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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRES-2015-010 Resolution Regarding Legislative Matters - Statewide Issues with Exhibits �'AF 3-aD�s RES - 2015 - 010 3 57� NORTH CAROLINA RESOLUTION REGARDING ORANGE COUNTY 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 positions on legislation regarding the following Statewide matters: 1) * Revenue Options for Local Government - Support legislation that authorizes any local government to enact any revenue source that is presently available to one or more local governments in the state. Local governments have experienced significant budget cuts in recent years . Providing flexibility regarding revenue options to fund local government services will allow local governments to tailor their respective funding plans based on individual needs and goals; 2) * Oppose any shift of state transportation responsibilities to counties - Oppose legislation to shift the state' s responsibility for funding transportation construction and maintenance projects to counties . Counties cannot afford to assume costs for An item denoted with a "*" generally coincides with a similar North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) 2015-16 Legislative Goal. maintaining secondary roads and/or funding expansion projects . Unlike counties in other states, whose traditional funding responsibilities are secondary roads, North Carolina counties are responsible for the administration of local human services programs, and fund educational operating and capital expenses; 3) * Broadband - Support legislation, funding, and other efforts to expand broadband capability to the un-served and under-served areas of the State to enhance quality of life as well as expand opportunities for jobs creation, small business development, and growth in farm enterprises . Orange County opposes legislation limiting local governments' efforts to provide broadband and supports legislation and regulations that would preserve local option and authority where needed to deploy community broadband systems and ensure community access to critical broadband services; 4) Smart Start and NC Pre-K - Support legislation to increase and ensure secure and stable funding, enhanced quality early care and education, and family access and benefits in settings public and private. The County advocates sustaining teacher quality, evidence-based learning objectives, healthy life styles, and community engagement. Quality early childhood education has proven to help alleviate the achievement gap, curb the need for costly services (including special education) , and reduce societal cost by increasing graduation rates . Recent studies have shown a significant return on investment for dollars supporting early childhood programs and services. Orange County Schools and Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools are ardent allies in ensuring that actions at the state level support local implementation. Orange County remains strongly supportive of the Orange County Partnership for Young Children in the effective administration and evaluation of services reaching all children throughout the County; 5) County Jail System/Housing State Inmates Reimbursement - Support legislation to protect the fiscal viability of the county jail system by reinstating reimbursement for state inmates housed in county jails sentenced to 90 days or less and increase the reimbursement rate for state inmates awaiting post-trial prison transfer; 6) Agriculture/Solar Energy - Support renewable energy initiatives to create a market for agricultural-sourced energy credits . Both provide incentives for farmers to produce renewable energy, which will become increasingly important to preserving and strengthening the agricultural economy and rural infrastructure as well as maintaining Orange County' s rural heritage and culture; 7) Authority to Amend the Orange County Civil Rights Ordinance - Seek legislative action to provide the County the authority to include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes . The Board of Commissioners adopted the Orange County Civil Rights Ordinance in 1994 with the purpose and policy to promote the equal treatment of all individuals . In subsequent years, the County has requested, to no avail, additional legislative authority to amend the Ordinance to include additional protected classes; 8) * E-911 Funds - Support permanently extending the authorization to use E911 funds for all public safety disciplines . Orange County has appreciated past efforts and supports future initiatives to expand the uses for these funds within the public safety disciplines related to emergency communications and Emergency Medical Services; 9) * Mental Health - Support the current model of public mental health administration, opposes any further consolidation, and seeks legislation to ensure that adequate State-funded mental health, developmental disability, and substance abuse services and facilities are available at the local level, accessible and affordable to all residents and that sufficient state resources fund service provision costs inclusive of sufficient crisis beds, and to structure appropriate county participation in governance. ; 10) * Child Care - Seek legislation to reverse changes made to the childcare subsidy program available to working families, including the eligibility change of 2000 of the federal poverty level to 133%, which harms many working parents who are trying to become more financial self-sufficient, and the provision change that requires nonparent relatives living with the child to have their income counted for child care eligibility; 11) Land, Water and Agricultural Preservation Funding - Support Park, Agricultural Preservation, Clean Water and other existing trust funds established for the protection of the State' s