Legislators spent a short week in Raleigh with the Senate holding session Monday, July 15, 2019, and Tuesday, July 16, 2019, and the House working Monday, July 15, 2019 through Wednesday, July 17, 2019. Despite being on the calendar every day, the House has still not taken a vote on Governor Cooper’s veto of the budget. The State is currently operating under a statutory continuing resolution that keeps spending levels at last year’s levels until a new budget is adopted.
The Senate has announced that they will be in town for several days next week and then may adjourn for an indefinite amount of time. House Speaker Tim Moore has indicated that the House will stay in session until a budget deal is struck.
In a press conference this week, Senate leader Phil Berger listed his remaining priorities outside of a budget for the session as Certificate of Need (CON) reform, the annual Farm Act, the Excellent Public Schools Act, and an adjournment resolution.
WRAL: https://www.wral.com/no-end-in-sight-for-state-budget-fight/18513333/
Senate Spending Bill
The Senate Appropriations Committee amended House Bill 961 to add provisions that will ensure that the State can spend federal grant money in light of the budget stalemate. The bill contains provisions that are usually included in the budget, and legislators feared that the continuing resolution that is currently in place would not allow the State to spend federal dollars. The bill largely involves grants received by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), but also contains authorization to spend disaster relief money, and agriculture assistance dollars. The House passed a similar bill last week that contained more funding, but is also intended to ensure federal grants will be available.
Certificate of Need Reform
The Senate Health Committee voted to approve a controversial bill reforming the State’s Certificate of Need (CON) laws. The Senate has tried several times this year to pass CON reform, but have not had the votes to get it further than committee, having to pull the bill from the calendar and send it back to committee for modifications. House Bill 126 is the latest effort, and contains increases for spending thresholds, limits on how long a CON can be held, exemptions for home health care and behavioral health, and a CON repeal for dialysis in counties over 300,000 in population. The bill is not expected to move in the House if it gets there, but many people believe that the Senate will have trouble passing the bill out of their own chamber.
Announcement for Governor
North Carolina Representative Holly Grange announced this week that she will run for Governor in 2020. Representative Grange was appointed to the NC House in 2016 to fill former Representative Rick Catlin’s term and she has won reelection twice. She will likely face Lieutenant Governor Dan Forrest in a Republican primary.
WRAL: https://www.wral.com/republican-lawmaker-running-for-governor/18517340/
Hemp Controversy
The House Finance Committee approved the 2019 NC Farm Act this week, but not before amending the bill’s controversial hemp section. Federal law changes last year have opened the door for states to legalize hemp production and hemp derived products. The Senate version of the bill allowed for smokable hemp products, which are some of the most profitable use of the plant. However, many members of the House have concerns with smokable hemp, and an amendment was adopted in the Finance Committee to outlaw smokable hemp.
Advocates for smokable hemp say that it is a vital revenue stream for hemp growers and that farmers will struggle to make the industry profitable without it. Opponents of smokable hemp call it a backdoor path to marijuana legalization and say that it will make the law hard to enforce. Prosecutors and law enforcement groups worry that since hemp looks and smells similar to marijuana, it will prevent them from having probable cause when enforcing other laws. They claim that the smell of marijuana is a common way to obtain probable cause, and this bill will take that away.
In the new version of the Farm Act, one section states that the term marijuana includes smokable hemp. In an abundance of caution, the House also included the same language equating smokable hemp with marijuana in a separate controlled substance bill they were hearing in the Judiciary Committee the same day.
WRAL: https://www.wral.com/house-looks-to-define-smokable-hemp-as-marijuana/18515437/
2019 Session Laws
The following 122 bills have become law this session:
- SB 7: Bipartisan Ethics Appointments
- SB 75: Restore Ct. of Appeals Membership
- SB 77: Ag Disaster Fund/Certain Counties
- SB 214: Ensure Orderly 2019 Elections
- SB 12: Fill Certain Vacancies/Alexander & Burke Co.
- SB 56: Revenue Laws Technical Changes
- SB 4: Extend Terms of 2 Members/Coastal Carolina CC
- SB 272: Zoning for University Facilities-Durham
- SB 6: Dare County/CC Construction Funds
- SB 162: Loan Origination/Late Payment Charge Changes
- HB 263: Fill Vacancies/Modify 2018 Appointments
- SB 63: City of Kannapolis/Annexation
- HB 130: Allow Game Nights
- SB 505: Rural Job Retention Act
- SB 605: Highway Storm Recovery Act
- HB 1014: 2020 Census VTD Verification Program
- SB 310: Electric Co-Op Rural Broadband Services
- HB 363: Craft Beer Distribution & Modernization Act
- HB 233: State Auditor/Local Finance Officer Amends
- HB 532: DNCR Add New Trails & Various Changes
- HB 388: Immunizing Pharmacists
- HB 646: ID Approval/Flex Muni One-Stop
- HB 70: Delay NC HealthConnex for Certain Providers
- HB 9: Bessemer City Charter Amendment
- HB 201: Randolph Co. Register of Deeds Tax Cert
- SB 252: Dental Bill of Rights
- SB 138: Even-Yr Municipal Elections/Town of Black Mtn.
