INDEPENDENCE DAY --- July 4, No man s life, liberty or property are safe while the legislature is in session. 1 Tucker 248, N.Y. Surr.

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1 Weekly Legislative Report June 29, 2007 INDEPENDENCE DAY --- July 4, 2007 Observers of the legislative budget process could be tempted to remember a quotation from a very old court case that said: No man s life, liberty or property are safe while the legislature is in session. 1 Tucker 248, N.Y. Surr.18 As tempting as it is to repeat this court case quotation, the week of Independence Day is a good time for all of us to remember how fortunate we are to live in a country where citizens of our State can govern our affairs through a General Assembly. While observers of the General Assembly might agree that it is not an efficient process, we should all agree that the form of government that we enjoy in the United States of America is undoubtedly the best form of government in the entire world. So, while we all try to recover from this year s budget process and begin to prepare for what everyone hopes are the final few weeks of this year s General Assembly, we should all be thankful to our country s ancestors who took historic action over 200 years ago on Independence Day which resulted in our form of government being the envy of people all around the world. STATE GOVERNMENT WILL NOT SHUT DOWN JULY 1 ST It has been a typical last week of June in Raleigh. Every other year, during the odd numbered years, the previous two-year budget expires on June 30 th. To prevent state government from not having any funding, the General Assembly must adopt the new two-year budget or adopt a continuing resolution that keeps state government operations funded for several weeks until a twoyear state budget can be agreed upon. While the House and Senate both completed their individual versions of the State Budget Bill before June 1 st, they have not been able to agree on a final version of the budget that can be enacted before June 30 th. Therefore, shortly after midnight last night, the House and Senate agreed on a continuing resolution that will keep state government funded at its current levels through July 31, While many legislators left Raleigh on Thursday to begin their weekend, some stayed for the session that began at 12:01 a.m. Friday morning to approve the budget continuing resolution.

2 The late night session was required because the bill had to be voted on once on each of two separate calendar days. The House and Senate adjourned shortly after the late night session began and are both scheduled to return next Monday at 7:00 p.m. VIDEO POKER OUTLAWED EFFECTIVE SUNDAY, JULY 1 ST In 2000, video poker machines had recently been outlawed in South Carolina and truckloads of the machines were being moved into North Carolina. Many legislators and the North Carolina Sheriffs Association supported legislation that would have also outlawed video poker machines in North Carolina. However, legislation was enacted to allow their use and to require them to be registered and monitored by the Sheriffs of North Carolina. From 2000 until 2006, many legislators and the North Carolina Sheriffs Association, with the support of Attorney General Roy Cooper, continued the legislative fight to get video poker machines outlawed in North Carolina. In 2006, the General Assembly enacted Senate Bill 912, which began phasing out video poker machines. That legislation will totally outlaw the use of video poker machines (except on the Cherokee Indian Reservation) on Sunday, July 1 st. Beginning on July 1 st, no video poker machines whatsoever can lawfully be in operation in North Carolina, unless they are operated at the Cherokee Indian Reservation Casino. The law will allow assemblers, repairers, manufacturers, sellers, lessors or transporters of video gaming machines for use out-of-state or on the Cherokee Indian Reservation to continue in operation. To qualify for this exemption, the machines must be disabled and not operable unless the machines are located on Indian land where they may be lawfully operated under a Tribal State Compact. Two lawsuits have been filed challenging the law that outlaws video poker machines. A lawsuit filed in Wake County was dismissed some time ago. A more recent lawsuit was filed in Union County and was recently dismissed by the judge. Although we do not know whether or not the video poker industry will appeal that lawsuit to the North Carolina Court of Appeals, the law enacted in 2006 will nevertheless go into effect July 1, The video poker industry previously asked the judge in the Union County case to issue an order that would stop the new law from going into effect and the judge declined to do so. Earlier this week, several Sheriffs were contacted by members of the video poker industry and told that the effective date of the video poker ban had been extended and that video poker machines could lawfully remain in operation after July 1 st. As of 4:00 p.m. today, Friday, June 29, the Attorney General s Office has not received any notice of any court order that would allow video poker machines to be lawfully operated in North Carolina after July 1 st. It is extremely unlikely that any such court order would be issued at this late date, but if any such court order is issued we will notify all Sheriffs immediately. Otherwise, beginning on Sunday, July 1 st, video poker machines are illegal in North Carolina except for those at the Cherokee Indian Reservation Casino. Page 2 of 5

