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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRES-2009-026 Orange County’s Proposed 2009 Legislative AgendaNORTH CAROLINA ORANGE COUNTY RESOLUTION REGARDING LEGISLATIVE MATTERS BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of County Commissioners of Orange County that the Board hereby requests the Senator and Representatives representing Orange County take the following position on legislation regarding the following matters: 1) Revenue Options for Local Government - Support legislation that authorizes a variety of revenue options for local governments to fund local government services. An overarching principle is that any local government revenue source that is presently available to one or more local governments in the state should be available to all local governments uniformly throughout the state. All local governments should, on a reasonable basis, have the authority to levy local option sales taxes, apply impact fees and/or taxes, utilize real estate transfer fees and/or taxes, etc. Orange County specifically notes its support for the ability of all local governments to apply impact fees and/or taxes and to implement real estate transfer fees and/or taxes; 2 2) Medicaid Relief - The Medicaid Relief/Sales Tax Swap action by the North Carolina General Assembly during the 2007 session continues to cause significant adverse financial impacts to Orange County. As depicted in the charts provided at Exhibit A, Orange County is experiencing a substantial decrease in sales tax revenue. Orange County asks that the 2009 General Assembly protect the $500,000 in "hold harmless" funding to the County as designated in the 2007 legislation. Any efforts to reduce or eliminate this funding further exacerbates the on-going negative financial impacts of the 2007 legislation on the County; 3) Sales Tax Exemption - Support legislation to exempt counties, cities, school boards, community colleges, and the Orange Water & Sewer Authority from payment of state and local sales taxes on purchases within North Carolina. The legislation should contain a provision permitting the state to repay the last refund over a multi-year period to minimize state budget impacts. Alternatively, Orange County supports legislation to fully restore public schools' access to sales tax 3 refunds. For schools, Orange County specifically notes support for House Bill 299 - Reinstate LEA Sales Tax Refund. For community colleges, Orange County specifically notes support for House Bill 228 - Community College Sales Tax Refund; 4) School Construction - Support legislation to provide state assistance to local governments to meet school construction needs caused by increased enrollment and mandated reductions in class size through .a statewide referendum on a bond issue and/or through authority for counties to raise additional revenues to meet school facility needs; 5) North Carolina Housing Trust Fund - Support legislation providing appropriations by the General Assembly authorizing recurring funds for the North Carolina Housing Trust Fund to provide new home ownership opportunities and affordable rental homes for those qualified under the North Carolina Housing Trust Fund, while looking to enhance federal funding opportunities where appropriate; 4 6) Land for Tomorrow/Land and Water Conservation Trust Funds - Support legislative actions which seek to enhance appropriations and/or safeguard existing trust funds established for the protection of the state's land, water, and special places, before they are irreversibly lost, and which enjoin the Governor from. sequestering these funds; 7) Criminal Justice Partnership ProcTram (CJPP) Continuation Funding (from Current Non-Recurrin Status) - Support legislative and other actions to provide reliable full funding for this Program as it saves money in the long term for both state and local governments. Orange County understands that the Department of Juvenile Justice/Delinquency Prevention is, as are all State agencies, grappling with a 7% decrease in funding this fiscal year. The Governor's Recommended Budget includes another loo decrease. The County acknowledges how difficult these adjustments are to achieve but appreciates the Department's commitment to sustaining the majority of direct services to North Carolina's children and families. The County encourages the State to avail itself of any new 5 developments in the use of economic recovery package dollars or other federal initiatives to maintain the stability of programming, facilities, and staff vital to the safety and security of troubled youth in their own communities. (See Exhibit B - March 18, 2008 Board of County Commissioners Adopted Resolution Regarding Continuation of Criminal Justice Partnership Program Funding); 8) Fire Protection - Additional State Funding for State- Owned Buildings - Support House Bill 355 and any other similar legislation to provide additional State compensation to municipalities and local fire districts providing fire protection to state-owned buildings; 9) Funding for a Piedmont Regional Value-Added Shared Use Food and Agricultural Processing Center - Orange County forged a regional public-private partnership for a potential Piedmont Regional Shared Use Value-Added Processing Center. Four counties (Alamance, Chatham, Durham, and Orange) and two private businesses (Weaver Street Market and Whole Foods) partnered together and secured the necessary funds for a feasibility study 6 conducted by the Mars Hill College Center for Assessment and Research Analyses. The study report included information on potential site needs for a Center, potential product lines, marketing opportunities, and numerous other factors. A Center would enable farmers from the region to meet local market demand for year-round locally-grown products and would also operate in a complementary fashion with the regional meat processing center in Caswell County. The partners have