The enormous workload of this "crossover" week can hardly be understated.  The crossover deadline would bar the consideration of any legislation that does not raise taxes or spend money if the bill does not pass the chamber in which it was introduced by last night.  The members of the General Assembly returned to Raleigh Monday with this deadline in mind.  They attended mid-day committee meetings Monday and a legislative session that went into the night.  Tuesday and Wednesday brought a hectic schedule of committee meetings and extended sessions of the House and Senate.  Both chambers held the final session of the week early on Thursday ahead of the midnight "crossover" deadline.  In this report we outline in brief the action of the week and highlight the most important bills from among the several dozens of pieces of legislation advanced this week.  

Not to be overlooked in the action this week is developments in the House budget process.  House budget writers have reportedly issued spending targets to subcommittee chairs, setting up a budget process that could bring passage of the House budget within two or three weeks.  The spending targets will force deep cuts to the State budget, cuts that will go beyond what Governor Perdue and the Senate have recommended in their respective versions of the budget legislation.  The House is apparently steadfast in its early commitment to avoid raising taxes.  The Senate would have increased taxes by about $500 million through a "tax modernization" proposal, and Governor Perdue recommended new and higher taxes on cigarettes and alcohol to balance the budget.  The budget legislation will likely be far more controversial than any single bill passed during this crossover week. 

Late Wednesday evening, the House of Representatives approved legislation (House Bill 813) that would reverse two hundred years of legal precedent by enacting comparative fault in tort actions in North Carolina.  House Bill 813 would repeal the legal tradition of "contributory negligence" which bars recovery by a plaintiff who was partially negligent in the event that caused harm to the plaintiff and make defendants jointly and severably responsible, and replaces it with the uniform apportionment of tort responsibility act.  The legislation was criticized by members of the House who say the changes would increase the costs of business, encourage litigation, and drive up insurance rates in the State.  An unusual coalition of liberal and conservative lawmakers backing the bill said the legislation would provide a more just result in personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits.  House Bill 813 now goes to the Senate for action in that chamber. 

On Monday the Senate gave final approval to a ban on smoking in public places and on Wednesday the House agreed with the Senate changes to the bill (House Bill 2).  In the Senate, an effort to amend the bill to allow smoking in for profit private clubs was rejected and the bill was approved on a 30-18 vote.  The Senate version also did not include a provision that would have allowed smoking in establishments that only admit or employ persons who are older than 18 years of age.  Other exemptions from the law would allow smoking in private residences, cigar bars and tobacco shops, and in non-profit country clubs.  The Senate version was hotly debated when it returned to the House where it was approved by a narrow margin of 62-56.  Governor Bev Perdue (D-Craven) has signaled her support and intention to sign the bill.

Other action in the Senate spanned a wide range of issues.  A sample of legislation approved by the Senate this week includes: 

• A change in the State's six year statute of repose for product liability actions (Senate Bill 882);
• Amendments to the State nuisance law to clarify that enforcement of a nuisance may only be brought where the violations are regular and repeated (Senate Bill 372);
• Amendments to the eligibility for retirees under the Registers of Deeds supplemental retirement fund (Senate Bill 133);
• Changes to the State's Job Development Investment Grants Program (JDIG) that reportedly are targeted to attracting a large investment by the Apple Computer company (Senate Bill 575);
• A provision amending the State's Motor Fuels Tax, which is partly tied to the wholesale price of gas, to state that the tax will go no lower than its current level (Senate Bill 200);
• New regulations for attachments to utility poles and the rates that can be charged for such attachments (Senate Bill 357);
• Protections for victims of identity theft who request credit freezes (Senate Bill 1017);
• A new prohibition on State Agencies' rule making authority for rules that increase costs on the person subject to the rule (Senate Bill 866);
• Changes to Health Plan provider contracts intended to provide more transparency to the provisions (Senate Bill 877);
• Amendments to the appeals process for Certificate of Need decisions (Senate Bill 804);
• A bill to allow appeals from a death sentence on the basis of racial bias and to encourage the resumption of death penalty sentences in North Carolina (Senate Bill 461); and
• Two omnibus environmental laws (Senate Bill 836 and Senate Bill 838). 

All of these bills now await action by House Committees. 

Two versions of a legislative proposal to repeal the rule that requires a three day waiting period for membership to private clubs were passed by the House and Senate this week (House Bill 1228 and Senate Bill 6).  Also in the House, a several year fight over school calendars was rejoined as the House approved legislation (House Bill 593) that would allow more local control in setting school start and end dates.  A comprehensive plan to promote rail road corridor management was approved by the House (House Bill 116).  The House completed its work on two mortgage related bills (House Bill 1523 and House Bill 1222).  Related bills would abolish deficiency judgments when the mortgage is secured by a primary residence (House Bill 1057) or increase the statutory homestead exemption (House Bill 1058).  The House also approved changes to the chamber's redistricting plan affecting Pender and New Hanover counties (House Bill 1621).  A bill (House Bill 1335) that would have reduced duplicative regulation of air toxins by the State Department of Environment and Natural Resources was weakened as it progressed through the House this week, but ultimately passed and was sent to the Senate. 

With the crossover deadline met the House will begin to focus on crafting its version of the State Budget and on considering Senate bills.  The Senate will work on House bills and wait for the House to complete its version of the budget.  For more details on the action outlined in this report please feel free to contact us.