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What’s happening in the North Carolina General Assembly and around state government? Here’s a recap of activity and how your business will be impacted.
 
Last week during a COVID-19 press conference, Governor Roy Cooper announced that Executive Order 220: Extension of COVID-19 Measures to Reflect Public Health Safety Recommendations would expire. Executive Order 220 was an extension of EO 215 that lifted mask requirements in certain sectors of the private sector. During his press conference, Gov. Cooper and Dr. Cohen also announced an updated public school toolkit with guidance for masking which goes into effect July 30 at 5 p.m. Under their guidance

1. All schools should require that all children and staff in schools K-8th grade wear face coverings consistently when indoors.
2. Schools with K-8th grade should make mask use universally required regardless of vaccination status.
3. In high schools, face coverings should also be worn indoors by all individuals who are not fully vaccinated, including students grades 9-12, workers, teachers, guests, other adults, and children age two (2) or older, unless an exception applies.

 
Wake County continues to be a leader among areas within the state that have successfully worked with the community to ensure everyone has access to a vaccine of their choosing. County Commission Chair Matt Calabria recently announced that 70 percent of the eligible population has received at least one dose, leading the state. And the effort to reach the remaining 30 percent is underway. Wake County Public Health announced last week that it is expanding its COVID-19 vaccine outreach strategy to include brining vaccinations directly to homes. This allows Public Health staff, community workers and vaccinators the opportunity to have one-on-one conversations with residents, provide education and answer any questions they have prior to making the decision to get vaccinated.
 
As for legislative action last week, House Bill 366: Regulatory Act of 2021 passed the Senate and has been returned to the House for concurrence in the Senate Committee Substitute. The bill would amend state laws related to State and local government, agriculture, energy, environment, natural resources, and other various regulations. Specifically, the Senate PCS makes the following regulatory changes to NC law that may affect your business:

• Requires Pre-K operators to provide parents with information pertaining to public and private school options within the county they are located.
• Requires the NC Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to examine the needs associated with expanding the express permitting program to include additional types of permits typically required for job creating and real estate development or redevelopment activities.
• Requires the Division of Water Infrastructure within DEQ to prioritize projects that improve designated impaired waters of the state and that serve as a public water supply for a large public water system (over 175,000 service connections).
• Clarifies that proof of mailing is sufficient proof of notice for certain insurance policy or renewal cancellations by the insurer.

 
 Regulatory Reform has been an annual priority of the General Assembly since 2011. The overall goal is to reassess the burden that was placed on businesses over decades of agency oversight of the private sector. That level of oversight had grown to a level that far outpaced our neighboring states and placed additional cost burdens on North Carolina businesses. The balance between appropriate oversight and burdensome regulations is one that we will continue to monitor and provide you with updates.
 
To learn more about our GA priorities, track legislative bills, or to read our blog posts, you can visit our webpage or follow us on Twitter @RcgaJ, @tierra_rcga, or @raleighchamber.  

​On July 22, the Raleigh Chamber Government Affairs Department hosted its first in-person event. State of the City, County, & Schools, presented by Delta Dental, included remarks from Mary-Ann Baldwin, Mayor of Raleigh, Matt Calabria, Wake County Commissioners Chair, and Keith Sutton, Wake County Board of Education.
 
During the event, Mayor Baldwin’s remarks focused on the state of Raleigh and where we are as a business community. She addressed the changes surrounding the upcoming municipal election, the importance of greenway spaces during the pandemic, and the need for a commuter rail as big businesses are making their way to the Raleigh-Durham area.
 
Chair Calabria acknowledged the work Wake County is doing surrounding affordable housing, food security, employment, small business assistance programs, economic development, and its COVID-19 response. During his presentation, Chair Calabria expressed his gratitude to all of Wake County’s leaders as they worked diligently during the COVID-19 pandemic creating education initiatives such as Wake ThreeSchool and universal pre-K for low-income four-year-olds. Chair Calabria, along with the other Wake County Commissioners, is continuing to work towards a creating a greater way for residents to live, work, and learn.
 
