Legislative Update from Rep. Frank Iler – Mar. 23, 2015
Last week in the North Carolina General Assembly:
We filed many new bills, as we were catching up from the February weeks we lost to weather, we had visits from many towns and cities, as well as agriculture groups and electric membership corporations, and we continued to work on transportation funding and economic incentives.
Some of the new bills filed dealt with education issues. I co-sponsored bills to repeal the personal education plan paperwork, give teachers duty-free lunch or planning time, eliminate a certain final exam, and reaffirm support for public schools. Also, I was primary sponsor on a bill to amend certain transportation laws, as well as a local bill to allow Leland to vote on an ABC store.
Tuesday was full of committee meetings, including Transportation, Education, and the daily Transportation Appropriations meeting. It was also electric membership corporation day, and I was happy to see the Brunswick Electric board members on their annual visit to discuss issues coming before us this session.
Former Brunswick County Teacher of the Year, Laura Hunter was in Raleigh on Tuesday as part of a reading instruction seminar. Laura, who is now Professional Development director for Brunswick County Schools, has been elected President of the NC Social Studies Association. We had a good discussion on many of the issues we face, including the budget and the education bills I had just co-sponsored.
Wednesday was Town Hall Day, the day when many towns and cities attend the League of Municipalities meeting and then visit us to discuss issues. Sunset Beach Mayor Ron Watts came by the office, as did Mayor Bill Saffo of Wilmington and a large delegation of Wilmington council members. Other towns contacted me in other ways, and I met with Southport officials Friday in Southport after returning home. Brunswick Community College President, Dr. Susanne Adams came by to discuss community college issues, as she was in town for a system meeting. Husband Tom Adams, Ports Authority Chairman, was with her, as he was in town on ports business.
We also had an education bill on the House calendar for a vote on Wednesday. House Bill 138 – Arts Education Requirement requires each student to complete one credit in arts education sometime during grades six through twelve prior to high school graduation. Since it is one credit and they have seven years to take it, I thought it was time to expose each student to this minimal requirement. In our emphasis on requiring STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), we should not forget the broader subjects of English, History, Civics, Arts, etc. This bill passed the Education Committee easily, and passed the full House 96 – 21.
Wednesday was also “Ag Day” as agricultural groups of all kinds visited us. It was good to see NC Agricultural Extension Agent Mark Blevins from Brunswick County. He had a list of issues he wanted us to be aware of as we try to encourage this $80 billion industry in our state to grow larger and develop new markets.
Thursday we held the election of eight members to the UNC Board of Governors. The Senate had held their election the previous day, and former NC Senator Thom Goolsby was elected as one of their eight. Also Thursday, at our early morning Transportation Appropriations committee meeting, NC Ports Director Paul Cozza gave a great presentation on the ports and how we can grow their business.
We had Bryson Hill, a sophomore at West Brunswick High School as a Page in the House.
This week looks as if it will as busy as last week.