already been awarded $132,000 from the NC Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund, $479,000 from the Tobacco Trust Fund Commission, and $250,000 from the North Carolina Golden Leaf Foundation for the Center. For the 2009 General Assembly session and on behalf of its five partners, Orange County requests $250,000, including any funds available from the federal stimulus package for this "shovel-ready" project, for the construction, start-up, and operation of a Piedmont Regional Value-Added Shared Use Food and Agricultural Processing Center; 10) E-911 Funds - Orange County supports House Bill 59 - An Act Expanding Permitted Uses of 911 Funds in Franklin County - and requests that Orange County be added to this bill; 11) Builders' Inventory Tax - Oppose House Bill 852 - Defer Tax on Builders' Inventory - and. any other similar legislation as being particularly erosive to the already eroded tax base and oppose any efforts to exempt or to exclude from taxation any property that might be construed to be builders' inventory; 12) Homestead Exemption Revision - Support Homestead Exemption provisions of the Machinery Act to provide greater opportunities for low-income seniors to remain in their homes and not be displaced due to property tax burdens, eliminate the discriminatory features of the exemption provisions relating to couples, and address the ineffectiveness of the exemption provisions in communities where property values increase at substantial rates over short periods of time; 8 13) Court Facility Fees - Orange County expresses support for the authority to institute Court Facility Fees to allow counties to collect additional facilities fees to help fund capital, operational and other needs associated with ever-increasing judicial activities; 14) Entertainment Transportation fee to be c] entertainment shared by the dedicated to transportation and Sports Event Fee to Support Needs - Support legislation to permit a Zarged on tickets purchased for large and sports events, with the revenue respective government jurisdictions and the support of public transit and programs; 15) Regional Transportation Fund - Support House Bill 148 - Congestion Relief/Intermodal Transport Fund - and any other similar legislation which attempts to address the state's public transportation needs and represents the recommendations of the 21st Century Transportation Committee. Among the components of House Bill 148 is a local-option sales tax for counties to address public transportation needs. The bill allows Wake, Durham, 9 Orange, Forsyth and Guilford to hold a referendum on a half-cent sales tax for public transportation. The tax can only be levied by a county if approved by the voters in its county and if the board of commissioners and the relevant local transportation authority - Triangle Transit Authority or Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation (PART) - have adopted a financial plan for the proceeds. The bill also allows Alamance, Davidson, Davie, Randolph, Rockingham, Surry, Stokes and Yadkin counties, which are also members of PART, to hold referendums on a quarter-cent sales tax for public transportation. The referendums must pass in each county before it can be adopted by a Board of Commissioners. The bill also gives any other county the authority to hold a referendum on a quarter-cent sales tax for public transportation and gives to all counties the ability to institute a county vehicle registration tax not to exceed $7. If a county authorizes the registration tax but does not charge the maximum $7, a city within that county can also enact the vehicle registration tax for the remaining amount. The combined taxes cannot exceed $7 per car, and the proceeds must be used "for the operation of a public transportation 10 system and used only for financing, constructing, operating, and maintaining a public transportation system (see Exhibit C for additional information); 16) Carolina North Trans ortation Funding - Support the allocation of both State and University of North Carolina funding to address the regional transportation impacts that the University's new Carolina North campus will create. The University of North Carolina's new proposed Carolina North campus will have tremendous impacts on traffic in Chapel Hill, throughout Orange County, and the region. A majority of the University's staff already travel from outside Orange County, impacting the County's limited transportation infrastructure. The transportation demands and increased traffic counts created by Carolina North will be substantial and the State and University should provide funding to address these impacts; 17) County Responsibility for Roads - Oppose Senate Bill 758 - Transfer Secondary Roads to Counties - and any other efforts to delegate secondary road improvement, 11 maintenance, and costs (or the sharing of these secondary road improvement or maintenance responsibilities) to county governments. Orange County specifically emphasizes the undesirability of counties bearing or sharing the costs of secondary road improvements and/or maintenance. However, if the responsibility or the sharing of responsibility for secondary road improvements and/or the maintenance of roads is foisted upon county governments, then Orange County requests that counties also be given the authority to levy fees, tolls, and other charges as may be necessary to provide funding to address this new responsibility. A new responsibility should include new revenue opportunities to accomplish the identified needs; 18) Mental Health - Support Mental Health Reform and seek legislation that assures local capacity to serve the needs of citizens. The state must support local government, both financially and statutorily, to equip itself with adequate tools for crisis intervention and appropriate housing for the mentally ill to allow their 12 integration into local communities. Orange County also expresses support for increased allocations by the State