07/09/2009

Associated Press

HEADLINES:

_ House stalls vote on property annexation reform until lawmakers get cost estimate

_ Youth employment, safety violation penalties would increase in bill approved by House

_ Committee action would make it easier to recover legal fees after suing for open records

_ Property tax deferrals on unsold homes gets final NC legislative approval

_ Impaired drivers with revoked licenses can get them back in bill approved by Senate

THE BRIEF:

ANNEXATION: Lawmakers postponed a vote on reforms to the state's law allowing involuntary property annexation until they know what some changes could cost. The House voted 60-59 to send the measure to the budget-writing Appropriations Committee. The bill lacked a cost estimate of the added staff and equipment needed for a Local Government Commission to carry out new oversight duties. North Carolina is one of a handful of states which allows cities to expand against property owners' wishes. Lawmakers are hearing from constituents who feel cheated by being forced to pay city taxes they didn't want and municipal leaders who believe the law stopped suburbs from siphoning away revenues.

WORKING KIDS: A plan to increase maximum monetary penalties for businesses that break child labor and some workplace safety laws is one vote away from final passage. The Senate voted unanimously to double many fines for youth employment violations and when safety rules broken result in the death of a worker under 18. Maximum fines for businesses that violate employment law would double from $250 to $500 for first-time violators and increase to $1,000 for further violations. Businesses that break safety laws that cause a death would increase from $10,000 to $20,000 for first-time violators and reach $40,000 for repeat violators. The bill would go to Gov. Beverly Perdue's desk if the House agrees to Senate changes.

OPEN RECORDS: People and media organizations that successfully sue governments for public records would be more likely to recover their legal fees under legislation approved by a House panel. The bill, recommended by the House Finance Committee in a voice vote, would reduce a judge's discretion to deny attorneys fees for news media outlets or individuals. Under the current law, judges can decline to order state or local governmental bodies to pay attorney fees for the winning side if they determine the government acted with "substantial justification" to deny access. The proposal would lower the threshold for awarding fees. Committee members deadlocked 13-13 on an amendment that would have allowed city, county or state governments to collect attorney fees should they win in a public records dispute. The vote means the amendment failed, but it could still be presented on the House floor. Such an amendment would discourage frivolous records lawsuits and help protect taxpayer dollars that have to defend the lawsuits, said Rep. Bill Owens, D-Pasquotank, the amendment sponsor.

TAX HELP: Contractors having a hard time moving unsold homes they've built in North Carolina can delay paying property taxes on them for up to three years in legislation given final approval. The House bill approved 44-2 in the Senate on Wednesday now goes to Gov. Beverly Perdue's desk to be signed into law. The measure is designed to help the state's struggling housing industry by allowing builders with vacant houses to defer taxes on them. The taxes would have to be repaid with interest. Legislative staff says the bill could delay $35 million in taxes during the first year of the program that begins in July 2010. It expires in 2013.

TARGETED PICKETING: Picketers who target an opponent's home to the point of causing distress or fear of safety to a person inside can be charged with a misdemeanor in legislation given final approval. The picketing would have to be so aggressive that it would cause a reasonable person to fear for their safety or their family's safety, or to undergo substantial emotional distress. The Senate approved the House bill by a vote of 37-6 after rejecting an amendment that would have raised the threshold of a crime to "severe" emotional distress. The bill now goes to Gov. Beverly Perdue's desk.

ALIENATION OF AFFECTION: The Senate has agreed to place limits on lawsuits filed by scorned spouses seeking to collect damages for stolen affection and adultery. The House bill approved 32-14 would prevent the spouse from suing for amorous act performed by the wayward spouse after the couple have physically separated. It would also place a three-year time limit for the lawsuits involving torts called "alienation of affection" and "criminal conversation." The bill was approved after an amendment was narrowly defeated that would have allowed the lawsuits on actions that occurred within 120 days of a separation. The bill now returns to the House.

