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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 03-16-2021; 6-b - Orange County's Proposed 2021 Legislative Agenda 1 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: March 16, 2021 Action Agenda Item No. 6-b SUBJECT: Orange County's Proposed 2021 Legislative Agenda DEPARTMENT: County Commissioners ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: Commissioner Renee Price, 245-2130 1) DRAFT 2021 Orange County Commissioner Amy Fowler, 245-2130 Legislative Priority Issues John Roberts, County Attorney, 245- 2) DRAFT Other Orange County 2021 2318 Legislative Interests Bonnie Hammersley, County Manager, 245-2300 PURPOSE: To: 1) review and discuss the Legislative Issues Work Group's (LIWG) proposed 2021 legislative package and any other potential items for inclusion in Orange County's legislative agenda package for the 2021 North Carolina General Assembly Session; 2) Consider approval of the 2021 Orange County Legislative Priority Issues document for submittal to the County's legislative delegation; and 3) Consider approval of the Other Orange County 2021 Legislative Interests document to also be shared with Orange County's legislative delegation. BACKGROUND: The 2021 North Carolina General Assembly session convened on January 27, 2021. The Board of Commissioners has historically appointed a Legislative Issues Work Group (LIWG) to work with staff to develop a proposed legislative package for the County. Based on the work of the LIWG, the BOCC has then reviewed and approved packages of legislative items to present to Orange County's legislative delegation. Commissioners Renee Price and Amy Fowler are serving on the 2021 LIWG and have worked with staff on the proposed 2021 legislative package, which consists of the two attached documents, in preparation for the Board's April 19, 2021 Legislative Breakfast meeting with Orange County's legislative delegation. As the LIWG considered its approach for this year, the Group decided to identify a set of Legislative Priorities and a set of Other Legislative Interests. The Group ultimately identified twenty-two (22) Legislative Priorities, acknowledging that the full Board of Commissioners may want to consider modifying the list, exchanging one item for another item, other potential revisions, etc. Attachment 1 is the draft list of twenty-two (22) potential 2021 Orange County Priority Legislative Issues from the LIWG. While the LIWG wanted to focus on the twenty-two (22) Priorities in Attachment 1, it also decided that the County should also express its positions on other topics. Attachment 2 is a draft listing of Other Orange County 2021 Legislative Interests. It includes issues the Board has 2 submitted in past years to the County's legislative delegation, with some updates as necessary, as well as a few new items. The Board will need to discuss and consider Attachments 1 and 2 as provided by the LIWG. The work of the Legislative Issues Work Group to this point is based on the current information available for the 2021 General Assembly Session. The issues addressed by the Group may evolve and change over the session and require additional attention by the Group and Board of Commissioners. New issues may also arise necessitating additional review. FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no financial impact associated with reviewing and approving Orange County's Proposed 2021 Legislative Agenda. SOCIAL JUSTICE IMPACT: There is no Orange County Social Justice Goal impact associated with reviewing and approving Orange County's Proposed 2021 Legislative Agenda. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT: There is no Orange County Environmental Responsibility Goal impact associated with this item. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends the Board: 1) review and discuss the Legislative Issues Work Group's (LIWG) proposed 2021 legislative package and any other potential items for inclusion in Orange County's legislative agenda package for the 2021 North Carolina General Assembly Session; 2) Consider approval of the 2021 Orange County Legislative Priority Issues document for submittal to the County's legislative delegation; and 3) Consider approval of the Other Orange County 2021 Legislative Interests document to also be shared with Orange County's legislative delegation. Pending action by the Board, staff will work with the Chair to draft a cover letter to be included with Attachments 1 and 2 to be provided to Orange County's legislative delegation in preparation for the April 19, 2021 Legislative Breakfast. DRAFT Attachment 1 3 2021 ORANGE COUNTY PRIORITY LEGISLATIVE ISSUES Broadband/Digital Infrastructure — Support legislation, funding, and other efforts that provide counties with flexibility and opportunities to support options for increasing access to high-speed internet connectivity and expanding digital infrastructure/broadband capability to the un-served and under-served areas of the state. Access to high speed internet connections will reduce disparities, enhance quality of life for all the State's residents, and broaden opportunities in areas such as education, jobs creation, small business development, health care, civic participation, and growth in farm enterprises; Minimum Wage Increase — Support legislation to raise the minimum wage for all, not just employees of the State of North Carolina, to enhance people's economic security, improve access to safe and secure housing, boost the economy with increased spending, decrease dependence on government assistance programs, and improve the lives of families; Full Funding of the Leandro Remedial Action Plan — Support equity and racial justice by fully funding the Leandro Remedial Action Plan, which details additional comprehensive, targeted education funding over the next eight years, predominantly to low-wealth and minority communities, in order for the State to come into compliance with its constitutional obligation to provide every student a sound basic education; Racial Equity in Criminal Justice — Support the recommendations of the North Carolina Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice (TREC), and specifically legislation to legalize the possession and use of marijuana and permit licensed businesses to engage in retail sales to adults, and this decriminalization will in turn broaden the agricultural economy and jobs as well as enhance revenue for governments with taxes, licenses, and other associated revenues that can be utilized to address opioid and other drug-related problems and other needs; Child Care - Seek legislation to reverse changes made to the childcare subsidy program available to working families, including establishing eligibility for all children at 200% of the federal poverty level, to help many working parents who are trying to become more financial self-sufficient, and to prorate fees for children attending based on the hours attended; 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. Opioid Epidemic Efforts — Support