which may be available in the current fiscal year as a result of the Federal Stimulus Package to strengthen community-based mental health services; i.e., Club Nova (Carrboro) and KidsCope (Hillsborough)that have required recent supplemental financial support from Orange County government; 19) Mental Health Custody - Oppose House Bill 243 - Mental Health/Law Enforcement Custody - in its current form and any other similar legislation addressing the treatment of individuals who are being transported to medical facilities on an involuntary commitment order. The bill as written places undue financial burdens upon the law enforcement agency if in the course of custody a prisoner is discovered to have a medical condition that needs treatment. These unforeseeable costs are extremely problematic and Orange County urges any expectation or demand that local governments absorb this expense be removed; 13 20) Paternity Set-Aside - Oppose any legislative proposals that would allow fathers to petition the court for a paternity test even after paternity has been established by court order or an affidavit of parentage that fails to address two important areas of concern: (1) How the upfront costs would be paid (Counties should not be held liable for the fiscal consequences. Orange County Child Support Enforcement estimates, if 25% of its caseload evoked this privilege, the cost would be $39,060.); and (2) The best interests of the child are not considered (Orange County has always encouraged paternity testing before any documentation is signed with explanation given about the consequences of not conducting a paternity test. Children continue to need the protection that orders and affidavits provide in the legal system.); 21) Smoking - Prohibit in Public Places - Support House Bill 2 - Prohibit Smoking in Public & Work Places - and' any other similar legislation which would limit or prohibit smoking in public places and places of employment or would permit local governments to limit 14 or prohibit smoking in public places and places of employment; 22) Wastewater System Classifications for Volunteer Fire Departments - Support actions to change North Carolina Division of Water Quality (DWQ) wastewater system classification rules which currently classify a spray irrigation system such as one utilized by volunteer fire departments as "commercial". This classification is appropriate when floor drains or other sources of non-domestic wastewater are present. However, when the flow generated by the system is domestic quality/non- industrial process wastewater, the system should be held to the same monitoring and testing standards as a residential wastewater system under DWQ jurisdiction. In the alternative, volunteer fire departments should be excluded entirely from the "commercial" classification. The annual inspections and testing costs associated with a "commercial" designation for a spray irrigation system serving a volunteer fire department can be several thousands of dollars. Accounting for the type of flow actually treated by a system rather than assigning a blanket "commercial" 15 designation would significantly reduce a volunteer fire department's annual cost; 23) Euthanasia of Sheltered Animals - Support House Bill 6 - Davie's Law/Humane Euthanasia in Shelters - or any other similar legislation which directs the use of sodium pentobarbital or its equivalent in the unfortunate event euthanasia is necessary for a sheltered animal, and precludes the use of carbon monoxide or other gas for euthanasia purposes for sheltered animals; 24) B. Everett Jordan Reservoir Nutrient ManacTement Rules Orange County requests that members of the North Carolina General Assembly approve the Jordan lake Reservoir Nutrient Strategy rules in order to protect the public health and welfare of the citizens of Orange County and other residents of North Carolina. The County does believe the rules should recognize Orange County's watershed protection efforts prior to the baseline year of 2001, lest the new regulations fail to recognize good stewards such as Orange County, and that the State should provide funding to retrofit existing 16 development to the extent it will require local governments to become the designer, builder and manager of watershed protection measures required by the Jordan Lake rules (See Exhibit D - April 7, 2009 Board of County Commissioners Adopted Resolution in Support of the Proposed Jordan Reservoir Water Supply Nutrient Strategy Rules 15A NCA 02B.0262-.0273 & .0311); 25) Bio-solids Disposal - Support legislation which provides county governments some opportunity to regulate and/or have input into, but not prohibit, sludge application activities, including the acceptable "classes" of sludge for application and the prohibition of sludge application in certain environmentally sensitive areas such as critical watersheds. Orange County is not seeking to eliminate the appropriate application of bio-solids for agricultural use, but believes counties should play a role in the process. (See Exhibit E for additional information); 26) Open Burning/Burning Permits - Support amending the statutes (G.S. 113-60.31) related to open burning to remove the open burning prohibition exemption that is 17 currently available during periods of hazardous forest fire conditions, during drought periods, or during air pollution episodes; or, in the alternative, granting local governments the authority to prohibit open burning without the State's declaration of a hazardous condition since local fire authorities are best suited to assess local conditions and determine the best courses of action related to burning activities; 27) Herbicide Use Limitations for Utility Company Right of Way Maintenance - Support legislation that would further regulate or prohibit the use of herbicides for the clearing and maintenance of easements and rights of way by utility companies; 28) Outdoor Advertising Vegetation Removal - Oppose any efforts to revise