The Raleigh Report
From the Office of Cullie Tarleton
January 12, 2009
As is usually the case, several new state laws went into place this year and I wanted to bring you up to date on these important changes. These laws address several important issues, including insurance, health and the environment.
Please contact me if you have any questions and thank you for your interest in state government. I look forward to working with you in the coming session.
Transportation
The General Assembly has passed a new law (SB 509) that increases the amount of time people have to get their vehicles re-inspected after failing a motor vehicle inspection from 30 days to 60 days. The law also waives the civil penalty for failure to meet the emissions inspection requirement while on active military duty outside the state. The law also does away with the familiar inspection window stickers and ties the inspection date to the yearly registration renewal.
Business
A new law (SB 1032) requires insurers offering health benefits plans to provide insurance identification cards. The law will also require insurers to provide written notice to a health care provider or health care facility no less than 30 calendar days before seeking recovery of overpayments. The recovery may not be made more than two years after the date of the original claim payment unless the insurer has reasonable belief of fraud or other intentional misconduct.
Mortgage servicers will face regulation under a new act (HB 2463) that is meant to provide more protection to North Carolina home owners. Mortgage services will now be subject to the same state regulations as banks and lenders. Among its other provisions, the act requires mortgage servicer licensure under the Mortgage Lending Act.
Health and Environment
Under a new law (SB 1681) smoking will no longer be allowed in state-controlled passenger vehicles. Local governments are already authorized to make their vehicles smoke free, as recommended by the Justus-Warren Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Task Force. On the subject of smoking, I continue to get a lot of calls and emails from folks (including restaurant owners) who favor a ban on smoking in public places. I expect another bill this session. I co-sponsored it before and expect to co-sponsor again. The evidence of the dangers of second hand smoke is in-disputable. I see this as a public health issue. What do you think?
A new law (HB 2498) will increase the fees paid by the owners and operators of petroleum commercial underground storage tanks and use the money to help assess and clean up pollution from the tanks. The law is also meant to reduce the incidence of leaks by requiring secondary containment for all components of regulated petroleum underground storage tank systems. Amendments to the law provide for the expedited assessment and cleanup of releases and discharges from petroleum underground storage tanks by requiring the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to establish a pilot program to evaluate the use of site-specific cleanup standards.
The state has authorized the sale of blocks of 10-day coastal recreational fishing licenses for $150.00. The law (SB 1340) is intended to make fishing more accessible and affordable for visitors while maintaining the state’s authority to regulate its coastal resources.
Elections
The General Assembly has established a new Joint Legislative Elections Oversight Committee to examine election laws in North Carolina and other states. The bipartisan committee created by the law (S 1263) will have 18 members – 9 from each chamber appointed by the Senate President Pro Tempore and the Speaker of the House. The members will serve for two-year terms beginning on January 15 of odd-numbered years.
The same law allows the State Board of Elections to use instant runoff voting in up to 10 jurisdictions during the 2009, 2010 and 2011 elections. Instant runoffs allow voters to pick winners without having to hold costly separate runoff elections. The communities selected will be required to develop and participate in a plan to educate voters and candidates about instant runoff voting. The law also requires candidates and political committees to keep all campaign money in accounts separate from private accounts or accounts into which other money is deposited.
Notes
The Governor continues (as he should) to ask departments to cut their budgets for this fiscal (08-09) year in order to keep the budget balanced. It still looks like upwards of a $2 billion revenue shortfall for fiscal 09-10. That could of course be affected by any federal stimulus program the new administration provides. If for instance, the feds include aid to states in an economic stimulus package, budget calculations would change quickly. Regardless, the task of developing the new budget for NC will be a challenge.
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