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Week three of the 2011 Session ended with a long, protracted discussion in the House (did we mention it was only week THREE…) over SB 13 Balanced Budget Act of 2011 which moves $142 million from state accounts and gives the Governor authority to cut another $400 million. However, the measure may not make it past the governor’s desk: she is signaling that she may veto it. Partisan debate on the bill in the House centered on state accounts that were seen by Democrats as helping to create jobs, including two economic incentives funds and the Golden LEAF Foundation account that gets money from the national tobacco settlement. Republicans repeatedly reminded the Democrats that serious “belt tightening” would have to occur in order to fill the $3.7 billion hole in the budget this year. SB 13 passed third reading in the House on Thursday along party lines – meaning that Republicans do not have the votes to override the Governor’s veto. Game on!
Two measures to start the ball rolling on regulatory reform passed the Senate this week. SB 17 Joint Regulatory Reform Committee establishes a 16-member legislative committee to evaluate current state rules and programs and make recommendations for change, improvement, or repeal. The bill sponsor told us that public hearings will be held across the state in the next few months for the purpose of letting the public tell them how rules and regulations affect business. We will let members know when/where these hearings will be held so that you can attend and tell your stories.
The second bill, SB 22 APA Rules: Increasing Costs Prohibition, pushes the “pause” button on agency rulemaking while the General Assembly puts together a comprehensive regulatory reform package. As expected, some state agencies and special interest groups (mostly environmental groups) were appalled at the audacity of the General Assembly meddling in their regulatory monopoly. After all, there are only 23,940 rules in effect in North Carolina. Of that total, 15,111 of them went into effect in the last 10 years. What will the agencies do if they can’t adopt more rules? And, not to be outdone by the Legislature, Governor Perdue announced this week that her administration has identified 900 agency rules recommended for elimination. Most of them are outdated or obsolete. |
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