By Cassie Gavin
Director of Government Relations
As you may have heard, the Legislature returned to Raleigh yesterday to address a handful of bills left unresolved at the end of June. Lawmakers did not attempt to override any of the four outstanding gubernatorial vetoes and did not take up several eligible regulatory reform bills with environmentally harmful provisions. We're counting this outcome as a victory! Thank you for your advocacy efforts that made some bad ideas too controversial for the legislature to take up.
Some wins, some losses
Leading up to the Thursday session, lawmakers incorporated many environmental provisions introduced earlier this year, including harmful provisions, into two regulatory reform bills, Senate Bill 16 "Business Regulatory Reform Act of 2017" and House Bill 56 "Amend Environmental Laws."
Senate Bill 16 ultimately passed after some debate in the House. Rep. Pricey Harrison (D-Guilford) raised concerns about several provisions having to do with stormwater control that may negatively impact water quality. One provision will restrict the Environmental Management Commission from requiring stormwater controls during redevelopment, and another creates a new exemption to coastal stormwater rules for residential development projects. These changes are of concern because controlling stormwater is one of the best ways to protect water quality and limit flooding. Also, Rep. Mickey Michaux (D-Durham) voiced concerns about a landfill provision that appears to limit local government control. Please thank Reps. Harrison and Michaux for speaking up for the environment.
Good news for endangered sea turtles
While the day was not without losses, the good news is that we and our allies made certain provisions in House Bill 56 controversial enough that lawmakers went home without taking action on the bill. This includes the proposal to repeal the popular Outer Banks plastic bag ban that protects sea turtles and prevents litter. H 56 also includes several new exemptions to riparian buffer rules that protect water quality.
Additionally, lawmakers didn't consider the "contested cases" provision, last seen in House Bill 374 "Business Freedom Act," that would limit the ability of citizens to challenge environmental permits in court.
An even longer list of bad environmental provisions never made it into the final bills due to pushback from a variety of groups, including the Sierra Club. House Bill 56 contains many of the provisions the Chapter remains opposed to and, although it did not get taken up yesterday, it may be back later this month.
Resurrection of bill to give legislature veto over agency rules
House Bill 162 "Amend Administrative Procedure Laws" was passed by the Senate mostly along party lines and without any debate even though it contains major changes in the way state rulemaking bodies can make rules for a wide variety of things such as environmental protection, immunizations and education programs. For example, the bill would limit the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) from adopting any rules more stringent than federal even in cases of "serious and unforeseen threats".
H 162 would undercut the ability of agencies and commissions to adopt needed rules. The bill would prohibit agencies from adopting rules that would have an aggregate five-year financial impact of $100 million or more, and would require approval by a supermajority of the rulemaking body for rules with an aggregate financial impact over five years of $10 million to $99 million. These numbers may seem big, but the financial impacts of environmental and health related bills can add up as the benefits may be broad and the math used to calculate financial impacts requires adding up costs and benefits. Existing environmental protections such as the Jordan and Falls lakes' cleanup rules could be affected because the Legislature required all state rules to be reviewed and readopted every 10 years.
The bulk of H 162 is a Senate proposal that was inserted into an unrelated and non-controversial version of the House bill earlier in the year. The House had so far declined to go along with the Senate, voting to not concur with the Senate's additions in late June. But then H 162 was added to the House calendar last night in essentially the same form as the House had previously declined to approve. Rep. Harrison objected to a vote on the bill, and succeeded in getting the bill removed from the calendar and referred to House Rules Committee. This piece of legislation could be brought back up in the House for consideration later this month. NC Policy Watch published an article about this today.
Opportunity for Action:
Please contact your representative and ask them to oppose H 162 because it would sharply undercut the ability of agencies and commissions to adopt common-sense, much needed rules like environmental protections.
As you may have noticed, our victories are subject to continued challenges and that is the case with these regulatory reform bills. The Legislature will reconvene yet again on Aug. 18, primarily to address court-ordered redistricting. Lawmakers may also resume debate on the proposals described above.
Keep up your advocacy efforts to sustain Governor Cooper's veto
Later this month, the General Assembly may also consider whether to override Governor Cooper's action on any of four bills he vetoed in late June and July. This includes House Bill 576 "Allow Aerosolization of Leachate," also known as "the garbage juice bill," which many of you advocated against.
Opportunity to take action (again)
You may have already asked your legislators to vote against H 576. Unfortunately the bill passed, but Governor Cooper agreed with us that it's a bad idea. So now we have an opportunity to stop the "garbage juice bill" by asking legislators to sustain the governor's veto. Please remind your representative that you oppose H 576 and ask them to protect our air and water by rejecting a veto override.
Special thanks to all of you who contacted your representatives about environmental issues this year - it's making a difference!