Legislative roundup for the week of June 10-14

Here is a look at some of the activity in the General Assembly last week.

House Votes:

SB148: Public Records/Release of LEO Recordings — The House of Representatives voted on this Senate bill that was originally sponsored by Sen. Don Davis (D-Greene). The bill would allow law enforcement to release recordings for the purposes of suspect identification or apprehension or to locate a missing or abducted person. Since the bill was altered in the House committee process, it goes back to the Senate for concurrence. The House vote was unanimously in favor with all local representatives voting in favor. Read the text of the bill here.

SB151: Break or Enter Pharmacy/Increase Penalty — The House voted overwhelmingly in favor of this Senate bill to make it a Class F felony to break into a pharmacy with the intent of committing larceny of a controlled substance. It would also be a Class F felony to possess any goods stolen in violation of the act. The bill passed on a 113-3 vote, with all local representatives voting in favor, and was presented to Gov. Roy Cooper for his signature. Read the text of the bill here.

Senate Votes:

HB82: Railroad Crossings/On-Track Equipment — The Senate voted in favor of this House bill establishing that all vehicles and pedestrians must obey railroad signals and crossing signals for on-track equipment (which includes any type of equipment or vehicle on the tracks) as well as for trains. It passed on a unanimous 42-0 vote, with both local senators voting in favor. It now goes to the governor for his signature. Read the text of the bill here.

HB617: Allow Repeat Referral to Teen Court — The Senate voted on this House bill that would allow juvenile offenders to be referred to Teen Court more than once. Previously, juveniles could not be referred to Teen Court if they had been referred before. The bill passed the Senate on a vote of 43-3. Sen. Davis voted in favor of the bill, but Sen. Jim Perry (R-Lenoir) was one of three senators to vote against it. Read the text of the bill here.

SB377: Military Base Protection Act — This bill, sponsored by Sen. Harry Brown (R-Onslow), passed the Senate on a straight party-line vote, with all Republicans who were present voting in favor, and all Democrats voting against it. The bill would place a three-year moratorium on the building of new wind energy installations in areas that a study found could have significant impact on military bases in the state. You can view the map here. Sen. Perry was a co-sponsor of the bill, and voted in favor of it. Sen. Davis voted against it. This bill will now go to the House for consideration. Read the text of the bill here.

Miscellaneous:

Speaker of the House Tim Moore reauthorized the House Select Committee on Disaster Relief to investigate delays in delivering federal aid granted to North Carolina in the wake of Hurricane Matthew. A report from the state’s Program Evaluation Division recently found there had been excessive delays and unnecessary spending in the administration of the federal relief. Rep. Chris Humphrey (R-Lenoir) and Rep. Pat McElraft (R- Craven) were appointed to the committee. Rep. John Bell (R- Wayne) will be the vice-chair of the committee.

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