Legislative Update from Rep. Frank Iler – Feb. 28, 2011
The budget was on everybody’s mind and their agenda last week. We received the Governor’s budget the previous Thursday, so every morning at 8:30; all six of the joint appropriations sub-committees were meeting to work on the House version of the budget. As a member of the House Appropriations Sub-committee on Transportation, we are slightly different from the committees working on the General Fund budget. We have a huge challenge to make the transportation dollars cover as many of the needs as possible. Being a joint committee, the House and the Senate meet together so Senator Rabon and I are both in attendance for these meetings.
A very hotly debated bill, House Bill 2 – Protect Health Care Freedom, passed the Senate and came back to the House for concurrence. It passed 69 – 49 and moved to the Governor’s desk on Thursday. This is the bill that challenges the constitutionality of the individual mandates of the federal “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.”
House Bill 7 – Community Colleges/Opt Out of the Federal Loan Program was heard in the House Education Committee, of which I am a member. This legislation would allow a local Community College Board of Trustees to decide whether or not to participate in the Ford Federal Student Loan Program. Without this bill, they would be required by July 1st to participate. There were concerns of the strings attached and the possibility of defaults by the students, as well as the availability of sufficient grants and loans already in place. I supported this bill. After almost two hours of debate, it passed and went to the House floor Wednesday. However, a companion bill in the Senate, SB74, which is identical, may cross over and be voted on this week.
Senate Bill 8 – No Cap on Number of Charter Schools passed the Senate on Thursday and should be in the House early this week. The bill should go to the Education Committee and then to the House floor for a vote, possibly this week.
Local bills of interest were filed by me last week:
House Bill 140 – Oak Island/Recall Officials was filed Monday and referred to the Committee on Government. The bill would require a referendum in November, a vote by the citizens of Oak Island on whether or not to amend the town charter to allow a recall vote of elected town officials.
House Bill 167 – Extend Assessment Refund Period was filed Thursday by myself and Rep. Hill. This is a statewide bill, but was filed at the request of Boiling Spring Lakes. It would allow more time for a town to refund unused assessments collected for a capital project that has been taken over by another entity. It changes the assessment date from prior to 2007 to 2012.