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H 1682, North Carolina No Place for Torture, as introduced, would have made it a Class C felony (A is the highest) for anyone to commit or attempt to commit torture, kidnapping, or the enforced disappearance of persons. It would also become a Class D felony to conspire to do these acts, whether the acts themselves happen in NC or elsewhere. And it would be a Class B felony if someone died from this conduct.

The bill grows out of increasing concern and publicity about the Aero Corporation, which operates out of the Johnston County Airport and is widely thought to be operating extraordinary rendition flights for the CIA. These are flights in which planes and pilots provided by Aero fly out of North Carolina and pick up agents elsewhere in the US. A flight would then continue to another country where the agents kidnap someone thought to be a terrorist who is then flown to a third country for interrogation with the use of torture. The NC Council of Churches opposes the use of torture by our country. Staff member Barbara Zelter has been involved in protests in Johnston County and has been arrested for her part in an effort to deliver indictments to officials at Aero.

The bill has already been heard in committee, and questions were raised about how these new crimes and sentences would fit with existing NC laws on kidnapping. The bill has now been amended in committee to require the state’s Sentencing Commission to study the matter and recommend sentences for crimes related to torture and enforced disappearance that are consistent with existing sentences for kidnapping. The Commission’s report would have to be available by the end of January 2008. Introduced by Reps. Jones and Luebke; referred initially to House Judiciary I Comm., now on the calendar for floor action.

CROSSOVER DAY POSTPONED

Because of a backlog of bills awaiting consideration, and especially because of the amount of time the House has put in on the budget, the House and Senate have delayed Crossover Day for a week, until this coming Thursday, May 24. Several new bills have been introduced in the last two weeks, but most of the action is in moving bills through committees and to the floor in order to secure passage in one house before Crossover. Among new bills are the following:

ANOTHER PLACE FOR VOTER-OWNED ELECTIONS

H 1949, Legislative Campaigns Pilot, would call for public funding of elections in six specified House districts in 2008. Provisions of the bill are similar to those currently in effect for state appellate judges and in bills proposing public funding for certain Council of State positions. (See S 1128, in Raleigh Report, March 30.) The pilot programs in this bill would be funded by annual appropriations of $750,000. Introduced by Reps. J. Harrell, Coleman, Justice, Walker; referred to House Election Law Comm.

IMPROVING JUVENILE JUSTICE

H 1686, Juvenile Justice Commission Established, would shut down the Advisory Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (made up of specified state leaders and chaired by the Governor and Chief Justice of the state Supreme Court, but which has rarely met and done little) and replace it with a Study Commission on Juvenile Justice. Introduced by Rep. Bordsen; now on the House calendar for floor action.

CHANGES TO HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION

H 1917, Senior Homestead Tax Relief, would amend the state constitution to permit a statewide law which would prevent counties from increasing the property tax valuation of a residence owned by someone who is over 70 years old and has occupied the home for at least five years. The bill seems to grant this relief without regard to either the property’s value or the resident’s income, two factors which currently limit the homestead exemption to people of modest means. Introduced by Rep. Mobley; referred to House Aging Comm.

H 1921, Automobile Exclusion, would, in effect, extend the homestead exemption to automobiles for those 65 and older whose income qualifies them for the homestead exemption. The first $2,000 of value of one motor vehicle would be excluded from property taxes. Introduced by Rep. Blust; referred to House Judiciary I Comm.

H 2023, Increase Income Limit for Homestead Exclusion, would make the homestead property tax exclusion available to those with annual incomes of up to $50,000 (current limit is $18,000). Introduced by Rep. Bryant; referred to House Finance Comm.

CLEANING UP DRINKING WATER

H 1959, Bernard Allen Clean Well Water Funds, would rename the emergency drinking water fund in memory of the Raleigh legislator who died last fall and who had been instrumental in passing the law establishing the fund. H 1959 would also allocate $10 million for the fund. Introduced by Rep. Justice; referred to House Appropriations Comm.

H 2043, Protect Private Drinking Water Resources, would also rename the fund in honor of Rep. Allen. But it would make several other changes in current law regarding drinking water:

§ The Bernard Allen Fund could be used for testing of improved springs as well as wells and for provision of alternate drinking water supplies to those with contaminated water. Priority is given to providing permanent, not temporary, water supplies.

