By Cassie Gavin
Director of Government Relations
The 2019 session of the NC General Assembly has gotten off to a somewhat slow start this year with few bills filed and few votes so far. The filing deadline for non-appropriations bills is March 27, so expect to hear updates about more proposed legislation filed in March. Legislators will file thousands of bills over a session but most don’t end up becoming law; usually, only those with strong support from leadership come to a vote. Public support or opposition to proposals also plays a role in whether a new idea is taken up, so please weigh in with state legislators early and often!
A couple of bills of interest filed so far are:
House Bill 77, “Electric Standup Scooters,” sponsored by Reps. John Torbett (R-Gaston), Michele Presnell (R-Haywood, Madison, Yancey), Frank Iler (R-Brunswick) and Phil Shepard (R-Onslow) is a helpful bill that would clarify that e-scooters are not motor vehicles or mopeds. The bill would create a new definition in North Carolina law to define the scooters that are already very popular in some cities like Raleigh. Sierra Club’s transportation policy mentions scooters several times as a method of reducing vehicle trips of gas-powered cars.
On the other hand, House Bill 157, “DMV/Registration of Bicycles,” sponsored by Rep. Jeffrey Elmore (R-Alexander, Wilkes) would require owners of bicycles age 16 and up who ride on public streets to register each bike with the DMV, pay a fee of $10 and display a registration plate on each bike. Violations would result in a $25 fine. The fees would go biking safety-related projects. Transportation emissions are now the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions contributing to climate change in the United States; we should be encouraging clean modes of transport like biking instead of adding fees.
Both of these bills were referred to the House Committee on Transportation.
Reps. Chuck McGrady (R-Henderson), Robert Reives (D-Chatham), Sarah Stevens (R-Alleghany, Surry, Wilkes) and Jon Hardister (R-Guilford) filed House Bill 140, “The FAIR Act,” to amend the state constitution to establish nonpartisan redistricting criteria. Please thank these legislators for filing this bill and also thank the many co-sponsors, a list of which can be viewed here.