[Durham INC] FW: Legislative Update

[Pat Carstensen]

Note the update on the billboard bill.  Regards, pat

Date: Fri, 13 May 2011 17:33:24 -0400
From: will.morgan at sierraclub.org
Subject: Legislative Update
To: NC-LEADERS at LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG

Friends - 
It was another rather slow week on environmental legislation, as the General Assembly continues to remain focused on the budget.  Since the House passed the budget late last week, the Senate has been working around the clock on their own version.  Nonetheless, there are a few updates to report on our issues.





The Week Ahead
Billboard Bill Saga Continues:  S183 (The billboard bill) continued its slow move through the Senate this week.  As a reminder, the original version of this bill (1) allowed existing billboards to convert to flashing electronic billboards, (2) double the area in front of billboards where trees can be removed, (3) allow for clear-cutting of trees instead of trimming to make the billboard visible, and (4) override local ordinances that prevent electronic billboards or increased tree cutting.  Improvements have been made since the bill was introduced, including the removal of the electronic billboard provisions, and a decrease in the area where clear-cutting is allowed.  Nonetheless it remains a  bad bill.  Having cleared the Senate Transportation Committee two weeks ago, the bill was before the Senate Finance Committee this week.  After Senate Majority Leader Harry Brown (R-Onslow) presented the bill, there was a surprising amount of critical questions from the committee members.  Senator Brown agreed to not take a vote on the bill this week, allowing time for a fiscal note to be prepared and possibly for additional improvements to be made.  The bill will likely be before the Senate Finance Committee again in the next week or two.



Hog House Bill:  This week the House Agriculture Committee considered S501 which would allow hog houses built before 1995 to be renovated or rebuilt indefinitely without complying with new regulations.  In effect the bill permanently grandfathers old hog houses from new regulations.  The bill was introduced by Senator David Rouzer (R-Johnston) who downplayed the scope of the bill by claiming it was simply intended to allow hog houses damaged by tornadoes to be able to rebuild.  Representatives Paul Luebke (D-Durham) and Jennifer Weiss (D-Wake) both asked a number of critical questions about the bill, and the committee ran out of time and was forced to adjourn before they had time to take a vote on the bill.  The bill will be back in the House Agriculture Committee next Tuesday.


Regulatory Reform Committee Expected to Meet:  The Joint Regulatory Reform Committee is expected to meet again next Wednesday.  The committee is expected to begin rolling out draft legislation based on the comments they heard from citizens across the state.  At this point we don't know any specifics about the proposed reforms, but we'll let you know as soon as we do.



Recap of Last Week
Energy Jobs Bill Passes Senate: S709 "The Energy Jobs Act" passed the Senate this week.  As a reminder, the bill (1) directs the Governor to enter a compact with the governors of Virginia and South Carolina aimed at accelerating offshore drilling (2) directs DENR to study fracking, and (3) dismantles the existing Energy Policy Council and turns it into the "Energy Jobs Council".  Senator Bob Rucho (R-Mecklenburg) presented the bill on the Senate floor, and encouraged his colleagues to support the bill.  A number of Senators spoke in opposition of the bill, including Senator Stan White (D-Dare), Senator Doug Berger (D-Franklin), and Senator Ellie Kinnaird (D-Orange).  The bill passed by a vote of 38-12, and you can view the votes here.  You can read a great story about the bill, including a quote from Molly Diggins here.



Will
-- 
Will Morgan
Director of Government Relations

North Carolina Sierra Club 
112 South Blount Street
Raleigh, NC 27601

Office: 919-833-8467
Cell: 336-707-9019 
will.morgan at sierraclub.org






http://www.nc.sierraclub.org




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