February 12, 2009 Issue
Tarleton, Goss Introduce Bills in 2009-10 General Assembly Session
In their recent legislative reports, State Representative Cullie Tarleton and State Senator Steve Goss have emphasized the state’s budget problems, with Goss commenting, “…the cumulative effect of the recession on government at all levels is stark.”
Goss wrote that he will take the following actions concerning legislation: “My first question in addressing any proposed change in law and any new or proposed reduction in state expenditures will be, ‘How will this impact day-to-day lives in the district? If the impact on families is negative, I will oppose the action. If the impact is to make life more difficult for my constituents, I will oppose the action.
“With every current or proposed state action coming under my review, I will ask ‘Is this action absolutely necessary?’ And further, ‘What is the evidence that the lives of my constituents are made better by this act?’ If the answer to the first question is no, and if the evidence of results is unclear, I will question the continuation of the activity.
“In every state program coming under my review from education to transportation, etc., I will ask the question, ‘What, from highest to lowest, are the programs of highest priority in each state office?’ For those of lowest priority, I will ask, ‘Why do we need to continue to invest resources in this activity?’”
Within the first two days of the General Assembly’s 2009-10 session that convened on January 28, Tarleton reported, legislators filed more than 40 bills. Several more have been introduced since then.
Tarleton is currently the primary sponsor of seven bills, three of them calling for appropriations:
• HB 13: A $25,000 appropriation for Horn in the West
• HB 14: An act that would prevent health insurers from charging a higher co-pay for chiropractic services than for primary care physician services for a comparable condition
• HB 15: A $600,000 appropriation to fund two additional military family assistance centers
• HB 27: An act that would regulate the euthanasia of animals and prohibit the following methods: intracardial injection or heartstick; use of succinycholine chloride, curare, curariform mixtures, or any substance that acts as a neuromuscular blocking agent; electrocution; blow to the head by metal bolt or other instrument; drowning; and use of a firearm
• HB 37: A $44 million appropriation to fully fund bonuses earned by public school employees during the 2007-08 school year in accordance with the ABCs of Public Education Program
• HB 42: A requirement that local boards of education certify to the State Board of Education that high school science laboratories are equipped with appropriate personal protective equipment for students and teachers and that students studying to be science teachers receive adequate instruction in lab safety
• HB 61: An act that would permit employers with fewer than 50 employees to make semimonthly sales tax payments
Tarleton has co-sponsored seven additional bills, including an act to prohibit smoking in public and work places and an act to prohibit texting while driving. Tarleton commented on his co-sponsorship of the smoking bill in his legislative letter: “The bill would allow local governments to adopt local laws governing smoking within their jurisdictions that are more restrictive than the state law. I have co-sponsored this bill because I strongly support it. I expect to be actively involved in getting it passed this session. The dangers of second hand smoke are now indisputable.”
Goss is currently the primary sponsor of eight bills, one of them an appropriation:
• SB 17: A $44 million appropriation to fully fund bonuses earned by public school employees during the 2007-08 school year in accordance with the ABCs of Public Education Program
• SB 18: Amendments to the North Carolina cemetery act that would modify the membership of the cemetery commission, change the investments options for perpetual care trust funds and eliminate the ability to post bonds in lieu of deposits to trust accounts
• SB 19: An act that would prohibit texting while driving
• SB 46: An act that would make it unlawful to communicate false, defamatory material that is libelous or slanderous through an electronic medium such as the Internet
• SB 47: An act that would limit liability for the unauthorized use of wireless telephones to $50
• SB 48: An act that would permit employers with fewer than 50 employees to make semimonthly sales tax payments
• SB 49: An act that would increase the fine for price gouging and to expand price gouging protections to situations in which a disaster declaration has not been declared
• SB 50: An act that would establish a $25 per day maximum fee that towing companies can charge for storage
Goss has co-sponsored 11 additional bills, including requiring arts education credit for graduation, banning cell phone use while driving and amending the lottery school funding formula.
Community Interest
News & Notes
Events
Arts & Entertainment
