Pardon Our Dust
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LEGISLATURE CONVENES FOR FIRST DAY
The North Carolina General Assembly convened for a one day organizational session on Wednesday, January 14, in order to elect their chamber leaders and take the oath of office.
As expected, Senator Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) was elected to his third time as president pro tempore of the Senate.
Representative Tim Moore (R-Cleveland), an attorney from Kings Mountain was elected by the House of Representatives to serve as the Speaker of the House for the biennium. The House Republican Caucus internally elected him as Speaker of the House after the November 2014 election, but he still had to be elected by a simple majority as the Speaker of the House by the entire chamber before it was official. Rep. Tim Moore was one of five House Republicans who vied for the top post after former Speaker Thom Tillis (R-NC), who served as N.C. Speaker of the House from 2011-2014, announced that he would run for the United States Senate.
Only one piece of substantial legislation was filed on the one day session, House Bill 3 – Eminent Domain. The bill, filed by Rep. Chuck McGrady (R-Henderson), would place an eminent domain constitutional amendment on the May 3, 2016 primary election ballot, if approved by both chambers of the General Assembly.
Legislators will not reconvene again until Wednesday, January 28. The two-week disruption gives lawmakers the time to draft and file legislation, as well as prepare and set up committees. In a press conference on Wednesday, chamber leaders Sen. Berger and Speaker Moore said that some of the top issues they will tackle in 2015 include Medicaid reform, job creation policies, and the budget.
LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS
Click here to view the 2015-2016 Senate committee assignments.
At time of publication, the House has not released the 2015-2016 committee assignments.
A REFRESHER NORTH CAROLINA ETHICS & LOBBYING LAWS
The following presentation was released by the State Ethics Commission in order to educate lobbyists, lobbyist principals and other interested parties on lobbying laws and the State Ethics Act.
The presentation includes the following vital information: the gift ban and gift ban exceptions, lobbying law requirements and restrictions, lobbyist registration, reporting requirements, and violation consequences.
Presentation: Lobbying Education
Please contact the Raleigh McGuireWoods Consulting team if you have any questions or comments:
Harry Kaplan, Senior Vice President
hkaplan@mwcllc.com
Jeff Barnhart, Senior Vice President
jbarnhart@mwcllc.com
Franklin Freeman, Senior Vice President
ffreeman@mwcllc.com
John Merritt, Senior Vice President
jmerritt@mwcllc.com
Johnny Tillett, Senior Vice President
jtillett@mwcllc.com
Kerri Burke, Vice President
kburke@mwcllc.com
Bo Heath, Vice President
dbheath@mwcllc.com
Jillian Totman, Assistant Vice President
jtotman@mwcllc.com
Sarah Wolfe, Assistant Vice President
swolfe@mwcllc.com
Katy Feinberg, Vice President, MWCAdvocacy
kfeinberg@mwcllc.com