adequate funding for diversionary facilities and programs to provide and expand access for individuals with opioid use disorder to seek and complete treatment, and sustain recovery, as well as increased funding to collect data regarding opioid overdoses and to provide for additional law enforcement to investigate and enforce drug laws; Behavioral Health Services — Support increased state funding for behavioral health services and facilities at the state and local level, including dedicated resources for community paramedicine projects. Support Medicaid reimbursement to EMS for behavioral health transport to crisis centers and structure appropriate county participation in behavioral health program governance; Crime Intervention Services — Support legislation and state funding to provide early intervention services through the Juvenile Crime Prevention Councils, and support increased state funding for 4 the prevention, intervention and treatment of adolescent substance abuse, gang involvement and domestic violence; Abolish State Death Penalty — Support legislation to abolish the State of North Carolina's death penalty; Non-Partisan Redistricting Process for Elections — Support legislation to establish a process for an independent, non-partisan redistricting process after each United States Census for the election of representatives from North Carolina to the United States House of Representatives, the North Carolina House, and the North Carolina Senate; Voter Registration and Voting — Support legislation to restore straight party ticket voting and to provide public financing of judicial elections, and eliminate any requirements for photograph identification; Bail Reform — Support legislation to develop and fund a plan to help reduce unnecessary arrests by expanding the use of citations or summons, replace money bail with non-financial, least restrictive conditions, restrict detention to the small number of people for whom no condition or combination of conditions can reasonably assure appearance in court and public safety, and reduce disparity within the pretrial justice system. Currently, indigent or poor people charged with crimes are often unable to get out of jail prior to trial because of their inability to pay; Increase Access to Medicaid — Support legislation to increase access to the Medicaid program to make health insurance available to North Carolina residents at 138% of the poverty level and as additional support for rural hospitals; Mental Health — Seek legislation to develop and fund a plan to reduce the number of people with mental health issues in county jails as well as 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 intervention and treatment, and to structure appropriate county participation in governance; 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; 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, balanced by increasing the income threshold; Recycling — Support legislation to provide additional funding to local governments for recycling to cover significant increased costs for recycling these materials, especially for electronics, and to oppose the lifting of restrictions on disposal of electronics in landfills; Transportation Funding — Support increased state funding for transportation construction and maintenance needs, recognize Bike and Pedestrian modes of transportation, and support legislation to ensure that the STI funding formula recognizes that one size does not fit all and that projects in both rural and urban areas are prioritized and funded, and eliminate the cap on light rail funding; 5 Food Resiliency and Supply Chain Initiatives — Support food resiliency and supply chain initiatives and funding for equipment, supplies, and other nonrecurring expenses based on the urgency and need created by the COVID pandemic. The average food insecurity rate across North Carolina counties is 14 percent, with that rate projected to rise to 19.3 percent due to the COVID pandemic, and from 19.3 percent to 28 percent for children. A more secure and resilient supply chain will benefit residents and better prepare the State for emergencies that adversely impact the State's food supply; Evictions Information Detailed in Credit Reports — Support legislation that would remove an eviction from a tenant's credit report (1) that occurred "as a result" of the pandemic during the period covered by the Governor's State of Emergency Declaration; and (2) after having been on their credit report for three years. Dangerous Dogs Determinations — Support legislation to amend the NC Dangerous Dog Law to allow dangerous-dog declarations to be revoked after a period of time, and when there is substantial justification for doing so, in order that a dog does not needlessly live its entire life with restrictions such as being muzzled. Orange County's ordinance includes this language, but that consideration is meaningless without a parallel provision within State law; DRAFT Attachment 2 6 Other Orange County 2021 Legislative Interests In addition to Orange County's Priority Legislative Issues, there other legislative items of importance to the County for 2021. 1) Expansion of Protected Classes — Seek statewide legislative action to provide all North Carolina local governments with the authority to include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes in order to protect these classes from discrimination and discriminatory practices; and authorize complaints for discrimination to be brought in North Carolina Courts by any Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recognized protected class; 2) School Impact Fee Authority — Support legislation authorizing all North Carolina local government jurisdictions providing funding for public education to levy impact fees on new residential development to help pay for school construction. The North Carolina General Assembly approved legislation in the 1980's for some jurisdictions to levy these impact fees to support public school infrastructure. The authority to levy the fee to support school facility needs should be available to all local government jurisdictions providing funding for public education; 3) Repeal of the Monument Protection Act — Support legislation that repeals the (so-called) Monument Protection Act which was enacted to protect confederate monuments and symbols in the wake of the murders of nine African Americans in South Carolina in 2015, and that restores the regulation of monuments or symbols on public property to local governments; 4) Legislative Leadership Term Limit — Support legislation that limits the length of time a North Carolina General Assembly member can serve in the same leadership position to eight consecutive years; 5) Bona Fide Farm Use — Support legislation clarifying that the farm use and agriculture exemption of 153A-340 that restricts local zoning authority applies only to property on which the production of crops or livestock is the primary use. Clarify that marketing and agri-tourism activities must be secondary uses of the property and do not qualify for