Legislative roundup for the week of May 20-23

Here is a look at some of the votes in the General Assembly by local legislators last week.

House:

HB242: Displaced Precinct Officials/Natural Disaster — The N.C. House unanimously passed this bill to allow election precinct officials to work on election day even if they have missed required training sessions if the county in which they live was the subject of a disaster declaration and the official was displaced as a result of the disaster. The precinct officials would only be allowed to work if they have attended required training sessions within the past two years and have prior election experience. Read the text of the bill here.

Senate:

HB646: ID Approval/Flex Muni One-Stop — The Senate unanimously voted to approve this House bill that sets out clearer guidelines for the process by which colleges and universities can gain approval for their student ID cards to be approved as IDs for voting purposes. It also applies many of the same criteria to state and local governments for employee ID cards to be approved for voter ID. The bill also gives local boards of election greater flexibility in the number of hours of one-stop voting during odd-numbered year elections. This bill had passed the House in April. Read the text of the bill here.

HB363/SB246: Craft Beer Distribution & Modernization Act — The Senate passed this bill on a 38-3 vote. Sen. Jim Perry (R-Lenoir) voted in favor while Sen. Don Davis (D-Greene) voted against the bill. Rep. John Bell (R-Wayne) was a primary sponsor of the House bill, and Rep. Chris Humphrey (R-Lenoir) was a co-sponsor. It passed the House in April. This legislation, which goes now to Gov. Cooper for his signature, allows craft breweries to distribute more of their product before they are required to distribute their beer through a wholesaler.  Read the text of the bill here.

Check back with Neuse News later this week for more updates on the General Assembly.