iPROGRESS MADE ON BUDGET AGREEMENT
North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) said this week that top state lawmakers have agreed to new tax cuts as part of ongoing budget negotiations. According to Moore, he has been meeting with Senate leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) to resolve any outstanding differences over state spending. "We’ve culled that list down some, there’s still probably 100 or 120-some-odd items," he said Thursday. "That’s not many — it’s a $30 billion budget guys! It started off as more. That’s what you call progress, right?"
The chairs of the budget committees from both chambers could meet as early as next week to discuss which spending initiatives will be ultimately eliminated, given that agreements on income tax reductions and the amount of money to set aside as savings have been reached. The tax cuts have been one of the main House-Senate differences holding up a budget that is now a month overdue. The state's fiscal year officially began on July 1.
Some Republican leaders think casinos could help pay for some of the tax cuts they want and, by locating casinos in more rural areas, could add to the rural job base. But there is opposition to the idea within the GOP, particularly from religious conservatives who have moral objections to gambling. Republican lawmakers continue casino negotiations behind closed doors, according to Berger, who declined to provide further details.
Another round of pay raises for teachers and state employees have also been agreed upon by House and Senate negotiators, which is welcome news as the 2023-24 school year begins this month. Companies hoping to pay less tax likely want lawmakers to move quickly, as do the roughly 500,000 uninsured North Carolinians who will be eligible for Medicaid as part of the budget-related Medicaid expansion agreement.
According to statements made on Thursday by both Berger and Moore, the budget negotiations are still ongoing and are expected to continue at least for a couple more weeks. Neither chamber intends to hold any votes next week in order to give top budget writers more time to focus on determining the specifics.
Moore says he's still optimistic that the past-due budget will be approved before the month is out. However, he claims that it won't be ready on August 15 when the House reconvenes in order to override Governor Roy Cooper's veto of limitations on transgender issues such as medical procedures and athletic competition. Since the House must take action before the Senate can vote on most pending vetoes, the Senate won't hold votes until the House approves overrides.
Read more by WRAL News (7/31/23) / WRAL News (8/3/23)
MOORE STEPPING AWAY FROM SPEAKERSHIP IN 2025
Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) recently declared that he would be stepping down as Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives after serving a record-breaking fifth term. Together with Senate leader Phil Berger, he has championed a growth-oriented conservative agenda through the General Assembly and increased GOP seat margins to veto-proof majorities.
He did not provide specifics regarding his future plans, though he did not completely rule out running for re-election to his seat in the North Carolina House. Also, before the 2022 elections, Moore considered running for a congressional seat in a potentially open district west of Charlotte. The likelihood that Moore will run for Congress now increases with the General Assembly's upcoming redistricting of the state's 14 U.S. House districts in time for the 2024 elections.
If House Republicans continue to hold majority control, potential candidates for the position of Speaker include Majority Leader John Bell (R-Wayne), Senior Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee Jason Saine (R-Lincoln), Rules and Operations Committee Chairman Destin Hall (R-Caldwell) and Keith Kidwell (R-Pamlico).
“It’s no secret if the Speaker decides to retire and pursue other options, I would definitely be interested. I’ve had a lot of members in our caucus and also other members within the chamber strongly encourage me to consider that,” said Bell.
“I’m not running,” said Saine. “But I don’t think that anybody truly is at this point. And I really want to see how this shakes out. Until you have that election, my job right now is conference leader. My job is to get us back to a super majority plus some. And that’s really what I’ll be laser-focused on.”
Hall, who is the first millennial to hold a top leadership position, also showed interest in the speakership but was more reserved in his remarks, indicating it was too soon to consider the topic yet. “What I’ll say to that is a number of our members have asked me to consider doing it,” Hall said. “And what I’ve told them is if our current Speaker decides that he doesn’t want to come back, that we’ll take a look at it and there’ll be a time and place for that. We are not there at this point.”
“We need to get back to limited constitutional government,” said Kidwell, one of the most conservative members of the House Republican caucus, of his plan to run.
Republicans will make their selection for House Speaker shortly after the 2024 election and before the next legislative session.
