The North Carolina General Assembly’s short session continues into June as important legislation is considered and budget negotiations are ongoing.
For the week of May 27-31, 2024, the North Carolina House of Representatives held non-voting sessions. However, budget negotiations with the Senate are ongoing and various legislation is working its way through the committee process.
The legislative week beginning Monday, June 3rd brought a non-voting session Monday morning. On Tuesday, I met with legislative staff to finalize the contents of legislation that I would be presenting later in the day. At 10:00AM, I attended the House Local Government Committee to present HB1060, Add At-Large Members/Macon Co. Board of Comm., which would modify the method of election for the Macon County Board of Commissioners to provide for two members to be elected at-large and three members to be elected from districts. The bill received a favorable committee report and has been referred to the House Rules Committee. The House held an administrative session on Tuesday and no votes were taken.
On Wednesday, the House of Representatives had a very productive day as various committees met and 18 bills were considered during the afternoon voting session. However, prior to the House convening for session, I met with two groups where we discussed economic opportunities for the far west and the current housing market.
At 10 a.m., I attended a caucus with my colleagues. The Judiciary I Committee met at noon and HB984, Removal of Squatters from Private Property was considered. I am one of the four primary sponsors of this legislation. HB984 received a favorable committee report and was re-referred to the House Finance Committee.
At 1 p.m., I attended the House Agriculture Committee where we discussed SB355, North Carolina Farm Act of 2024. SB355 contains numerous provisions including, exempting agricultural land from stormwater fees, incentivizing farmland preservation, fish and wildlife conservation and military buffers, and increases the penalties for transporting live feral swine. SB355 received a favorable committee report and has been referred to the Finance Committee.
At 2 p.m., the House convened for a voting session, where we considered a wide variety of legislation, which included the following:
- HB911, Town of Andrews Deannexation, would remove one tract of land from the corporate limits of the Town of Andrews. I am the primary sponsor of this legislation, which was requested by the Town. HB911 passed third reading with unanimous consent.
- H834, Juvenile Justice Modifications, would make various changes, including:
- Modifies the definition of “delinquent juvenile” related to juveniles who are 16 and 17 years old to exclude any offense punishable as a Class A, B1, B2, C, D, or E felony if committed by an adult. 71-33.
- Increases the punishment for an adult who solicits a minor to commit a crime.
- Modifies the transfer process for juvenile cases from juvenile to superior court by creating a new indictment return appearance. I voted in favor and the bill passed by a vote of 70-34.
- HB228, Revenue Laws Technical, Clarifying and Administrative Changes, would make various technical, clarifying, and administrative changes to the revenue laws as recommended by the Department of Revenue, would make technical changes to the Medicaid hospital assessment statutes, and would replace an expiring unit of measure used by Fannie Mae referenced in NC statutes setting certain restrictions on highcost home loan. I voted in favor and the bill passed, 103-1.
After the adjournment of session, I attended the Election Law and Campaign Finance Reform Committee, where we considered, HB1074, Constitutional Amendment/Citizens-Only Voting, which provides for the question of an amendment to the North Carolina Constitution to revise the language regarding citizenship and eligibility to vote to be placed on the November 2024 ballot. I am a primary sponsor of HB1074, and it passed the committee with a favorable report. Its next stop is the House Rules Committee.
The House Finance Committee met Thursday morning to consider HB984, Removal of Squatters from Private Property. The bill passed committee with a favorable report.
The House reconvened Thursday morning for a voting session, where we considered various legislation, including:
- SB355, North Carolina Farm Act of 2024, would make various changes to the agricultural laws of this state. The bill passed unanimously, 93-0.
- HB931, Town of Newport/Deannexation, would remove a 21.8-acre tract of land from the corporate limits of the Town of Newport. HB931 passed by a vote of 92-0.
With no further business the House adjourned for the week.