Legislative Update from Rep. Iler – June 19, 2023
The last two weeks at the North Carolina General Assembly saw us in brief but significant voting sessions while mid- to upper-level budget negotiations were taking place. However, most of our standing House committees were meeting to handle many bills that had come over from the Senate. The same was happening with House bills in the Senate. Some of our major votes were on a sports wagering bill, an elections bill, and an energy bill.
House Bill 347 – Sports Wagering/Horse Racing Wagering was back in the House from the Senate, where the horse racing piece had been added to the original on-line betting bill. It was an up or down vote to concur (approve what the Senate had done). As the amateur and college sports were still in it, I could not support it. It passed 69 – 44 on the final vote and went to the Governor, who signed it last week.
House Bill 475 – Revise Certain Ballot & 48-Hour Report Requirements enlarges the font size on ballots and raises the amount from $1000 to $2000 for the required candidate instant reporting within the last few weeks before an election due to inflation. It passed the House 77 – 38 and went to the Senate. I am a co-sponsor of this bill.
House Bill 130 – Energy Choice/Solar Decommissioning Requirements limits cities and counties from prohibiting energy service to consumers based on the source of the energy and requires safe disposal of decommissioned solar panels. It passed 74 – 36 in the House. Having passed the Senate 36 – 7 it went to the Governor. Rep. Miller was a primary sponsor of this bill.
Budget discussions are continuing at the highest level, still with the goal of completing it by June 30th. Having time off on the weekends, I was able to hear Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida speak in Greensboro and our Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson right here in Brunswick County.