land, water, biological resources, agriculture, and special places before they are irreversibly lost, and requests that these funds receive additional funding; 12) Agriculture - Support Conservation of Working Lands and Farmland Preservation - Support a revision to the revenue and acreage requirements of the Use Value Program to reduce acreage requirements and increase the income threshold; 13) Machinery Act - Support local governments' need for more flexibility to remedy measurement and/or condition property appraisal errors related to local property tax functions . North Carolina property tax law substantially limits the ability of local governments to address property tax discrepancies, such as prohibiting the refund of prior years' taxes paid after a measurement and/or condition property appraisal error is discovered. Just as local governments can recoup prior years' property taxes from owners for "discoveries", local governments should likewise be authorized to refund prior years' taxes paid when situations such as measurement and/or condition property appraisal errors are discovered; 14) Homestead Exemption - Support revisions to the Homestead Exemption provisions of the Machinery Act to a) provide greater opportunities for low-income seniors to remain in their homes and not be displaced due to property tax burdens by approving a one-time ten percent (100) increase in the income qualification standard; and maintaining the current provisions which increase the income qualification standard each year based on any cost-of-living adjustment made to the benefits under Titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act for the preceding calendar year; b) diminish the discriminatory features of the current exemption provisions relating to married couples by establishing graduated income qualification standards for single individuals versus married couples; and c) address the ineffectiveness of the exemption provisions in communities where property values increase at substantial rates over short periods of time by capping the increase in additional taxes to be paid to the increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the preceding year; 15) Bond Referendum for Education - Support a statewide bond referendum to provide State assistance to meet public school and community college construction needs caused by increased enrollment, mandated reduction in class size and other factors; 16) Concealed Weapons in Parks - Seek legislation re- authorizing counties to fully regulate the carrying of concealed weapons on county-owned playgrounds and in county-owned parklands; 17) * Participation in Solid Waste Programs for Recycling - Authorize counties to impose a fee for the solid waste collection services in a manner similar to the authority granted to municipalities . The fee may not exceed the costs of collection; 18) Sales Tax Distribution Formula - Support legislation directing that all sales tax be distributed on a per capita basis; 19) Classification of Flavored Alcoholic Beverages (Alcopops) - Support legislation to properly classify flavored alcoholic beverages (alcopops) as distilled spirits rather than malt beverages; 20) Eminent Domain - Oppose adding language to a constitutional amendment on eminent domain that extends any further preemption of county authority to regulate the placement of telecommunication towers; 21) Raise Age for Juvenile Jurisdiction in Criminal Court - Support legislation to raise the age for juveniles being treated as adults in criminal court from 16 to 18; 22) Minimum Wage Increase - Support legislation to raise the minimum wage to $10 per hour; 23) Re-instatement of Earned Income Tax Credit - Support legislation to re-instate the State Earned Income Tax Credit which greatly benefitted low wage earners until its elimination after the 2013 tax year; 24) Expansion of Medicaid Program - Support legislation to expand the Medicaid program to make health insurance available to approximately 500, 000 more North Carolina residents; 25) Voter Registration and Voting - Support legislation to restore same day voter registration, previous early voting and Sunday early voting provisions, and the pre- registration of 16 and 17 year olds in preparation for voting; 26) Abolish State Death Penalty - Support legislation to abolish the State of North Carolina' s death penalty; 27) Priority School Issues - Support legislation to address the following three issues related to schools : a) * Provide local school systems with calendar flexibility; b) * Provide full funding for State allotments including Average Daily Membership (ADM) growth; c) Provide full funding for Driver Education. 28) Fees-In-Lieu - NCDOT as Additional Recipient - Support legislation amending North Carolina General Statute 153A-331 to add a provision allowing counties to transfer fees collected as part of subdivision development, and in lieu of required street construction, to be transferred to and held by the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) for the future construction of roads intended to be added to the State Maintained system. An item denoted with a "*" generally coincides with a similar North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) 2015-16 Legislative Goal. Upon motion of Commissioner Barry Jacobs, seconded by Commissioner Bernadette Pelissier, Item #1 of the foregoing resolution was adopted by a vote of 6-1 (Commissioner Earl McKee voting nay) this the 3rd day of March, 2015 . Upon motion of Commissioner Penny Rich, seconded by Commissioner Renee Price, the remainder of the foregoing resolution was adopted by a vote of 7 to 0 this the 3rd day of March, 2015 . 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 March 3, 2015 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 /e day of March, 2015 . Clerk to the Board of Commissioners C Coll 17 ' 52 fa "t►J Cato