Winter Weather Freezes Most Legislative Activity

This week at the General Assembly was characterized by committee cancellations and delayed debates as winter weather crippled the Triangle for much of the legislative week.  Although a host of Appropriations Subcommittee meetings were cancelled throughout the week, both chambers managed to squeeze in important committee and floor votes while the weather was cooperating.  The House voted Thursday to give tentative approval to a bill containing provisions related to last year's coal ash legislation and funding for a Board of Education lawsuit just after the Senate had a very full Workforce and Economic Development Committee meeting.

Before the relatively active legislative day on Wednesday, one North Carolina Senate member received both local and national media attention for his social media coverage of having the General Assembly to himself Tuesday.  Referring to himself as a quorum of one, Freshman Senator Jeff Jackson spent the day jokingly describing all of the state policy issues he was able to resolve in the absence of other state lawmakers.  His fictional victories included Medicaid expansion, increasing funding to the state's university system, nonpartisan redistricting reform and of course, outlawing puppy mills.

We expect members of the General Assembly to return to busy schedules and full agendas next week, weather permitting.  Filed Monday, House Bill 89 – Omnibus Economic Development Improvements likely has set the stage for one of the biggest debates of the 2015 legislative session — incentives.  The bill was filed by a group of House members and we expect many other economic development bills this session.

For more information on the legislative session, please call:

--
© 2023 Ward and Smith, P.A. For further information regarding the issues described above, please contact Whitney Campbell Christensen.

This article is not intended to give, and should not be relied upon for, legal advice in any particular circumstance or fact situation. No action should be taken in reliance upon the information contained in this article without obtaining the advice of an attorney.

We are your established legal network with offices in Asheville, Greenville, New Bern, Raleigh, and Wilmington, NC.

Subscribe to Ward and Smith