Legislative Update from Rep. Frank Iler – May 28, 2013
It was an interesting week in Raleigh. After the previous week that saw us vote out over 150 bills on the House floor, last week had less activity in floor sessions and more activity in committees, party caucuses, and lobbying. It was a real pleasure to welcome Brunswick County Commissioners Marty Cooke and Frank Williams to Raleigh. They were in town for the Commissioners’ Day at the Legislature.
The Senate finalized its budget, Senate Bill 402. As they heard more amendments in committees and on the Senate floor, we in the House heard opinions from lobbyists and our constituents back home about which parts we should vote for or against when it comes to us.
After the Senate’s final vote on the budget Thursday, we expect to spend most of our time this week on it. The House Appropriations Committee will be meeting early and often. The Appropriations sub-committees will also be meeting. I am on the House Appropriations Sub-committee for Transportation. We will work on our section before combining it for the final budget, which could take two to four weeks. It will be hotly debated on the House floor before a final vote. Then it will have to go back to the Senate to concur with our changes. If they don’t agree, it goes to a conference committee to work out the differences, to a final vote, and then on to Governor McCrory for his signature. It’s a long process, but one that usually yields a good budget for the state, based on the revenue that is expected. Explaining to people what it does or does not do to their particular issue is frequently the hardest part, but the most interesting.
Another important bill passed its final vote in the House last week. House Bill 267 – Limit Tolling on Existing Interstates was up for its third reading and vote. This bill will prohibit the tolling of existing lanes on interstate highways unless the Department of Transportation comes back to the General Assembly for permission. It effectively protects existing interstates form tolling, but does not prohibit the tolling of new lanes that are built onto them. These would be optional for drivers to use, and they would only pay if they used that lane. It passed 108 – 7. In this age of shrinking funds for road-building you might wonder why anyone would vote against a bill that will provide new highway lanes sooner rather than later or never, and lets the people who will use the lanes pay for it, all the while providing existing lanes for non-payers.
Our most important transportation bill, House Bill 817 – Strategic Transportation Investments, continues to make its way through the Senate after passing the House almost unanimously a few weeks ago. Rep. Bill Brawley and I presented it to the Senate Transportation Committee on Wednesday, where it received a unanimous voice vote. It now should be in the Senate Finance Committee, and then the Senate Appropriations Committee very soon, probably this week. Sen. Bill Rabon, a Vice Chair of the Transportation Committee, made the motion for approval last week. We anticipate strong support from him as Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, as well as on the Senate floor. This bill revolutionizes how we will spend the Highway Trust Fund, the road-building fund of the state. It will allow us to get many more highway projects faster over the next ten years and beyond. Senator Rabon and I are advocates for building more and better roads as soon as possible with what have become shrinking resources for them.
Please feel free to follow our progress on these and other bills on the General Assembly website at www.ncleg.net.