§ Testing of wells and springs used for human consumption would be required before a home could be sold, and regular testing of well or spring water provided to rental homes would be required.

§ Notice would be given to the local health departments and owners of nearby property when a water test indicates contamination.

Introduced by Reps. Harrison, Coleman, Blue; referred to House Environment and Natural Resources Comm.

OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL BILLS

H 1933, Swine Farm Environmental Performance Standards/Funds, provides money for S 1465 or H 1115 and would only go into effect if one of those bills were also enacted. (See Raleigh Report, March 30 and April 6.) Introduced by Rep. Justice; referred to House Appropriations Comm.

H 1961, Funds/GWI Report Greenhouse Gases, would allocate $250,000 per year to Global Warming Initiatives to study greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sequestration from hog, tobacco, and chicken farms. Introduced by Rep. Faison; referred to House Appropriations Comm.

H 1979, University Renewable Energy Funding, would allocate $3.55 million for renewable energy projects at NC State, NC A&T, and Appalachian State. Introduced by Reps. Harrison, Tolson, Glazier; referred to House Appropriations Comm.

H 2047, Adjust Highway Use Tax by MPG Groupings, would change the highway use tax rate (currently 3% of retail value, paid when a vehicle is purchased) to a sliding scale of 2% to 4% based on how fuel-efficient a new car is (with a lower tax rate for more efficient cars). The rate for used cars would remain at 3%. Introduced by Reps. Luebke, Harrison; referred to House Transportation Comm.

MEDICAID COUNTY SHARE

H 2004, Golden L.E.A.F. Funds for County Medicaid, would shut down the Golden LEAF Foundation, which has received money from the 1999 tobacco settlement agreement and disbursed it to help communities adapt to the decline of the tobacco economy. The money which has been going to Golden LEAF would be used to provide prescription drugs to seniors and to reduce the county share of Medicaid. Introduced by Rep. Blust; referred to House Appropriations Comm.

H 2030, Medicaid County Share/Phase Out, would eliminate the county share of Medicaid by 2013, with a quicker phase-out for the state’s poorest counties. Introduced by Rep. Mobley; referred to House Appropriations Comm.

HEALTH DISPARITIES EVEN AT THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

H 2046, Health Disparities Reduction Act, is similar to H 335, but with an allocation of $500,000 per year. The name of the act, the “Hall-Allen-Hunter-Holloman-Lucas-Martin Health Disparities Reduction Act of 2007,” invokes the memory of six African American legislators who have died in the last year. See Raleigh Report, March 2. Introduced by Reps. Luebke, Wainwright, Bryant, Insko; referred to House Appropriations Comm.

CHANGING HOW LOTTERY MONEY WOULD BE SPENT

H 1957, The School Construction Bond Act of 2007, would authorize the issuance of $3 billion in bonds to be used for public school construction and to be repaid solely from lottery revenues. It would eliminate three of the current uses of lottery funds (class size reduction, prekindergarten programs, and college scholarships), leaving only these bonds and other school construction as uses for lottery funds. The bill would also change the allocation of funds for school construction so that all of it would go to counties based on the size of their school systems, with none of it dependent on counties’ property tax rates. Introduced by Rep. Dollar; referred to House Rules Comm.

EQUITABLE AND ADEQUATE TAXATION

H 1982, Local Option Land Transfer Tax, would permit all local governments to levy a land transfer tax of up to 1% of the amount paid for the property, but only if approved by local voters. The proceeds could be used only for public infrastructure purposes. Introduced by Rep. Weiss; referred to House Finance Comm.

H 2033 – 2035, Tobacco Products Tax Increase, provide three options for increasing tobacco taxes, which are currently 35¢ per pack of cigarettes and 3% of the cost for other tobacco products. The options are:

2033 – leave cigarette tax as is, increase tax on other tobacco to 14% of cost.

2034 – increase cigarette tax to 50¢ per pack and other tobacco to 20% of cost.

2035 – increase cigarette tax to 60¢ per pack and other tobacco to 24% of cost.

Introduced by Rep. Luebke; referred to House Finance Comm.

H 2044, Revenue Act of 2007, would extend until 2009 the general state sales tax rate of 4.25% (scheduled to drop back to 4%) and until 2010 the state income tax rate of 8% on those with the highest incomes (over $200,000 for a couple filing jointly). It is currently scheduled to drop back to 7.75%. Introduced by Reps. Luebke, Gibson, Wainwright, Weiss; referred to House Finance Comm.

