Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country | Founded 05-05-05

February 8, 2007 issue

Goss, Tarleton Report from Raleigh

Compiled by Kathleen McFadden

Here’s the latest from State Senator Steve Goss and State Representative Cullie Tarleton.

Senator Steve Goss

Homestead Exemption: Goss has been named to a Senate working group tasked with reviewing the state’s homestead exemption laws.

Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight asked Goss to take a lead role on this issue after visiting Goss last month and touring Senate District 45, composed of Alexander, Ashe, Watauga and Wilkes counties. During the visit, Goss expressed concerns about long-term property owners, especially those on fixed incomes, who face high property tax bills because of increased land values driven by the rise of second-home developments in the area.

The working group met for the first time on January 17 and will meet again next week. Basnight said the idea of forming a working group was sparked by his conversations with Goss, who is the only first-term senator on the workgroup.

Sex Offenders: Sex offenders who try to exploit children would face tougher penalties and more jail time under a proposal introduced this week in the North Carolina Senate. Goss co-sponsored the legislation (Senate Bill 17) that builds on the laws passed last year by the General Assembly requiring electronic surveillance of convicted sex offenders and  banning offenders from living near schools and other areas where children congregate.

The proposed legislation, SB 17, includes the following provisions:

• Those convicted of sexual exploitation of a minor would face up to 17 years in prison, and offenders would receive increased prison time for the solicitation of a minor by use of a computer.

• People who present pornographic materials to those who are believed to be minors would face increased criminal penalties, providing a key tool for law-enforcement officers who pose as young people on the Internet to help catch sex offenders.

• Repeat offenders who take indecent liberties with children will face tougher punishments.

For additional info, call Goss at 919-733-5742 or 828-265-2943.

Representative Cullie Tarleton

Mountaineers’ Football: Next Tuesday, the General Assembly will host the Appalachian State University football team to congratulate the players and coaches on winning their second straight national championship. Tarleton introduced and sponsored a resolution honoring the team’s accomplishment.

State Budget: “Number-crunching, a long list of needs, and not enough money to cover everyone’s ‘wish list’ was the theme at early morning briefings this week at the General Assembly,” Tarleton wrote in his Raleigh update. House members will draft and approve a two-year budget during the next five months.

Tarleton reported that although the next budget cycle will be tight, no one is expecting the billion dollar plus budget shortfalls a few years ago, but more in the $200 to $500 million range.

According to Tarleton, at the midway point of the current budget year, the state has collected $285 million more than the $8.7 billion state economists predicted. However, the economy is slowing down, causing the state to collect less tax revenue, and the real estate market is uncertain, all of which could result in a larger budget shortfall.

At the same time, the number of people moving to North Carolina continues to increase, and state expenses—North Carolina is now the 10th largest state in the nation—continue to increase as well because of rising public school enrollment, teacher pay, health care costs and road improvements. According to Tarleton, the state will need approximately $200 million more to educate the new students arriving at North Carolina public schools and universities this fall. Medicaid is expected to grow by 14 percent in the coming years, and the state’s share of Medicaid is currently $2.4 billion, or one-seventh of the annual $19 billion budget.

State Earned Income Tax Credit: Three pieces of legislation have been introduced so far that would provide tax relief to low-income families making less than $37,000 per year through a state Earned Income Tax Credit. The bills (HB 6, HB 51, and SB 7) would provide tax credits equal to 5 percent or 10 percent of the federal income tax credit that was created in 1975. In 2003, 733,000 North Carolina families applied for the federal EITC. Approximately $1.35 billion was returned to families who qualified, with the average family receiving a tax credit of $1,842. If the legislation passes, North Carolina would join 19 other states and the District of Columbia in creating a state version of the federal EITC, providing from $90 to $180 in tax relief for qualifying families.

Other Bills: Among the bills introduced in the House during the last week that Tarleton co-sponsored are the following:

• HB 27, Duty to Report Child Porn, and HB 28, Up Penalties/Sex Offenses with Child Victim, would increase criminal penalties for sex offenders.

• HB 9, School Capital Fund Formula/Lottery Proceeds, would change the current formula for distributing lottery funds to counties for school construction. The original lottery bill that passed in 2005 called for an estimated $170 million each year to be divided among the state’s 100 counties based on the number of students and the county’s property tax rate. HB 9 would distribute lottery funds based on the number of students. Watauga and Ashe would receive more lottery proceeds under this bill.

• HB 44, Domestic Violence Orders/Repeat Violators, would better protect domestic violence victims and increase criminal penalties for abusers.

• HB 23, Funds for Statewide Health Promotion, and HB 25, Funds for Healthy Carolinians, would raise awareness of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer and obesity and discourage physical inactivity, poor nutrition and smoking at health departments across the state.

• HB 24, Smoking in State Govt. Buildings/Prohibition, would prohibit smoking in buildings owned, leased or occupied by state government because of the health risks associated with secondhand smoke. The General Assembly buildings became smoke-free last year.

For additional info, call Tarleton at 919-733-7727 or 828-295-3353.