NCACC Weekly Update — May 27, 2022 | Eastern North Carolina Now

News Release:

    Notable Activity

    The 2022 legislative short session began in earnest this week and legislators wasted no time taking up a wide variety of issues ranging from Medicaid expansion and a Parents' Bill of Rights regarding educational and health issues for students in public schools to regulatory reform and the annual Farm Act.

    The Senate reversing its long-held position against Medicaid expansion this week garnered the most attention at the General Assembly. The bill, House Bill 149 Expanding Access to Healthcare, would expand Medicaid coverage to around 600,000 North Carolinians, but also amends Certificate of Needs laws and creates requirements for telehealth. Although the bill passed several Senate committees this week and appears to be set to gain full Senate approval next week, leadership in the House has indicated there is not currently support for the bill in that chamber and the issue may need to wait until the 2023 long session.

    The Senate also grabbed headlines this week with the introduction of House Bill 755 Parents' Bill of Rights. Similar to legislation recently approved in other states, the legislation, among other things, prohibits instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in grades kindergarten through third. The bill also provides for various other parental rights related to the education, health, privacy, and safety of their child. The bill passed several Senate committees this week, but it is unclear if the House will take up the legislation. Governor Cooper signaled his opposition to the bill this week, setting up the first possibility of the first veto of the short session should the bill reach his desk.

    House leadership reiterated its intention to "pre-conference" the 2022 short session budget with the Senate in hopes of coming to an agreement on the spending plan more quickly. It is possible that budget sub-committees will begin meeting as early as next week.

    In addition to the legislation discussed above, the General Assembly also considered legislation impacting counties, as outlined below.

    Action Items

    Senate Bill 762 North Carolina Farm Act of 2022

    Senate Bill 762 North Carolina Farm Act of 2022 - the legislation includes two provisions of particular interest and varying impact on counties. Section 5. (a.) makes changes to tax collection statutes in an effort to ensure that, in the event a property with a conservation easement attached is foreclosed on, the easement conveys with the property.

    NCACC understands the need to preserve conservation efforts. However, as written, this change potentially erodes property tax liens-a critical tool in ensuring the collection of this important revenue source for counties and has the additional unintended consequence of prioritizing conservation easements over other easements. NCACC is working with stakeholders to develop compromise language.

    Additionally, the bill broadens current present use value language to include the boarding of horses. While the impact of this legislation may be small state-wide, individual counties may feel this change more acutely.

    If this is the case in your county, please contact NCACC Director of Government Relations Amber Harris at amber.harris@ncacc.org as well as your legislators. This legislation is moving quickly and is anticipated to be heard on the Senate floor on Tuesday.

    Other Bills of Note

    House Bill 370 Veterans Employment Act

    House Bill 370 Veterans Employment Act - among other things, authorizes cities and counties to enter into intergovernmental support agreements with military installations. The bill gained approval in several Senate committees this week and will likely be on the Senate floor for full Senate consideration early next week.

    House Bill 911 Regulatory Reform Act 2.0

    House Bill 911 Regulatory Reform Act 2.0 - among other things, broadens the exclusion from public records disclosure for detailed plans and drawings of public buildings and infrastructure facilities to include detailed plans and drawings contained in information storage systems or geographic information system (GIS) databases. Furthermore, it would exclude from disclosure as a public record the specific engineering, vulnerability, or detailed design information about proposed or existing critical infrastructure (both physical and virtual) for energy utilities. The bill gained approval in several Senate committees this week and will likely be on the Senate floor for full Senate consideration early next week.


   Contact: NCACC
   Email: communications@ncacc.org