Representative Frank Iler – Frank Iler for NC House – Frank Iler Campaign – Elect Frank Iler – Brunswick County – NC – North Carolina

OAK ISLAND, N.C. – State Representative Frank Iler (R-Brunswick) held a series of kickoff events over the past week at which he confirmed that that he will seek a second full term in 2012.  The events were held in the Southport-Oak Island area, Shallotte and the Ocean Isle beach area.  Iler, a retired businessman who lives on Oak Island with his wife, Jackie, indicated that he plans to file for re-election on Monday, February 13.

“Over the past two years, I have worked hard to represent the people of Brunswick County and bring long overdue conservative leadership to our state,” said Iler.  “We have accomplished a great deal since Republicans became the majority party in the State House less than two years ago, but it takes more than two years to clean up a mess that took 140 years to create.  There is still much work left to be done.”

Rep. Iler highlighted a number of specific accomplishments, including:

• Balancing the budget while reducing citizens’ sales tax and income tax burden;
• Reducing burdensome regulations that have held our businesses back and stifled job creation;
• Passing a budget that puts education dollars in the classroom, not in the pockets of bureaucrats;
• Eliminating the cap on public charter schools;
• Passing a bill that would protect North Carolinians from the individual mandate in ObamaCare; this bill was vetoed by the Democrat governor;
• Passing legislation to protect homeowners from forced annexation;
• Passing a bill to protect property owners from eminent domain abuse; this bill is now pending in the State Senate;
• Supporting the referendum allowing citizens to vote to protect the definition of marriage as a union of one man and one woman; the Marriage Protection Amendment will appear on the May 8 primary ballot.

“Representing the people of Brunswick County in Raleigh is both a great honor and a tremendous responsibility – a responsibility I take very seriously,” says Iler.  “I respectfully ask the good people of Brunswick County for their vote and support as we continue our work to restore fiscal sanity and responsibility to our state government.”

Dear Friends,

It has been an honor to serve the good people of Brunswick County in the N.C. House of Representatives since mid-2009.

In recent weeks several people have asked whether I plan to seek re-election in 2012, with some indicating that they had heard rumors I would not run again.  Those rumors are incorrect.

It is my intention to seek re-election in 2012, and I plan to make a formal announcement early in the New Year.

If you would like to help me close out the year strong and prepare for 2012, you can do so by clicking here to make a financial contribution to my campaign committee.  I greatly appreciate the support so many of you have shown me in the past, and I need your continued support as we move into 2012.

I greatly appreciate your support and friendship.  I look forward to the continued opportunity to represent Brunswick County in the State House.

Sincerely,

Frank Iler

Civitas Action annually ranks House members based on their “Conservative Effectiveness” through a system that is derived by analyzing votes on important legislation.

Civitas Action ranked Rep. Frank Iler the ninth most effective of the 120 members in the N.C. House.

“This type of recognition is validation that I am working to keep our promises in Raleigh,” said Rep. Iler.  “We have been working to responsibly ‘right-size’ state government and lessen the tax and regulatory burden in an effort to make North Carolina more conducive to job-creation.  I am pleased by the positive recognition of my conservative voting record on these and other issues.”

The American Conservative Union (ACU), a leading voice on national grassroots conservative issues, recently rated North Carolina’s state legislature based on their analysis of critical issues.

Based on those ratings, Rep. Frank Iler was given the “Defender of Liberty” award for scoring 100% on the ACU 2011 State Legislative Rankings.

Last week in the North Carolina General Assembly was devoted almost entirely to voting to override the Governor’s veto on some of the key bills that we had passed and voting on the redistricting maps for the U.S. Congress, the N.C. House and N.C. Senate.  There were actually few bills on which to vote, but many votes on attempted amendments to them.

First, on Monday, we took votes on three bills that had been vetoed.  These bills could not be amended at this point, but were debated at length.  Senate Bill 33 – Medical Liability Reforms, which will relieve doctors of some of the high liability insurance costs which they have had to pay, passed 74 – 42, more than the required three-fifths or 72 votes.  As it had already passed the Senate by 35 – 12, it became law.  Senate Bill 781 – Regulatory Reform Act of 2011, passed 76 – 42.  It had passed the Senate by 48 – 0, so it also became law.  Senate Bill 496 – Medicaid and Health Choice Provider Requirements, passed the House 74 – 41 and the Senate 47 – 1, and became law.

