please call and email House Finance Committee members to ask their support for HB#475. This Committee has seventy (70) pending bills! We need to inform Committee members how important HB#475 is to coastal citizens.

    Please contact the House Finance Committee members.

    Yes, it is a large committee. Please help us by contacting them.

    We need the Finance Committee to hear HB #475 and vote YES. Ask Committee members to support this bill and encourage the Chairmen of House Finance to calendar the bill for hearing.

    Also, we are working to be sure no ferry tax provisions are included in the House version of the State Budget. Much budget work is being done in the House Appropriations subcommittees, including the Transportation Subcommittee.

    Thanks to the 100+ people who submitted letters of opposition to the Rules that would have gone into effect on July 1, 2013 to begin collection of ferry tolls. Because we submitted more than 10 letters, the proposed Rules must be reviewed by the legislature before implementation.

    Chapter 150B is the Administrative Procedures Act. This may be somewhat confusing, as Chapter 150B has nothing directly to do with ferry tolls, but has to do with the manner in which Rules (required in order to collect tolls) are written, passed, and can be stopped temporarily. With your help, we stopped the July 1, 2013 imposition of the Rules regarding collection of tolls by submitting more than ten letters before the deadline of May 16, 2013.

    Recognizing they cannot now collect tolls on July 1st, the latest edition of the Senate's proposed State Budget, Senate Bill #402 , provides ferry tolls will begin on November 1, 2013. Further, the Senate added language to exempt ferry tolls from the "Ten Letter Rule" in the future. See pages 335 and 336 of SB #402 for these provisions.

    Thank you for your patience as we work through this legislative process. We are thankful for your help as we work to protect the ferries from tax.

    Best regards,

     Henri and Joe McClees

    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