Legislative Update from Rep. Frank Iler – April 17, 2017
Last week at the North Carolina House of Representatives we had a record number of bills filed, we met constantly in committees with full agendas, and had two long floor sessions before adjourning for an Easter break.
The number of bills filed in the House almost doubled last week in just the two days we were in Raleigh. With the filing deadline coming last Tuesday, the number of bills filed is up to over 850. As many know, about half of the bills are usually heard, and less than a third pass the House and Senate. I have filed five bills the last few weeks. The Senate was filing bills at a fast pace also.
Again last week we had committee meetings every hour, back to back and sometimes at the same time. One can be required to attend one committee while also required to present a bill for approval in another committee. Our House Transportation Committee, which I chaired, had seven bills on the announced agenda, but two were removed by the bill sponsors, so we heard five. These bills either are referred directly to the House floor or to another committee, such as Finance.
Our House floor sessions on Monday and Tuesday lasted between three and four hours each day. Many bills coming from the committees were added to the calendar and voted up or down on the floor. The most controversial bills were House Bill 467 – Agriculture and Forestry Nuisance Remedies on Monday and Senate Bill 68 – Bipartisan Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement. HB – 467 limits the amount of compensatory damages a plaintiff can receive for a temporary nuisance from a neighboring property, such as a hog farm. They can still get unlimited punitive damages, as well as injunctive relief, damages for trespass, environmental issues, and strict liability. In layman’s terms, this affected only one type of a half dozen forms of damages for which one can sue. It was an effort to relieve defendants from repetitive temporary nuisance suits rather than permanent nuisances. This bill passed 68 – 47, and now goes to the Senate.
SB – 68 came back to the House for a concurrence vote, as it had been in a conference committee to work out the differences between the House and senate versions. It reorganizes the State Board of Elections to make it equal by political party, rather than the current system in which it is dominated by the Governor’s party. It also includes the state ethics commission and lobbying oversight into the same board under the SBOE. It passed 71 – 43 in the House and 29 – 13 in the Senate and went to the Governor on Tuesday.
After a week’s work in two days we were released for a six day Easter break, returning this Wednesday. I hope everyone had a good Easter. I know many people were at the coast in Brunswick County enjoying the beautiful beach weather.