Also on Monday, the House took up the new districts for N.C. House members, based on the 2010 census.  House Bill 937, as it is known, along with the new maps for the 120 districts, passed 66 – 53.  It had passed the Senate 28 – 19 and is not subject to a veto from the Governor, but it now has to be cleared under the Federal Voting Rights Act before becoming law.

Three additional veto override votes were taken up Tuesday.  House Bill 854 – Abortion – Woman’s Right to Know Act, provides for a 24 hour waiting period and access to an ultra-sound prior to an abortion.  It passed 72 – 47 in the House and later 29 – 19 in the Senate, so it became law over the Governor’s veto.  Senate Bill 532 – Employment Security Commission/Job Reform passed 72 – 47 in the House and 31 – 17 in the Senate and became law.

The only veto override vote taken that was not successful was House Bill 351 – Restore Confidence in Government, which includes the requirement for a photo I.D. to vote.  The vote was 68 – 51, strictly on party lines, so the override failed to get the required 72 votes.

On Wednesday we voted on the Senate redistricting plan, Senate Bill 455, and passed it 67 – 52.  We also voted on Congressional districts, Senate Bill 453, and they passed 68 – 51. They are not subject to a Governor’s veto, but must be cleared by the Federal government. All three of the redistricting bills had several amendments, which were voted down.  All three passed the Senate by a substantial party line vote.

We adjourned on Thursday.  It seemed in many ways like a short week, since most of us were not required to be in Raleigh the previous weeks while committees and map-drawers were preparing the bills and maps for us.  However, it was historic not only due to the number of veto overrides, but also due to the drawing of districts by the current majority party for the first time in 140 years in the North Carolina legislature.  Another short session this year is planned for mid-September to consider constitutional amendments and other veto overrides.

After more than a month away from regular business in Raleigh, this week it is time to return for scheduled votes in House floor sessions.  The past two weeks have been taken up with “skeleton sessions” and no votes so that bills could be read in and sent to committee.  The biggest issues have dealt with redistricting of the Congressional districts (13), the N.C. Senate districts (50), and the N.C. House districts (120).  The House and Senate redistricting committees met for long hours last week in preparation for floor action this week.  The other big issues involve the Governor’s vetoes and whether we can override them.

A lot of attention has been focused on the Congressional district.  In the first draft map the district was a coastal district, running from Robeson County to Brunswick and up the coast to Carteret County.  Last week, the second draft came out and had taken away Carteret, Onslow, and Robeson Counties and had added Johnston and Lenoir Counties, running up to the southern suburbs of Raleigh and up to Kinston.  Needless to say, there was much conversation and consternation over these changes.  This week will determine if we can change or vote for the district.

The original map of Brunswick County with N.C. House districts 17 and 18 came out with several towns and precincts split that raised some eyebrows and tempers.  The towns of Southport and Leland were split. The Mosquito precinct which includes St. James, Winding River, River Run, and Sunset Harbor was divided in a way that your representative’s house on Oak Island was isolated from much of his district (House District 17) on the western side of the county.

After appearing at the public hearing in Wilmington last Monday and a trip to Raleigh for face-to-face meetings, I was able to get some changes made to remedy these situations.  The map we are considering today (Monday) has all of Southport back in the district, as well as all of the Mosquito precinct and Boiling Spring Lakes.  Leland is in District 18, as it is close to the main part of the district in Wilmington, except for a few neighborhoods on the southern end of Highway 133.  Seven precincts in the north and central county will be in District 18, as it had to be made up of 30,000 Brunswick County residents and 48,000 from New Hanover County.

The Governor’s vetoes that we are taking up this week include the voter I.D. bill, House Bill 351 – Restore Confidence in Government and Senate Bill 33 – Medical Liability Reform, which should lower healthcare costs.  Others include House Bill 854 – Abortion – Woman’s Right to Know, Senate Bill – Regulatory Reform Act of 2011, and Senate Bill 709 – Energy Jobs Act.

Just when we thought the legislative calendar couldn’t be fuller, our leadership decided that we would finish the long session last week.  So the calendar filled up with more than 200 bills and we stayed six days instead of the usual four with some sessions lasting until midnight.

