North Carolina Legislative Newsletter
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Quarter One | 2010 |
2010 Primary Election Review Now that the deadline for legislators and their challengers to file their notice of candidacy for 2010 has past, we have a clear picture of the state’s primary elections on May 4. While the 2010 election is not headlined by Presidential or even Council of State races, it will determine who controls the redistricting that will follow the upcoming 2010 census. At the top of the ballot this year is the US Senate race with incumbent Sen. Richard Burr (R) facing three primary challengers. Six challengers will face off in the Democrat’s primary, with NC Secretary of State Elaine Marshall running again along with former State Sen. Cal Cunningham. [Continued...] Ethics and Lobbying Law Update In the fall of 2009 the State Ethics Commission (SEC) adopted and published Advisory Opinion AO-L-09-010 which impacts the reporting of compensation paid by lobbyist principals to lobbyists. On January 28, 2010, the Commission issued additional guidance in an effort to address concerns regarding the meaning and scope of the opinion. Amidst considerable confusion and uncertainty as to compliance, the SEC agreed to delay the effect of the opinion until 1st Quarter 2010 reporting period. North Carolina’s lobbying laws have always expressed and approved of an allocation of compensation paid by a lobbyist principal to lobbyists between those activities which met the statutory definition of lobbying and those which did not. Even with the expansion of the definition of lobbying (both in scope and range of covered persons) over the years, the statutes maintained this allocation premise and the notion that some activities, such as monitoring the filing of bills or sitting in a committee room listening to proceedings, did not fall under the definition of lobbying. [Continued...] 2011 Short Session On May 12, 2010 the short session of the NC General Assembly will convene. The session is restricted in its scope by the 2009 adjournment resolution, limiting action to legislation that “directly and primarily affect[s] the State budget,” amends the State Constitution, has “cross-over,” is a recommendation from an interim committee and a few other very specific (and rare) actions. These limitations in theory focus the short session on its primary goal of adjusting the second fiscal year of the State budget based on new revenue projections. While this is the primary goal, the short session is likely to see discussion of the following major issues as well: Tax Modernization – The House and Senate Finance committees have met jointly during the interim to review the State’s tax code and to examine possible “modernization.” The individual income tax and sales tax have been targeted as options for reform, with the sales tax the more likely path, if any. During the interim, the Joint Finance Committee has expressed strong interest in expanding the sales tax base to include certain discrete services while modernizing the way it is applied and collected. [Continued...] Current Budget Projections Recently the Fiscal Research Division of the General Assembly provided a report on the State’s revenue collections and budget outlook. Through February, the State has experienced a $45 million revenue shortfall which is projected to increase through the end of the fiscal year. While the downward trend of sales and income tax collections has leveled out, the report predicts the economic recovery will be slow resulting weak revenue collections extending through the 2010-11 fiscal year. The current shortfall was reduced by the Department of Revenue’s initiative to resolve longstanding tax disputes with more than 200 taxpayers producing $422 million in tax collections. [Continued...] About Troutman Sanders Strategies We are a full-service government relations and issue management firm. We assist our clients seeking policy changes and procurement opportunities through our broad array of contacts at the federal, state and local level. For more information, visit www.troutmansandersstrategies.com.
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