Weekly Legislative Report May 25, 2007

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1 Weekly Legislative Report May 25, 2007 Over 150 legislative bills were approved by either the House or the Senate this week in an effort to keep them alive for further consideration during the Session of the North Carolina General Assembly. Thursday, May 24 th was the cross-over deadline by which non-money bills were required to pass either the House or the Senate, or those bills would no longer be eligible for consideration this Session. Some legislative committees scheduled as many as three meetings in one day trying to get all of their business conducted before Thursday. The House met until after 11:00 p.m. on Wednesday and was able to complete Thursday s session at about 5:00 p.m. The Senate completed their activities for this week around 12:00 noon on Thursday. The House and Senate both will take a long Memorial Day holiday weekend and resume conducting legislative business on Tuesday, May 29 th. As the House was about to adjourn on Thursday, House Speaker Joe Hackney made the following statement: I want to say that I m proud of this House and all of you. I think we have been through one of the easiest, least acrimonious, most civil, most orderly cross-over periods I have ever been associated with. I think we can all be proud of that. BILL STATUS HOUSE BILL 47, Violate Order/Possess Deadly Weapon Felony, was approved by the House and assigned to the Senate Judiciary I Committee. HOUSE BILL 176, Expunge Non-Violent Crimes, was scheduled for consideration by the House Judiciary III Committee, but was removed from consideration by the bill sponsor at the request of the North Carolina Sheriffs Association. This bill is opposed by the North Carolina Sheriffs Association and numerous others. HOUSE BILL 328, Flexible Payment/Law Enforcement Separation, passed the House earlier this year and passed the Senate this week and will now be sent to Governor Easley for his signature. HOUSE BILL 341, Proportionality Review, passed the House and will be assigned to a Senate

2 HOUSE BILL 414, Amend Metals Products Regulations, was approved by the House and referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Small Business and Entrepreneurship. HOUSE BILL 492, Juvenile Jurisdiction to Age 18 Years, was Reported Without Prejudice by the House Juvenile Justice Committee and was re-referred to the House Committee on Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House. This is the bill that would have raised the juvenile age from 16 to 18 without providing any resources to implement the change. The bill sponsor announced earlier this week that she would have the bill transferred to the House Rules Committee with a request that it be converted into a study bill authorizing the General Assembly to study this issue following adjournment of this year s legislative session. HOUSE BILL 887, Amend Criminal Offense of Stalking, was approved by the House Judiciary III Committee and has been re-referred to the House Appropriations Committee for further consideration. HOUSE BILL 976, Public Vehicular Areas Defined, was approved by the House and referred to the Senate Judiciary I Committee. HOUSE BILL 980, Law Enforcement Officer Discipline, was withdrawn from the House agenda and referred back to the House Judiciary I Committee last week. This bill was not considered by the full House prior to the cross-over deadline and therefore should not eligible for further consideration during the Session of the General Assembly. This bill is opposed by the North Carolina Sheriffs Association and numerous others. HOUSE BILL 1231, Certain Law Officers/Waive Handgun Permit, was approved this week by the House Judiciary I Committee and re-referred to the House Finance Committee for further consideration. HOUSE BILL 1253, Juvenile Code Revisions, was approved by the House and referred to the Senate Judiciary I Committee. HOUSE BILL 1291, NC Racial Justice Act, passed the House and will be assigned to a Senate committee next week. HOUSE BILL 1328, Require Disclosure/Sex Offenders/Child, was approved by the House and assigned to the Senate Judiciary I Committee. HOUSE BILL 1417, Study School and Public Buildings Security, was re-referred to the House Appropriations Committee and would create a 14 member Legislative Study Committee on School and Public Building Security. HOUSE BILL 1479, Juvenile Contempt/Procedures and Sanctions, was approved by the House and referred to the Senate Judiciary II Committee. Page 2 of 5