MISCELLANEOUS

H 1583, Restore Contract Rights to State/Local, would repeal the state law which prohibits collective bargaining between state or local governments and employee associations or unions. Introduced by Rep. Blue; referred to House Judiciary II Comm.

H 2042, Tuition Grant for Private School Students, would set up a program of tuition grants for public school-aged children who are in private schools, including church schools. The program would start with the 2007-08 kindergarten class and be phased in by adding each year’s kindergarten class. The grant would be for $1,800 per year. The bill would allocate $22 million for the first year and $44 million for the second. (And, while the General Assembly budgets for only two years at a time, you can run the math on what this would cost by the 13^th year, when 2007-08 kindergartners become high school seniors.) Introduced by Rep. Allred; referred to House Appropriations Comm.

H 2053, Support School Nutrition, would urge Congress to amend the 2007 Farm Bill to enable school districts to use locally grown food. Introduced by Rep. Fisher; referred to House Rules Comm.

H 2054, Honor Billy Graham, would name Billy Graham as a Favorite Son of North Carolina. Introduced by Reps. Goforth, Fisher, Thomas, Rapp; not yet referred to a committee.

S 30, DV Victims/Add Protections, has been passed by the Senate and is in House Judiciary I.

S 171, Raise Compulsory School Attendance Age, has been re-referred to Senate Appropriations.

S 353, Presidential Electors by District, has been referred to the Senate Select Committee on Government and Election Reform.

S 444, Alternate Budget Origination, has been passed by the Senate and is in House Ways and Means.

S 516, Sudan (Darfur) Divestment Act, has been re-referred to Senate Finance.

S 862, UNC Smoke Free, has been passed by the Senate.

S 954, Popular Election, has been passed by the Senate and is in House Election Law.

S 1466, Migrant Housing Health/Safety, (similar to H 1501, Amend NCDOL Statutes), has been withdrawn from the Senate floor and re-referred to the Senate Agriculture Comm.

H 183, Ban Cell Phone Use by School Bus Drivers, has been passed by the House.

H 341, Proportionality Review, has again been postponed on the House calendar.

H 388, Tax Credits for Children with Special Needs, has been re-referred to House Finance.

H 485, Amend Health Education Curriculum, has been re-referred to House Education.

H 751, 1898 Wilmington Race Riot Acknowledgment, has been passed by the House and is in Senate Judiciary I.

H 879, Modify School Health Education Program, has been re-referred to House Education.

H 784, Execution/Change Age, has been passed by the House and is in Senate Judiciary I.

H 786, LEO Provide Info to DA for Discovery, has been passed by the House and is in Senate Judiciary I.

H 787, Felony Murder, has been re-referred to House Judiciary I.

H 838, Ban Incandescent Light Bulbs, has been amended to call for a study by the Environmental Review Commission of the possibility of phasing out incandescent bulbs and to direct the state to develop a plan for recycling fluorescent bulbs. It has been referred to the House Rules Comm.

H 973, Mental Health Equitable Coverage, has been referred to House Insurance. The list of licensed providers whose services could be covered has been amended to include psychologists, nurse specialists, nurse practitioners, psychological associates, marriage and family therapists, clinical addictions specialists, and clinical supervisors.

H 1236, Limit Excessive NPO Corp. Compensation, has been defeated in committee.

H 1249, Airport Authorities, No Smoking, has been re-referred to House Judiciary II.

H 1287, Report Denial of Some Pistol Permits, has been passed by the House and is in Senate Judiciary II.

H 1291, NC Racial Justice Act, is on the House calendar for floor action.

H 1294, No Smoking/LTC Facilities, has been passed by the House and is in Senate Health Care.

H 1366, School Violence Prevention Act, has been re-referred to House Judiciary II.

H 1600, NC Organic Economic Opportunities Study, has been referred to House Rules.

H 1671, Arbitration/Negligent Health Care Actions, is on the House calendar for floor action.

H 1739, Notice and Rights re School Suspension, has been amended to include the provisions of H 15 regarding access to textbooks and assignments during short-term suspension. As amended, it has been re-referred to House Judiciary II.

H 1835, Liability of Purveyors of Food for Obesity, has been re-referred to House Judiciary I.

H 1847, Report Lost of Stolen Gun, is on the House calendar for floor action.