Pardon Our Dust
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This week, the Governor took action on the four bills that were passed bythe General Assembly when they held a one day session earlier this month,signing two into law and vetoing the other two. The legislature comes backto Raleigh today and will work next week to meet the September 1 courtordered redistricting deadline. Additionally, members of the legislatureand the Governor have been discussing the discharge of the unregulatedchemical GenX in the Cape Fear River and the appropriate course of actionto remedy the situation.
From the Governor’s Desk
Gov. Cooper took action on the following bills this week:
Signed into Law
SB 407: Employee Misclassification/ IC Changes
SB 628: Various Changes to the Revenue Laws
Vetoed
HB 770: Various Clarifying Changes, which Gov. Cooperobjectedto due to two provisions: one that would allow a specific state employee toserve in a paid commission role while taking vacation pay from a state job,and a provision that reduces the number of gubernatorial appointments tothe Medical Board.
SB 16: Regulatory Reform Act of 2017, which Gov. Cooperstatedmakes dangerous rollbacks to regulations protecting water quality.
Both HB 770 and SB 16 are eligible for reconsideration by the GeneralAssembly during next week’s session.
To read more about these pieces of legislation, follow thislink.
What’s Coming Up in NC Politics?
Redistricting Continues
The Joint Select Redistricting Committee will meet next Tuesday for apublic hearing where the committee will have the opportunity to receivefeedback from constituents at the General Assembly and seven remote sitesacross the state. Rep. David Lewis (R-Harnett), chair of the House SelectCommittee on Redistricting, stated that he expects the maps to be releasedby Sunday, with the Redistricting Committee voting on them next Thursday,followed by votes on the House floor next Friday and the following Monday.Once the House votes on the new maps, the Senate will vote on them. Percourt order, new maps must be passed by September 1.
What about GenX?
Throughout the summer, Chemours, a chemical manufacturing company with aplant on the Cape Fear River has been releasing GenX, a chemical compoundthat is used to make items like Teflon, into the river. GenX is notregulated by the federal government and is a fairly recent chemicalinnovation, the health impacts of human exposure to the chemical remainunknown.
Last month, Gov. Cooper urged the federal Environmental Protection Agencyto set limits for the contaminant in aletterand more recentlycalledfor action at the state level to address contamination, includingadditional appropriations to study and monitor GenX. In response to theGovernor’s call-to-action, seven senators sent aletterto the Governor in which they requested him to answer a number of questionsby August 14; the letter went unanswered. This week, House and Senateleadership have stated their intentions to hold hearings.
Dan Barrett Appointed to NC Senate District 34
Republican leaders in Davie, Iredell and Rowan counties have selected DanBarrett, an attorney and Davie County Commissioner, to fill the unexpiredterm of former Sen. Andrew Brock, who resigned at the end of June to accepta legislative appointment to the state’s Board of Review.