3 BILL STATUS HOUSE BILL 47, Violate Order/Possess Deadly Weapon Felony, increases the proposed penalty for possessing a deadly weapon while knowingly violating a protective order from a Class I felony to a Class H felony. This bill has been approved by the General Assembly and will be sent to Governor Easley for his signature. HOUSE BILL 554, Assault Disabled Person/Institutional Setting-AB, has been approved by the General HOUSE BILL 786, LEO Provide Info to DA for Discovery, has been approved by the General HOUSE BILL 898, Expunge Nonviolent Felony/Youthful Offender, was amended in the House Juvenile Justice Committee so that it would be similar to the most current version of Senate Bill 677, which is its companion bill in the Senate. As amended, it will allow the expungment of criminal records of crimes committed by 16 and 17 year olds and will allow the expungement of almost 300 various Class H and I felonies. A criminal defendant would be eligible for expungement after two years from the date of conviction of the felony or any active sentence, period of probation or postrelease supervision. This bill is opposed by the North Carolina Sheriffs Association and others. This bill has been referred to the House Finance Committee for further consideration. HOUSE BILL 1089, Franklinton Charter/Lake Royale Police, has been approved by the General HOUSE BILL 1243, Courtroom Procedures/Juvenile Proceedings, establishes the hearing procedure that must be followed for juveniles to be restrained while in the courtroom. Effective: October 1, HOUSE BILL 1347, False Report/Mass Violence at School, has been approved by the General HOUSE BILL 1354, Motor Vehicle Chop Shop Act, has been approved by the General Assembly and sent to Governor Easley for his signature. HOUSE BILL 1479, Juvenile Contempt/Procedures and Sanctions, has been approved by the General HOUSE BILL 1482, Amend Civil No-Contact Order Laws, has been approved by the General HOUSE BILL 1617, Investigations of Deadly Force, has been approved by the General Assembly and sent to Governor Easley for his signature. Page 3 of 5

4 SENATE BILL 21, Clarify Dog Fighting and Baiting Law, has been approved by the General SENATE BILL 118, Removal of Unqualified Judges and DAs, will allow the Governor to declare a vacancy in the office of district court judge, superior court judge, Court of Appeals judge, Supreme Court justice, or district attorney when the person holding the office loses their law license. Effective: June 21, SENATE BILL 659, Officials Forfeit Pensions for Felonies, has been approved by the General SENATE BILL 758, Limited Driving Privilege - DWLR, was approved this week by the House Judiciary III Committee and has been re-referred to the House Finance Committee. SENATE BILL 812, Study Safety Restraints On School Buses, has been approved by the General Assembly and will be sent to Governor Easley for his signature. SENATE BILL 854, Amend Private Protective Services Act, was approved by the Senate Judiciary II Committee and has been re-referred to the Senate Finance Committee. SENATE BILL 880, Bail Bonds/Amend Forfeiture Requirement, will allow the bail bondsman to not have the bond forfeited if the defendant fails to appear in court because the defendant was in jail or prison elsewhere. Effective: October 1, SENATE BILL 1036, Blue Ridge Parkway Special Motorcycle Plate, has been approved by the Senate and referred to the House Transportation Committee. SENATE BILL 1202, Establish Commission on Littering/Study, would create a commission to study littering and develop alternative methods to enforce littering statutes for violations that involve the operation of motor vehicles, motorboats or other vessels. This bill was approved by the Senate Judiciary II Committee and re-referred to the Senate Rules Committee. The Study Committee would include a member upon the recommendation of the North Carolina Sheriffs Association and a member upon the recommendation of North Carolina Association of Chiefs of Police. In addition to legislators and various other officials, the commission will also include representatives of the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners, North Carolina League of Municipalities and the School of Government at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. SENATE BILL 1246, Prohibit Baiting of Bears.-AB, would prohibit placement of processed foods in areas where the Wildlife Resources Commission has set an open hunting season for black bears. Effective: October 1, SENATE BILL 1270, Amend Larceny Laws, was amended to create a Class H felony for a larceny from any merchant if: (1) the property is infant formula in excess of $100; or (2) the value of the property is more than $500 and the larceny is the result of a conspiracy between two or more individuals. Page 4 of 5

5 As amended, this bill has been approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee and is scheduled for consideration by the full Senate next week. SENATE BILL 1290, Alcohol Monitoring Systems for DWI Offenders, has been approved by the General SENATE BILL 1464, Amend Wildlife Resources Management Laws, was amended in the House Wildlife Resources Committee to include provisions concerning the use of migratory bird electric calls to conform to federal law. This bill would also allow hunters to use a flashlight and a dog to pursue and retrieve a deer that was wounded during legal hunting hours, if the pursuit, retrieval and killing of the deer occurred after hunting hours are over. This bill is scheduled for consideration by the full House next week. If you would like a copy of any of the legislation introduced or considered by this year's General Assembly, copies are available on the General Assembly=s World Wide Web site: You may also receive one copy of as many bills as you are interested in, free of charge, by calling the General Assembly's Printed Bills office at 919/ They will need to know if it is a House bill or Senate bill and the bill number. (For example, Senate Bill 8). Eddie Caldwell Executive Vice President and General Counsel North Carolina Sheriffs= Association Page 5 of 5