This week is particularly busy at the legislature. In order for bills to continue to be considered, they must be successfully voted out of either the Senate or House of Representatives. Bills that have substantial financial implications are exempt from the so called "crossover" deadline. So lawmakers push, pull, cajole, deal and whine in order to get their bill voted out of committee and onto the floor of their chamber.
As you can imagine, the liberal leadership of the legislature also makes sure that no conservative legislation that may result in an embarrassing vote is ever heard on the floor. Occasionally, some bills that could potentially be considered conservative manage to sneak by.
The NC Senate got an early start on Wednesday, May 13th and heard more than 60 separate bills. Notable votes include the following:
SB 11 District Attorneys Concealed Weapons in Courthouse (Approved)
SB 69 Set Rates for Wrecker Service Dispatched by Highway Patrol (Approved)
SB 461 The Racial Justice Act which would make it harder to sentence minority murderers to death. (there was an interesting amendment proposed that was a clarification to the medical board for their past meddling in the carrying out the death penalty that caused a sudden recess to be called and a hasty caucus of Senate Democrats. They apparently decided to support the amendment since it passed by a vote of 37 to 11.)(Approved)
SB 811 Fuel Rationing Authority for the Governor (Approved)
SB 920 Probation Reforms (Approved)
SB 1018 Ban the Use of Plastic Shopping Bags (Approved)
SB 928 The Castle Doctrine (removes the duty to retreat when attacked and authorizes deadly force.)(Approved)
The NC House started later than the Senate but worked late into the night with a calendar of well over 90 bills and adjourned at 10:35 PM. Bills of note include:
HB 2 Final Concurrence to Ban Smoking in Public (Approved)
HB 593 Allows Schools to Start Earlier in August (Approved)
HB 813 Changes Contributory Negligence in Civil Claims (lots of lawyers arguing on this one)(Approved)
HB 856 Increases Number of Charter Schools (but also sets up a process to close them)(Approved)
HB 885 Restricts Pro-Life Protests on Public Streets (Approved)
HB1353 The Clothesline Preservation Act (Seriously)(Approved)
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