Last week, the North Carolina General Assembly considered legislative measures on everything from eliminating the state gas tax to extending economic incentives to private companies. The House and Senate adjourned late Thursday afternoon and will return to session Monday evening.
Economy and Economic Development
CHARLOTTE OBSERVER: Rep. Charles Jeter Would Replace NC Gas
Tax with $201 Annual Fee
Tired of the gasoline tax? It would go away under a bill introduced
this week by a Mecklenburg County lawmaker. But Rep. Charles Jeter,
a Huntersville Republican, would replace it with an annual fee of
$201.
WRAL: Senior Medical Tax Deduction Could
Return.
House lawmakers are debating whether to resurrect a state tax
deduction for medical expenses for senior citizens after being
deluged with calls and messages from constituents reeling from
sticker shock. House Bill 46, sponsored by Rep. Rick Catlin, (R-New
Hanover), would reinstate the deduction beginning with the
2015 tax year. It was discussed but not voted on at a meeting of
the House Aging Committee on Wednesday afternoon.
NEWS & OBSERVER: NC Senate Plan Would Shift Sales Tax Money
to Rural Areas
Leaders in the state Senate are crafting a plan that would shift
millions in sales tax revenues from urban and coastal counties to
more rural areas across North Carolina, according to interviews and
documents. The full plan has not been disclosed publicly, but
Senate Majority Leader Harry Brown (R-Jacksonville) is expected to
file legislation soon.
Education
WRAL: Senate Proposal Would Eliminate Personal
Education Plans
Senate Bill 272, filed by Sens. Jerry Tillman,
R-Randolph, and Tom Apodaca, R-Henderson, would still require
teachers to identify students at risk of academic failure. But they
would no longer be required to write a detailed report on the
student's needs and the teacher's plans to meet them. The
bill would not affect Individualized Education Plans, which are
federally required for all special-needs students.
Energy
WINSTON SALEM JOURNAL: N.C. House Changes Air Pollution Rules on
Fracking
Under the proposed change in House Bill 157, the N.C. Environmental
Management Commission would establish air pollution rules only if
it deemed inadequate the current state and federal rules on air
emissions that come from a shale-gas drilling method known as
fracking. The fracking provision in the bill would change an
existing mandate established by the General Assembly in 2012.
Healthcare
GREENSBORO NEWS & RECORD: Guilford Officials Confident County Will Clear Medicaid Backlog . The Guilford County Department of Social Services won’t meet an internal target of March 31 to clear a backlog of Medicaid cases created when the state switched to a new software processing system. The backlog — about 34,000 cases — is a side effect of the implementation of NC FAST, a software system that processes food stamp and Medicaid applications.
In The Courts
CHARLOTTE OBSERVER: Former NC Autopsy Aide Loses Whistleblower
Suit
A former autopsy technician who said he was forced to
resign because he told investigators that a state pathologist
mishandled murder evidence has lost his whistleblower case.
Administrative law judge Fred Morrison Jr. ruled Thursday that
Kevin Gerity of Raleigh failed to prove that state officials
targeted him after Gerity complained that North Carolina’s
deputy chief medical examiner never turned in a bullet from a 2011
autopsy.
Transportation
NEWS & OBSERVER: N.C. House Oks Tougher DWI Laws The first measure, House Bill 32 would lower the threshold for a habitual drunken driving charge. The current law applies to drivers charged four or more times within 10 years. The other proposal, House Bill 31, addresses restrictions on convicted drunken drivers with license restrictions--typically first offenders. The bill passed in a 110-4 vote and will go to the Senate.
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