The Tuesday session was the first to go to midnight and beyond.  After the Governor vetoed the 2011 – 2013 budget, House Bill 200 – Appropriations Act of 2011, we had to wait until Wednesday to vote to override her veto.  We adjourned just before midnight and convened at 12:05 Wednesday morning.  At 12:18 the override vote was taken and had the required three-fifths margin at 73 – 46.  All Republicans and five Democrats voted to override.  This was the first time in state history that the budget had been vetoed, and the first time that it was overridden.  The budget is now law and becomes effective July 1st.  The one cent temporary sales tax that was implemented in 2009 will expire, saving taxpayers over $1 billion per year.  Classroom teachers are fully funded, and various departments in Raleigh will have to tighten their belts just like families and small businesses have been forced to do over the past several years.

Many bills that are important to our area passed last week in including Senate Bill 110 – Permit Terminal Groins. If the Governor signs this bill, beach communities will be able to protect their inlets and prevent beach erosion caused by dredging at the inlets.  Only four groins are permitted statewide with strict rules and no state funds will be allowed for these projects.

House Bill 351 – Restore Confidence in Government passed 62 – 51 with several members absent.  This is the legislation that requires a photo I.D. to vote.  It is anticipated that the Governor may veto it this bill.

House Bill 650 – Amend Various Gun Laws/Castle Doctrine reduces liability of someone defending their home, and changes some of the laws concerning where a gun can be carried with a concealed carry permit.  This bill passed 80 – 39 with my voting for it.

Several bills dealt with energy development, but the biggest one that passed was Senate Bill 709 – Energy Jobs Act.  This bill will accelerate the exploration for all energy sources in North Carolina, and make sure that the citizens benefit from it through royalties to the state.  The legislation includes safeguards for the environment and requires funds for potential accidents.

Annexation has been on everyone’s mind recently.  Two bills passed last week give areas being annexed more of a voice in these decisions that impact them so profoundly.  House Bill 845 – Annexation Reform Act of 2011 requires a petition be offered to the area being annexed and if 60% of the property owners sign the petition against annexation, it is stopped for at least three years.  The bill includes requirements on services being offered and other protective provisions.  It passed 104-5.  House Bill 56 – Local Annexations Subject to 60% Petition names certain annexations in progress, including Southport, and requires them to comply with the 60% petition provision as in the new reform bill HB845.  HB 56 passed 73-38.  A similar Senate bill, SB 27, also passed.  HB 845 is subject to the Governor’s veto but the local bills are not.

Senate Bill 214 – Transportation Map Corridors/Condemnation requires a shorter time period between the time DOT files a corridor map and the time the agency must acquire the property.  This should leave property owners and developers with less of a burden on their property.  The bill passed 114 – 2.

Even though the long session adjourned on Saturday, the General Assembly plans to return to Raleigh in mid-July to vote on redistricting and consider veto overrides.  The district maps are currently being studied for state House and Senate, as well as U.S. Congress, and are subject to change many times before we vote on them.  So, this newsletter may take a break until then.

Last week in the General Assembly was “crossover week”.  The bills that were voted out of one chamber by Thursday, June 9th, could cross over to the other chamber for consideration.  Those that didn’t make it are dead for this session.  It was hectic with packed committee meetings and long floor sessions, one lasting 10 hours up to midnight Wednesday.

Several of the bills that made it to the floor and were passed were very controversial and had taken weeks or months of hearings, committee votes, and reworking to get to this point.  Two of those passed Thursday afternoon:

• House Bill 351 – Restore Confidence in Government is the “voter ID” bill that requires a photo identification card to be shown when one goes to vote.  It had been through months of hearings and committee meetings, and was still debated for almost two hours on the floor.  It passed 66 – 48 with a party line vote with a few members absent or not voting.  As most of you know, I have supported this concept for years.  27 states already have voter ID.
• Senate Bill 8 – No Cap on Number of Charter Schools has been around since the second day of the session back on January 27th.  This legislation has gone through many rewrites and amendments and has been from the Senate to the House, back to the Senate, and to a conference committee.  The first vote in the House back in April was 68 – 51 along party lines.  The bill that came back for a vote Thursday had been simplified from over thirty pages to three.  It completely removes the cap, allows 20% growth in individual school enrollment, and leaves the chartering procedure much like it is now instead of being controlled by a separate commission.  It won wide consensus and passed by a vote of 108 – 5.  I voted for it every time.

