TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
Ralph Karpinos, Town Attorney
SUBJECT: Discussion of Potential Legislative Initiatives or 2005 Session of N.C. General Assembly
DATE: February 14, 2005
This agenda item has been scheduled to provide an opportunity for the Council to identify and discuss potential legislative topics prior to meeting with our Legislative Delegation on March 4, 2005. If needed, the Council will have an additional opportunity to discuss legislative topics at its second business meeting this month, on February 28, before meeting with the Delegation.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
On January 26, the Council held a Public Forum on the upcoming budget and other topics, including potential legislative initiatives for this year’s long session of the North Carolina General Assembly. Please see the attached memorandum from that forum listing potential legislative issues, including those considered by the Council for last year’s short session of the General Assembly.
Legislative initiatives mentioned at the forum include: support for an entertainment tax; and, a request that the Council support a proposal (that was considered but not enacted in the last session of the General Assembly) to establish limits on the use of handheld cellular phones while operating a motor vehicle.
On January 21, we received a letter from the North Carolina League of Municipalities requesting that we discuss with our delegation the importance of the current provisions of North Carolina law related to municipal annexation authority. The League’s overall adopted set of Legislative Goals and Policies for 2005 is included in the attached brochure.
Since the forum, one additional possible legislative topic has been identified by Town staff: regulations pertaining to “electric personal assistive mobility devices.” Under a recent revision to State Law these devices, which include the Segway brand of stand-up scooters, are permitted to operate on public highways with posted speed limits of 25 miles per hour or less and are not required to have lights when doing so at night. The statute specifically excludes them from the definition of “vehicle”, a definition that does apply to other motor vehicles and to bicycles. The recent operation of a Segway at night on the streets of Chapel Hill has raised a concern for the safety of the driver and for the safety of other vehicles due to the equipment’s low visibility.
In addition, we would note the issue, raised by the Town Attorney, regarding the recent appellate court decision, McCormick v. Hanson, 596 S.E.2d 431 (N.C. App. 2004), holding that there is no attorney work product exception from the public records law for materials held by public sector attorneys. This decision has generated considerable discussion among attorneys employed by and retained by public agencies. A legislative response to that decision is being developed and will likely be proposed during this session of the General Assembly.
The most recent information we have indicates that the North Carolina Senate has adopted a March 2 deadline for submission of local bills to Legislative Bill Drafting and a March 9 deadline for introduction. As of February 9, the House had not yet adopted its deadlines.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
The Manager recommends that the Mayor and Council, in their meeting with the Legislative Delegation:
a. support the League’s position regarding annexation law;
b. support modification of the law related to electric personal assistive mobility devices;
c. support an adjustment to the law enforcement supplemental retirement program to provide that each agency where a retiree worked shall contribute a pro rata portion of the retirement allowance rather than having the entire allowance paid by the last agency where the retiree served;
d. continue to seek additional state funding for the provision of Town fire protection services to state facilities on the University of North Carolina campus and throughout Town; and,
e. support additional substance abuse treatment facilities in Orange County and the hiring of additional local Alcohol Law Enforcement Officers.
The Town Attorney requests that the Council support, in the meeting with the Legislative Delegation, changes in the law to reaffirm the confidentiality of public agency attorney work product and attorney-client communications involving public agencies and their counsel.
In addition, the Town Manager recommends that the Council discuss, tonight or on February 28, its interest in pursuing the other issues that have been identified by the Council as potential legislative requests.
ATTACHMENTS