provisions governing vegetation removal for outdoor advertising purposes that would expand the opportunities for additional vegetation removal along interstate and other road right-of-ways. Orange County believes that the scenic beauty of the state is significantly harmed by outdoor advertising signs in general and further diminished with the 18 associated vegetation removal. The County opposes any efforts to permit additional outdoor advertising signs and any relaxation of the rules limiting vegetation removal for new or existing signs; 29) Development Incentives in Exchange for Reductions in Energy Consumption - Seek and/or support legislation (such as Senate Bill 1597 (2007-08)) to allow cities and counties to adopt ordinances to grant a density bonus, make adjustments to otherwise applicable development requirements, or provide other incentives to a developer within a local government's planning jurisdiction if the developer agrees to construct new development or reconstruct existing development in a manner that the local government determines, based on generally recognized standards established for such purposes, makes a significant contribution to the reduction of energy consumption; 30) Monetary Exactions for Developments - Oppose Senate Bill 447 and any other similar legislation which would preclude local governments from requiring a monetary contribution for the impact of development that is not 19 expressly authorized by law. This bill could impact a local government adequate public facilities ordinance (APFO); 31) Development Moratoria Authority - Oppose Senate Bill 117 and any other similar legislation which would prohibit a county from imposing a time-limited building moratorium while it develops or revises a development ordinance; 32) Energy Efficiency Standards in Local Building Codes - Support changes in State law to allow local governments to include standards for energy efficiency in local building codes that are higher than those contained in the State Building Code; 33) Solid Waste Services - Oppose any legislation to further weaken the authority and/or ability of local governments to operate and administer Solid Waste services, including opposition to legislation similar to Senate Bill 951 (2006) and any other legislation that would limit local governments' opportunities in their solid waste service delivery to reduce costs, 20 improve the quality of service, and/or meet local waste reduction goals; 34) Construction and Demolition Landfill - Change in Operations - Support legislative assistance to change the State rules/statutes regarding the origin of materials and not the material use in connection with C & D landfill disposal. Orange County continues to challenge the change in State rules/statutes. The effect is that considerable C & D materials are now required to be placed in the County Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) landfill using valuable space, raising costs, and creating operational difficulties for field supervisors. For many years the State did not apply a rigid interpretation and related enforcement. Orange County, while fully compliant, maintains this rule is expensive, unnecessary, and detrimental to waste reduction goals. The cost of losing 3 months of capacity in the MSW landfill due to the shift of C&D materials is estimated at $240,000 per month or a total. of $720,000. Moreover the increased cost to the Solid Waste Sanitation Division for delivering C & D like 21 materials to the MSW landfill is approximately $5,239, with $1,310 for each additional month thereafter. The State can impose a maximum administrative penalty of $15,000 per day for non-compliance with the C & D definition. See Exhibit F - April 18, 2008 Memorandum Regarding Change in Landfill Operations; 35) Broadband - Orange County supports legislation, funding, and other efforts made to expand broadband capability to the rural areas of the state to enhance quality of life as well as expand opportunities for small business and farm enterprise growth; 36) Bicycle Safet y Education - Support legislation to .increase the emphasis on bicycle safety issues in drivers' education courses and on the State drivers' license examination; 37) Employment Anti-Discrimination Legislation (Statewide) - Support legislation creating a statewide employment anti-discrimination law and providing for local 22 government enforcement through memoranda of understanding or other appropriate mechanisms; 38) Constitutional Amendment Defining Marriage - Oppose any proposed Constitutional amendment which limits or defines marriage as only the union of a man and a woman or .provides that marriage between a man and a woman is the only domestic legal union recognized in North Carolina; 39) North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) Legislative Goals - Support NCACC's Legislative Goals, many elements of which were and are initiatives of Orange County, and noting the additional Orange County explanatory language included in Bold Italic where appropriate (See Exhibit G); 40) Triangle J Council of Governments 2009 Regional Legislative Agenda - Support legislation that would accomplish the Triangle J Council of Governments 2009 Regional Legislative Agenda, which is Exhibit H to this Resolution, many elements of which were and are initiatives of Orange County. 23 Upon motion of Commissioner seconded by Commissioner s~/ the foregoing resolution was adopted this the 7th day of April, 2009. I, Donna Baker, Clerk to the Board of Commissioners for the County of Orange, North Carolina, DO HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing is a true copy of so much of the proceedings of said Board at a meeting held on April 7, 2009 as relates in any way to the adoption of the foregoing and that said proceedings are recorded in Minute Book No. of the minutes of said Board. WITNESS my hand and the seal of said County, this ~ day of 2009. ~`~`n/"'~.~ Clerk to he oard of Commissioner ©~ ~a~m~