3 HOUSE BILL 1481, Juvenile DWI/Detention & Study Sanctions, was approved by the House and HOUSE BILL 1562, Unattended Children in Vehicles, was approved by the House and has been HOUSE BILL 1583, Restore Contract Rights to State/Local, is the bill that would require collective bargaining between state and local government employers and employee associations. This bill has been on the agenda for consideration by the House Judiciary II Committee for the last two weeks and appears to no longer be eligible for consideration since it did not pass by the cross-over deadline. However, the bill sponsor was quoted in the news saying that he thought the bill remained eligible for consideration because it might need an appropriation to be implemented. This bill is opposed by the North Carolina Sheriffs Association and numerous others. HOUSE BILL 1626, Enhance Reliability of Interrogations, has passed the House and has been HOUSE BILL 1649, Increase Appointees/Governor s Crime Commission, was approved by the House and has been referred to the Senate State and Local Government Committee. HOUSE BILL 1707, Detention Officers Courthouse Firearms, was approved by the House and referred to the Senate Judiciary II Committee. HOUSE BILL 1749, Sale of Drugs Near Parks, would make it a Class E felony for any person 21 years of age or older to sell drugs in a public park, or within 300 feet of a public park. This bill was approved by the House Judiciary I Committee and re-referred to the House Appropriations Committee for further consideration. HOUSE BILL 1847, Report Lost or Stolen Gun, was defeated by the full House on Tuesday by a vote of 77 to 41. SENATE BILL 132, Protect Children From Sexual Predators Act, was amended to provide that any person who willfully falsifies by any trick, scheme or device a material fact, in response to an official inquiry by a sworn agent of the State Bureau of Investigation, is guilty of a Class H felony. This bill passed the Senate and will be assigned to a House SENATE BILL 226, Wilmington Civilian Traffic Investigators, was approved by the Senate and assigned to the House Local Government I Committee. SENATE BILL 290, Amend Speeding to Elude Arrest Statute, was considered by the Senate Judiciary I Committee this week. There was substantial opposition to the bill and the committee declined to approve the bill. Since it did not pass the Senate by the cross-over deadline, it should not be eligible for further consideration during the session of the General Assembly. Page 3 of 5

4 SENATE BILL 301, Expunge DWI Civil Revocation, passed the Senate and will be assigned to a House SENATE BILL 361, Waiver of Enforcement/No-Wake Zones, was signed into law by Governor Easley on May 21, which is also the law s effective date. SENATE BILL 466, Amend Concealed Weapons Law, was considered by the Senate Judiciary I Committee this week. Since it did not pass the Senate by the cross-over deadline, it should not be eligible for further consideration during the session of the General Assembly. SENATE BILL 855, Exempt Private Investigators/Window Tinting, passed the Senate and will be assigned to a House SENATE BILL 925, Speeding Law Changes, passed the Senate and will be referred to a House SENATE BILL 1009, Discovery/District Attorney Notes, passed the Senate and will be assigned to a House SENATE BILL 1026, Drivers License Issuance/Expiration Dates, was previously approved by the House and the Senate and has been signed into law by Governor Mike Easley. SENATE BILL 1081, Expunge Non-Violent Crimes, was discussed by the Senate Judiciary I Committee and was assigned to a subcommittee for further consideration. The subcommittee is chaired by Senator R. C. Soles, Jr., and the other members are Senator Malcolm Graham, Senator Ellie Kinnaird, Senator Phil Berger and Senator Pete Brunstetter. This bill is opposed by the North Carolina Sheriffs Association and numerous others. SENATE BILL 1130, Open Discovery/Grand Jury Transcripts, was approved by the Senate and will be assigned to a House SENATE BILL 1131, District Court Judge Perform Marriage, passed the Senate and will be assigned to a House This bill authorizes any district court judge to perform a marriage ceremony. SENATE BILL 1271, Firefighter/EMS Payroll Deductions, would allow employee associations of firefighters, EMS workers or law enforcement officers to have their association dues payroll deducted from their salaries by their employers. This bill passed the Senate and will be assigned to a House Page 4 of 5

5 SENATE BILL 1282, Wildlife Protectors to Enforce Criminal Laws, passed the Senate and was referred to the House Wildlife Resources Committee. SENATE BILL 1290, Alcohol Monitoring Systems for DWI Offenders, passed the Senate and was referred to the House Judiciary I Committee. SENATE BILL 1363, Nonpartisan Election of District Attorneys, was amended in the Senate Select Committee on Government and Election Reform and now provides that future elections for district attorneys will be nonpartisan. The bill was approved by the Senate and will be assigned to a House SENATE BILL 1491, Prohibit Blunt Wraps, was approved by the Senate and has been assigned to the House Judiciary II Committee. 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