Legislative Update from Rep. Frank Iler – Apr. 6, 2015
Last week in the North Carolina General Assembly:
We introduced a flurry of bills due to the deadline for local bills, we gave final approval to the gas tax bill, and we honored an icon from the stock car racing world.
Spring was definitely in the air last week in Raleigh and across North Carolina. The temperatures were warmer and the pollen was flying. Our bills were also flying from the bill drafters to be filed in the House clerk’s office and introduced on the House floor. The deadline for local bills was April 1st, April Fools Day. In recognition of the day of jokes the President Pro Tem of the Senate called the House to order and the Speaker of the House called the Senate to order. The serious business was soon evident in all the bills being read onto the House floor, almost 200 in the House alone.
I filed three new local bills, one to de-annex a parcel of land from Shallotte, to allow Sunset Beach flexibility in the use of their parking meter funds, and to give Brunswick County authority over the navigable waters within its boundaries. These bills were requested by the towns, county, or citizens of the county.
Senate Bill 20, known as the gas tax bill came back from the conference committee that had been working on a compromise between the House and Senate. It was signed by the Governor and immediately caused the state gas tax to drop at the pump from 37 ½ cents to 36 cents. Further reductions are scheduled for January, 2016 and July, 2016. However, we hope to come up with a more permanent solution to stabilize the funding for building and maintaining roads and bridges. I personally would like to see the tax at the pump cut in half and funding to come from fees, some of which haven’t been adjusted since the 1980s.
On Tuesday we had a visitor from the stock car racing world. Car owner and former champion NASCAR driver Richard Petty was honored in the House and Senate. With 200 professional wins on the race track, he is known as “The King” of stock car racing. Lifelong residents of Randolph County, he and his family have been involved in the county’s public service on the county commission and school board. They also sponsor many charities, including Camp Victory Junction for special needs children. Richard Petty is a citizen hero we can all hope to emulate.
Additional bills of interest include the bill to enable the sale of utility assets so that 31 towns in the Electricities network could see big reductions in their electric rates. This includes Southport here in Brunswick County. I was also one of the primary sponsors of a bill on grandparents’ rights, House Bill 413 – Expand Grandparents’ Visitation Rights. This will enable grandparents to go to court to seek visitation when it is being unreasonably denied by a surviving parent of a deceased child. At present they have no course of action.
This week will be the first spring recess in memory for the NC General Assembly. We’re calling it “spring break”. However, I will be working a few days in Raleigh to be ready for other deadlines coming up.