By Cassie Gavin
Senior Director of Government Relations
The N.C. General Assembly was quiet this week. No vote was taken on the state budget although it was on the House calendar every day, leading to complaints from the minority party. When a bill sits on the calendar day after day, it indicates that it doesn’t have enough votes to pass but that leadership wants to keep open the possibility of a vote if some members are absent. That means the minority party has to keep showing up in force or risk that a veto override vote on the budget will occur when too many of their members are absent. Read more about the budget impasse in this AP story.
Updates:
- On Wednesday, the billboard bill that the Sierra Club opposes was on the House calendar for a vote of concurrence, but it was rescheduled for Tuesday of next week.
- The Duke Energy multi-year ratemaking bill that the Sierra Club has opposed remains stalled in the House.
- The Farm Act was not taken up by the House Rules Committee, its last stop before a House vote.
The fact that these bills are not moving is a good sign that your advocacy efforts are working! Delay means that a bill may lack support or that some part of the bill is controversial. But the billboard industry and Duke Energy continue to lobby hard for their bills and legislators remain keen to pass a Farm Act, so anything could happen as long as the legislature remains in session.
Opportunity for Action:
Please continue to ask your House representative to defend the environment by opposing H 645 (billboard bill), S 559 (Duke Energy bill) and S 315 (Farm Act).