Read more by North State Journal
REGULATION OF HEMP-DERIVED CONSUMABLES
To prevent middle school and high school students from possessing familiar-looking products containing cannabinoid delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), law enforcement officials, and federal agencies are taking action. They claim that it is far too simple for children to pick up a package of THC-laden products and get high off of legal cannabis because the packaging is often similar to that of cookies, chips, and other common after-school snacks. In addition, there are no age restrictions for purchasing the products, which they claim makes it even easier for kids to do.
Representatives Wayne Sasser (R-Montgomery) and Jeff McNeely (R-Iredell) want to change that. During this legislative session, Sasser and McNeely are the primary sponsors of House Bill 563, Regulate Hemp-Derived Consumables & Kratom, and its goal, according to its proponents, is to restrict access to these products by children.
Their proposed legislation to keep delta-8 and other hemp products out of the hands of high school and middle school students adopts a strategy similar to what state and federal agencies have used in recent years to reduce the appeal of e-cigarettes.
Delta-8 THC and other novel cannabinoids would not be prohibited by House Bill 563 in its current form. Instead, the legislation would call for the licensing of producers, sellers, and retailers of goods made from hemp in North Carolina. To ensure that the THC levels are within acceptable limits, each batch of consumable products made from hemp would require testing by a third-party laboratory.
The bill would also require customers to be at least 18 years old to purchase the products. The legislation as it is currently drafted would also outlaw the products on school property and establish rules for packaging and advertising that are less geared toward children. To implement and uphold these regulations, the proposed legislation would allot $2.5 million to Alcohol Law Enforcement.
The law would be applicable to both brick-and-mortar businesses operating in the state as well as online merchants wishing to sell goods in North Carolina. These online merchants, many of whom are based outside of North Carolina, will ship THC products to customers' doorsteps as long as they click a button confirming that they are at least 21 years old — something that is simple for a minor to get around.
What should and should not be a part of the bill are still up for debate. After House Bill 563 was approved with changes on June 21, concerns were raised by the North Carolina Department of Justice in a letter to McNeely and Sasser recommending that the bill increase the minimum age for purchasing THC products to 21 and tighten the advertising restrictions in order to be consistent with federal tobacco and alcohol laws.
Now, late in the legislative session, House Bill 563 is stalled with the bill's July 12 re-referral to the House Finance Committee being the last action.
LEGISLATION TAKING EFFECT ON AUGUST 1
A new set of laws took effect Tuesday, August 1, in North Carolina. Among them are:
- Senate Bill 626 contains a clause that makes it possible for more victims of human trafficking to receive compensation under the Crime Victims Compensation Act. Additionally, certain provisions of the NC General Statutes are amended by the bill to include language specific to crimes involving human trafficking and to impose harsher punishments for rioting and riot incitement. those provisions in the bill come into force On August 1 and December 1, 2023.
Beginning on August 1, the act adds new provisions to Chapter 50D of the N.C. General Statutes, including the ability for victims of human trafficking to request and obtain "permanent civil no-contact orders" against offenders who have been convicted of such offenses. The language pertaining to victims of human trafficking was absent from Chapter 50D in the past.
The legislation, which was proposed by the North Carolina Human Trafficking Commission, also adds people "who patronizes or solicits another person who would otherwise be a victim" of sex trafficking to the list of people who are considered to be guilty of such offenses. The bill’s compensation clause was unanimously approved by both houses of the General Assembly and became law on June 30 after Governor Roy Cooper gave the measure his signature.
- Senate Bill 157 reduces the 12-month period to six months during which a holder of a learner's permit can apply for a limited provisional driver license. SB 157 became law in May without Governor Roy Cooper’s signature. The bill's inclusion of a provision enabling teen drivers to carry an extra passenger in specific situations was the other significant change. Only one under-21 passenger who is not a member of the immediate family may be transported by the teen driver under the current state regulations. If the driver is taking a family member under the age of 21, no extra passengers are permitted.
- Senate Bill 91 would make it a Class A1 misdemeanor, the most serious misdemeanor in North Carolina, for anyone to take part in or organize a street takeover, including activities like racing, burnouts, and "doughnuts." A $1,000 fine is the minimum while vehicle seizures will also be allowed by the police.
- House Bill 193 allows for numerous modifications to the courts. Among other provisions, the bill allows the addition of criteria which a court must find before granting any petition for expunction and change the criteria for an offense to be categorized as a non-violent felony. Specifically, it would remove from the list of violent crimes a felony conviction for breaking and entering a building with the intent to commit any felony or larceny inside the building.