Many other important bills on education, voting and other subjects were passed last week:

• HB 452 – Judicial Election Changes will identify candidates in the judges’ races by party, as they were prior to 2004.  It also eliminates taxpayer financing of the council of state races.  It passed 67 – 50 on a party line vote with my voting for it.
• HB 36 – Employers/Gov’t Contractors Must Use E-verify requires employers to certify by means of the E-verify web-based system the citizenship status of their employees.  It passed 68 – 43 with some bi-partisan support.  I voted for it.
• HB 650 – Amend Various Gun Laws/Castle Doctrine provides protections when someone is defending his/her home or workplace, and further defines where a weapon may be carried.  It passed 77 – 39 with my voting for it.
• HB 744 – Safe Students Act basically states that a child’s age must be established by an acceptable document before entering public school and that immunization records must be provided.  I voted for it and it passed 77 – 27 with a few members absent.
• HB 344 – Tax Credits for Children with Disabilities provides a tax credit up to $3000 per semester for parents who move their disabled/special needs child to a private school.  It was controversial, but passed 73 – 39 with bipartisan support.  I voted for it.

With almost 150 bills moving through our floor sessions this week, it is difficult to list all that I would like.  However, if I have left off a favorite of yours, please go to the General Assembly web site at www.ncleg.net for more information.

On Sunday, the Governor vetoed the budget HB 200 – Appropriations Act of 2011. It was so similar to her budget that one has to wonder if her real objection is that it doesn’t contain the penny sales tax that she promised was temporary and would cost NC taxpayers $1 billion a year.  We hope to override her veto this week.

It was hot in Raleigh last week and promises to be even hotter this week and I’m not just referring to the weather.   It seemed that bills were coming through committees by the dozens and we took up almost 100 on the House floor.  The Senate continued debating and voted on the 2011 – 2013 budget on Tuesday and Wednesday.  The budget passed 31 – 19 in the Senate early Thursday and was read on the House floor later that day.  We debated and voted on second reading in a special Friday session.  After several hours of debate, the budget bill passed 73 – 44.  Since it had to be voted on two separate days, we adjourned at 11:30 Friday night and reconvened at 12:10 Saturday morning.  The final vote of 73 – 45 was at 12:20 a.m.  I was on the road to Oak Island at 12:30.  The Governor received the budget later on Saturday.  She has 10 days to sign the bill, veto it, or allow the bill to become law.

Many critical bills came through the House last week:

HB – 709 Protect and Put North Carolina Back To Work reforms the workers’ compensation laws to clean up the workers’ comp. system and make the state competitive with other states as we try to attract businesses.  The bill passed 110 – 3.

HB – 659 Capital Procedure/Severe Mental Disability was one of those bills that sounds good on the surface.  People with severe mental disabilities should have that considered as part of their trial or sentencing in a murder trial.  However, if this can be used to nullify the death penalty over the definition of “severe” or the timing of the mental problem prior to the homicide, then it may not be desirable.  The District Attorneys across the state found out about this bill at the last minute, and took a unified stand against it.  I called our DA Jon David, and he got back to me immediately.  I voted against the bill, but it passed 84 – 31.  We hope the Senate will take a more critical look at it.

HB – 165 Planned Community and Condominium Act Amendments changes the disclosure laws, so that buyers will be more informed about what the HOA/POA rules are before they purchase a property.  Other changes give the property owners more power in their dealings with their HOA or POA.  It passed 114 – 0.

HB – 810 Consumer Finance Act Amendments changes the length of terms (years) that consumer loan companies may loan money, allows additional fees, and is intended to provide credit to more people.  It is controversial, since some think it is predatory lending and others believe it is better than loan sharks.  It passed 61 – 54 with bipartisan votes and I voted the bill.

HB – 503 Nutrition Standards/All Foods Sold at School attempts to tell local school districts what nutrition content not only cafeteria and vending foods may have, but also what other foods such as class parties and fund-raisers may sell or serve.  Some of us thought that this was the “nanny state” gone too far. The legislation passed 91 – 24 with my voting against it.

HB – 855 Personal Learning Plan For Each Child was another education bill that was controversial, but passed 105 – 9.  This bill creates an opportunity for school districts to set up a computer program so that a child in grades 6 – 12 can plan his/her own path to graduation.  After setting it up, it is intended to be student/parent controlled with minimal work for the educators.  Legislators are hopeful that the Student Government Associations can assist with this effort.