the exemption in the absence of the production of crops or livestock; 6) Renewable Energy — Support renewable energy initiatives available to residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural activities to create a market for energy credits. This support will provide incentives to produce renewable energy, which will become increasingly important to preserving and strengthening the economy and infrastructure, and in the case of agriculture help maintain rural heritage and culture; 7 7) Priority School Issues — Support legislation to address the following 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 and infrastructure/capital, and support legislation to provide for an overall increase in funding based on average daily memberships outside of the current formula system; c) a periodic accounting process for State per pupil funds so that funds and pro-rated funds follow students to their respective schools, as opposed to the current process that only considers State funding allocations based on students' attendance location on a single day during the school year; d) Impose class size reductions commensurate with State funding for staffing; and e) Maintain full funding for Driver Education; 8) State/County Partnership for Education — Seek legislation to establish a new state-county partnership to address statewide public school capital challenges-- including but not limited to maintenance, renovation, construction and debt-- through a dedicated, stable funding stream that is consistent from county to county and sufficient to meet the school facility needs of all 100 counties; 9) Maternity/Paternity Leave and Benefits for School Employees — Support legislation which provides State coverage for maternity/paternity leave for all local school system employees that is similar to the coverage the State already provides to all other State employees; support legislation for the State to provide two (2) paid FMLA days to local school system employees; and oppose any legislation shifting the State's existing responsibility for employee benefits to local school boards and local governments; 10)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; 11)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 (10%) increase in the base 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; and 8 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; 12)Sales Tax Distribution Formula — Support legislation directing that all sales tax be distributed on a per capita basis as it is fair and more equitable for counties with less economic development as compared to the point of delivery basis. The UNC School of Government has indicated that a per capita basis tax "would indeed be a more even distribution of LOST revenue across the state"; 13)Maintain Local Government Authority over Solid Waste Management — Oppose any shift of solid waste management and recycling services away from local governments; 14)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 maintaining secondary roads and/or funding expansion projects; 15)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; 16)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. Presently there is no mechanism where a county can collect fees in lieu of transportation improvement construction based on conditions agreed to by both parties during a conditional zoning process. These fees may be for a developer fair share of a future comprehensive intersection improvement but would not be built by NCDOT until other funding could be assigned to do a complete improvement; 17)Revenue Options for Local Government — Support efforts to preserve and expand the existing local revenue base of counties and authorize local option revenue sources already given to any other jurisdiction to all counties. Oppose efforts to divert to the state fees or taxes currently allocated to the counties or to erode existing county revenue streams; 18)E-911 Funds — Support protection and broader applications of the NC 9-1-1 Fund to be used primarily for assuring that 9-1-1 systems are able to upgrade existing performance levels in order to pay for 9-1-1 operations or 9-1-1 related upgrades such as the infrastructure needed to migrate to next-generation (NG911) technology. Orange County has appreciated past efforts and supports 9 future initiatives to assure our citizens are provided continued access to emergency services from all sources; 19)Land, Water and Agricultural Preservation Funding — Support Park, Agricultural Preservation, Clean Water Management 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 request that these funds receive additional funding, preferably through dedicated funding sources; 20)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; 21)Aguatic Vegetation Control — Support legislation to provide for and fund a comprehensive statewide approach to noxious aquatic vegetation control in public water reservoirs; 22)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 and authorize counties to prohibit the carrying of concealed weapons on county and county funded college/university campuses, in addition to playgrounds; 23)Adult Protective Services — Support increased funding and legislation to strengthen adult protective services; 24)Court Funding — Support increased state funding for NC courts, including reinstating funding for drug treatment court; 25)Agricultural Economic Development — Support state funding and staffing for agricultural research, Cooperative Extension services and other agriculture- related efforts to support the largest economic driver in North Carolina; 26)Economic Development Efforts — Support legislation to grow North Carolina's statewide economy through sound state investments, including public infrastructure funding, competitive incentives, and coordinated efforts with county economic development services; 27)Legislative Study on Educational Requirements for Law Enforcement Officers — Support legislation to establish a legislative study commission to review the current educational curriculum for law enforcement officers and make recommendations regarding potential modifications/additions. The overarching purpose of curriculum revision would be to instill in future LEOs some depth of understanding of the complex nature of the society they will serve. Potential topics for consideration include sociology, American history and literature, psychology, philosophy, and conflict resolution. In addition to members of the 10 Senate and House, members should include a diverse array of experts in law enforcement and criminal justice education; also in higher education, specialists in the humanities/social science subject matter listed above; and 28)Flexible Billing Options for Water & Sewer Utility Providers — Support legislation allowing local governments and other water and sewer providers to implement flexible billing practices during states of emergency and other similar adverse circumstances to establish pricing policies, potential waivers and debt forgiveness opportunities to assist impacted customers.