- SB 139: Even-Yr. Municipal Elections/Town of Montreat
- HB 336: Extend Suspension of Spencer Mountain
- SB 235: Franklin/Nash Municipalities/Unfit Dwellings
- SB 30 Stanly CC/Contracting Date Extension
- SB 381: Reconstitute/Clarify Boards and Commissions
- HB 301: CIP Revisions/Juvenile Code
- HB 179: Mini-Truck Classification
- HB 131: Repeal Map Act
- HB 82: Railroad Crossings/On-Track Equipment
- SB 648: Support Shellfish Aquaculture
- SB 448: Amend Appt For Compact on Education/Military
- SB 255: State Board Construction Contract Claim
- SB 151: Break or Enter Pharmacy/Increase Penalty
- HB 617: Allow Repeat Referral to Teen Court
- HB 578: Modify Legitimations Provisions
- HB 548: Modify Physical Therapy Definition
- HB 383: Topsail Beach Charter/Board Vacancies
- HB 1016: UNC Boards of Trustees Appointments
- HB 1017: Special Master Wake House Plan
- HB 415: Photos of Juveniles/Show-Ups
- SB 148: Public Records/Release of LEO Recordings
- SB 11: ABC Regulation and Reform
- SB 466: EDPNC Modifications
- HB 57: Create Term for Public Schs. & Codify NCVPS
- HB 389: ABC/Univ Athletic Facility
- HB 531: Tenants at Foreclosure Act Restored
- HB 658: Allow Donations of Unexpired Drugs
- HB 664: myFutureNC/Postsecondary Attainment Goal
- HB 432: Water/Sewer to Contiguous Dwelling Units
- HB 219: NAIC Accreditation Amendments.-AB
- SB 80: China Grove Satellite Annexation
- SB 242: Recreational Land Fee Changes
- SB 227: TP3/Principal Fellows Consolidation
- SB 84: Walkertown Zoning Authorizations
- SB 262: Union/Prohibit Certain Hunting Acts
- SB 674: Surry Co./Mt. Airy/Elkin City/Bd. Ed Partisan
- HB 15: Lexington/Dissolve Utilities Commission
- HB 240: Albemarle/City Labor for Business Ctr
- HB 299: Henderson Cty/Build Community College Bldgs
- HB 6: Burlington Airport/Lease/Contract Authority
- SB 225: Repeal Tuition Surcharge
- HB 537: Hwy Use Tax Vehicle Subscriptions
- HB 934: Right to Try Adult Stem Cell Treatments
- SB 219: Modify Teacher Licensing Requirements
- SB 55: Continuing Education for General Contractors
- SB 483: Vacation Rental Act Changes
- SB 610: Authorize Northern Peaks Trail
- SB 95: Veterans Memorial Funds/Do Not Revert
- SB 556: GSC People First Language 2019
- SB 529: Fees/Returned Checks
- SB 88: Electrician Requirements for Certain Orgs
- SB 313: Guar. to Streamline Afford. Housing
- SB 127: Protect Governmental Accountability
- HB 656: Medicaid Changes for Transformation
- HB 924: Teacher Contract Changes
- HB 474: Death by Distribution
- HB 67: Road Barrier Prohibition
- HB 310: Clarify Insurance Prod'r Crim. Bckgrd Check
- HB 812: Nutrient Offset Amendments
- HB 886: Study Participation of Operators in NC Pre-K
- HB 529: Utilities/Water and Wastewater Consumption
- HB 917: Emergency Declaration/Clarify Rd Closure
- HB 747: NC Missing Person Information Sharing
- HB 770: Freedom to Work/OLB Reform
- HB 871: Fair Contracts
- HB 4: Claremont Deannexation
- HB 52: Wrightsville Beach Local Act Amendment
- HB 204: Town of Beaufort/Annexation
- HB 349: Wilkes County Fire Tax-Procedure
- HB 489: Lincolnton-Lincoln County Airport Authority
- HB 80: Roanoke Rapids Lake/Unattended Equip
- HB 237: Brunswick County Zoning Procedure Changes
- HB 368: Bermuda Run/Speed Restrictions
- HB 98: Macon/Clay/No Right-of-Way Spotlighting
- HB 134: Filling Vacancy/Onslow County Board of Comm
- HB 170: Various Satellite Annexations
- HB 187: Amend Town of Elon Charter/Parking Ordinances
- HB 285: City of Sanford/Town of Beaufort/Vol Annex
- HB 239: Pitt County Animal Control Records
- HB 324: Local Hunting Omnibus
- HB 429: Navigable Waters/Manteo/Hyde
- SB 191: Out-of-State Law Enforcement/2020 Rep Convtn
- SB 399: Rehire High-Need Teachers
- SB 355: Land-Use Regulatory Changes
- SB 378: Local Economic Development Modifications
- SB 394: Changes to Estates & Trusts Statutes
- SB 311: Massage Board Membership
- HB 257: Motorcycles/Face Masks
- HB 224: Assault w/ Firearm on LEO/Increase Punishment
- SB 594: Register of Deeds Updates
- SB 525: Textile Hist. Site/Operate SE NC Museum
- SB 220: Removal of Political Signs by Citizens
- SB 500: Modify Advanced Math Course Enrollment
- SB 186: Beaufort-Morehead Cty Airport Authority/Amend
- SB 686: Appointments Bill 2019