HABITUAL DWI: Repeat drunken-drivers who get their license revoked could get their permit back after a clean criminal and traffic record for 10 years in legislation approved by the Senate. The measure approved 25-20 would allow a person convicted of habitual impaired driving to ask the Division of Motor Vehicles to get reinstated. Motorists who obtain their license again can't have alcohol in their blood while driving for the next seven years. Sen. Dan Blue, D-Wake, said motorists whose licenses are revoked for other reasons already have processes to get them restored. But Sen. Tony Rand, D-Cumberland, said it's not right to give these offenders another chance. The bill now returns to the House, which must decide whether to accept the Senate changes.

WEDNESDAY'S SCORECARD:

In the House:

_ H1654, a resolution encouraging the state Transportation Department to work with the state-owned North Carolina Railroad Co., Norfolk Southern Railway, CSX Transportation, and Amtrak to develop rail corridor plans and projects eligible for federal stimulus funds to improve rail travel. Approved 99-18. Next: To the Senate.

_ S913, extending financial protections to auto dealers at a time Chrysler and General Motors franchisees are facing an uncertain future. Approved 116-0. Next: Return to Senate for concurrence motion.

In the Senate:

_ H81, to add e-mail and Web site postings to regular mail, bulletin board postings and other communication to announce regular and emergency meetings of a public body. Approved 46-0. Next: Return to Senate for concurrence motion.

_ H192, to codify into the state law rules under which a child under age 16 can testify outside the presence of a criminal defendant in court. Approved 46-0. Next: Return to Senate for concurrence motion.

_ H746, to increase fees for licensed professional counselors and to add licensing qualifications for professional counselor associate and licensed professional counselor supervisor. Approved. Next: Return to Senate for concurrence motion.

_ S308, to create the concept of a "low-profit limited liability company," which is formed for both business and charitable purposes as a way to encourage investment in struggling business enterprises. Approved 45-1. Next: To the House.

_ S580, would create a loan fund with a supervising board of directors with the aim of financing medical, pharmaceutical or other biotechnology companies with a product ready for market but no money to start production. Loans of up to $30 million would be used by companies to pay for buildings or equipment needed to build permanent production facilities in North Carolina. Final Senate approval 39-4. Next: To the House.

_ H1378, to begin a New Hanover County pilot program requiring marinas with more than 10 slips for boats of 26 feet or larger to install equipment by July 2010 allowing boats to empty their on-board sewage, and banning sewage from being discharged into coastal waters. Approved 42-0. Next: Return to Senate for concurrence motion.

_ H1034, to allow unsolicited phone calls with recorded messages to be exempt from the state's Do Not Call registry when alerting consumers to a product or drug recall or when a consumer has not picked up their prescription at a pharmacy. Approved 45-0. Next: Return to Senate for concurrence motion.

_ H1098, to expand crimes related to willfully injuring or killing a law enforcement animals and assistance animals to include search and rescue animals. Approved 46-0. Next: Return to Senate for concurrence motion.

AROUND THE STATEHOUSE:

It's rare for the presiding officer of the Senate or the House to cast a vote to break a tie. But House Speaker Joe Hackney, D-Orange, and Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton in the Senate each cast tie-breaking votes on the same day. Hackney voted to send an annexation laws reform bill back to the budget-writing House Appropriation Committee until some cost estimates are available. Dalton voted against an amendment to a bill that would back limits to a North Carolina law that allows scorned spouses to sue and collect damages for stolen affection and adultery. Dalton's vote broke a 23-23 tie and defeated the amendment. It was Dalton's first vote as Senate president. He only votes in case of ties.

ON THE AGENDA:

The House Finance Committee is slated Thursday to pore over the financial effects on North Carolina from revamping an underfunded insurance program for coastal properties. Legislators are working on beefing up the underfunded Beach Plan. Proposed changes include capping insurers' risks from a hurricane and shifting the remaining rebuilding costs to all North Carolina policyholders. Complaints from the rest of the state have rolled in against a proposal to charge all property owners by adding up to an extra 10 percent a year to their insurance premiums to pay off the Beach Plan's claims if damage surpasses its $2.4 billion in available assets.

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By Gary D. Robertson and Emery P. Dalesio.