Legislative Update from Rep. Frank Iler – February 3, 2015

northcarolina_sealWhile snow flurries dusted towns north of Raleigh, there was a flurry of activity last week in the halls of the General Assembly in Raleigh. Legislators were preparing bills for introduction, Legislative Assistants were sorting through mail from citizens and lobbying groups, and lobbyists were working the halls and offices with renewed enthusiasm. It was our first week back since being sworn in on January 14th. I was kept busy in meetings large and small, as well as preparing and consulting on bills.

When I arrived on Monday, I wasn’t totally sure which committees and chairmanships I would be assigned for this session. Tuesday, the official list came out from Speaker Moore’s office. I was once again assigned to the Committees on Appropriations, Elections, Environment, and Transportation.  New committees for me are Education K-12, Insurance, and Appropriations Committee on Transportation.

The new ones are not entirely new. Having been on the Education Committee for more than two sessions, I was surprised recently to discover that it was divided into three committees: Education K-12, Education – Community Colleges, and Education – Universities. I am happy to be on the K-12 committee. Insurance is new, but I was formerly on a select committee on property insurance in the 2011-2012 session. Also, I had been on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, but it was changed to a full committee instead of a subcommittee.

As for chairmanships, I have two chairmanships and one vice chair. The chairmanships are as Co-Chair of the Transportation Committee and Co-Chair of the Appropriations Committee on Transportation. The Vice Chair position is on the Appropriations Committee.

I was working on several bills to be introduced in the next few weeks. One of them was ready for introduction quickly, as it deals with a subject that many of our citizens have suggested for years. House Bill 8 – Restore Partisan Statewide Judicial Elections returns elections for NC Supreme Court and NC Court of Appeals to the procedure prior to 2004, which required primaries by party for these offices and party designation on the general election ballot. Representative Bert Jones and I were both working on identical bills on this subject, so we collaborated as primary sponsors on House Bill 8. It was filed last Wednesday and sent to the Elections Committee on Thursday. It appears we already have 24 co-sponsors in addition to the four primary sponsors on this bill. This bill will give voters more information about whom they are voting. It will also prevent situations like the 2014 Court of Appeals election in which we had 19 candidates listed for one seat.

There will be dozens and possibly hundreds of bills filed over the next few weeks. I hope to keep readers informed, particularly on those which impact our area.