Adjournment nearing

Legislators are busy wrapping up the 2008 General Assembly and adjournment is expected sometime today.  Below is an update on municipal issues--some settled, others still pending.  We will send out a final bulletin summarizing all the action in the coming weeks.

Gang legislation enacted -- municipal legislative priority accomplished

Legislation to provide a balanced approach to the problem of gang-related crime has been enacted, a priority municipal legislative goal for this session.  This week HB 274 – Street Gang/Suppression was ratified after the House and Senate approved a conference committee version of the legislation.  The bill creates new felony offenses for certain gang activities and increases the penalties for those convicted of gang-related crimes.  It has been sent to the Governor for signature.  Earlier in the session SB 1358 - Street/Gang Prevention and Intervention was ratified by the General Assembly and approved by the Governor.  That bill focuses on local prevention and intervention measures.  In addition, the state budget for 2008-09 includes $10 million for implementation of the legislation.

We thank Rep. Mickey Michaux, sponsor of HB 274 , and Sen. Malcolm Graham, sponsor of SB 1358 , for their leadership on this very important legislation.  We also thank Attorney General Roy Cooper for his support for the bills.  Enhancing the ability of small towns and large cities to deal with growing gang-related problems was a top priority for us this session.

Drought bill enacted

Drought legislation saw quite a bit of action throughout the week and has now been ratified by the General Assembly.  The House adopted its version of HB 2499 – Drought/Water Management Recommendations on Tuesday after making several floor amendments .  On Wednesday the Senate Agriculture and Environment committee passed a committee substitute, and yesterday the full Senate approved the bill with additional floor amendments.  Today the House concurred in the Senate changes, and the bill now goes to the Governor.

The bill establishes a working partnership between local governments and the state in responding to drought situations.  Cities and counties will be able to implement the water shortage response plans developed in response to state rules that became effective in 2007.  Systems without plans must implement the default conservation measures currently required by the rules in the event of an extreme or exceptional drought.  The Department of Environment and Natural Resources would ensure that local plans provide for increasingly stringent conservation measures and would be authorized to require water systems to move to the next state of response in their plans if measures are not effective in an extreme or exceptional drought.  Existing emergency power to declare a water shortage emergency--and potentially divert water between systems--would be shifted from the Environmental Management Commission to the Governor.

The final version was revised substantially from the original proposals following extensive negotiations with DENR and the Governor's office.  Our thanks to Rep. Lucy Allen, Rep. Pryor Gibson, and Sen. Dan Clodfelter for allowing us the opportunity to work on the bill and for their leadership on the issue.  We also thank Rep. Paul Stam for working with us on his amendment, and the many legislators who responded to local government concerns.

Coastal stormwater legislation adopted

The General Assembly ratified compromise legislation on stormwater regulation in the 20 coastal counties and has sent it to the Governor.  SB 1967 – Improve Coastal Stormwater Management puts in place new stormwater rules for those counties, developed after a long negotiation process with stakeholders.  The legislation is less restrictive than the rules recently adopted by the Environmental Management Commission and was endorsed by a consortium of affected local governments.

No annexation moratorium

The House-passed annexation moratorium bill, HB 2367 – Involuntary Annexation Moratorium , remains in the Senate Rules Committee as the end of the session approaches.  However, the proposed studies bill, HB 2431 , includes an annexation study commission.  We will update you after adjournment on the status of this issue.

Correction
Some versions of last week's bulletin had a typographical error regarding a budget provision of interest to local governments.  Under HB 2436 – Modify Appropriations Act of 2007 the property tax exclusion for disabled veterans and their surviving spouses excludes the first $45,000 of appraised value from taxation, effective for tax years beginning on or after July 1, 2009.  We apologize for any confusion.  The Governor signed the budget bill this week.

Ellis Hankins                   Andrew L. Romanet, Jr.
Executive Director                     General Counsel