Chair Sutton addressed the state of Wake County’s School System. During his remarks, he thanked the Wake County Public School System faculty and staff for their persistence in educating our students during the pandemic. In his presentation, Chair Sutton announced Wake County is working to onboard more bus drivers for the upcoming school year, new learning initiatives, and overcoming setbacks that many students and teachers experienced during remote learning.
 
The event was followed up by a moderated Q&A session, where Mayor Baldwin, Chair Calabria, and Chair Sutton had the opportunity to answer questions from the audience.
 
Make sure to register now for the Raleigh Chamber/CPI Security First Responders Appreciation Breakfast on Sept. 24. We will celebrate and show appreciation for our first responders, who risk their lives to save others.

What’s happening in the North Carolina General Assembly and around state government? Here’s a recap of activity and how your business will be impacted.
 
Over the past two weeks two important pieces of legislation have been enacted into law.  Senate Bill 208: Labor Law Changes, makes various changes to the labor laws of North Carolina that affect the laws governing you as an employer in the following ways all:

• Requires employers to notify employees, in writing, at least one pay period prior to changes in wages
• Provides that the maximum penalty for employers who violate record keeping requirements must not exceed $2,000 per violation
• Clarifies, that medical records obtained by the Department of Labor must be kept separate from an investigation except as necessary to support the issuance of a citation in an OSHANC enforcement proceeding
•  Makes clarifying changes to statutes addressing youth employment certificates and payment to separated employees

The Governor signed SB 208 into law on July 8. Please let us know if you would like more information on updates to North Carolina labor law or if you would like to connect with someone at the NC Department of Labor for further explanation into how they interact with employers.
 
House Bill 602: UNC Legislative Priorities/ HR Reports, is an omnibus bill that provides greater flexibility to institutions within the UNC system to manage administrative issues within the system. Highlights of the legislation include:

• Exempt’s finance, business office, and auditor professionals of UNC from most provisions of the NC Human Resources Act; Consolidates and eliminates certain reports.
• Gives the UNC Board of Governors temporary authority to implement an early retirement incentive program.
• Provides statutory authority for the UNC President to approve a reduction in force without approval of any other State agency.
• And provides temporary authority of the UNC Board of Governors to use non-state funds to provide State Health Plan premium payments for certain employees placed on emergency temporary furloughs.

The Raleigh Chamber would like to thank both Governor Cooper and the North Carolina General Assembly for supporting these bills as they align with the Chamber’s Government Affairs priorities.
 
Lastly, House Bill 951: Modernizing Energy Generation, moved forward last week and received House approval. The bill advances North Carolina’s “All of the Above” energy strategy while ensuring a balanced energy transition in North Carolina at a pace that ensures continued reliability and affordability.  A few important provisions in the bill would:
 

• Require retirement of certain coal-fired generating facilities: the Allen Plant located in Gaston County, Marshall Units 1 and 2 located in Catawba County, the Roxboro Plant located in Person County, Cliffside Unit 5 located in Cleveland County, and the Mayo Plant located in Person County.
•  Assign designated replacement resources for each of the retiring coal-fired generating facilities
• Require an electric public utility to use bond financing for $500,000,000 in certain energy transition costs related to retirement of units at the Allen Plant, Marshall Units 1 and 2, the Roxboro Plant, Cliffside Unit 5, and the Mayo Plant. This financing mechanism would not create any indebtedness for the State or any of its political subdivisions.

 
House Bill 951 has since passed the House and has been sent to the North Carolina Senate for their consideration. We will continue to monitor this issue and provide you with updates as the discussions move forward.
 
To learn more about our GA priorities, track legislative bills, or to read our blog posts, you can visit our webpage or follow us on Twitter @RcgaJ, @tierra_rcga, or @raleighchamber.

What’s happening in the North Carolina General Assembly and around state government? Here’s a recap of activity and how your business will be impacted.
 
Here’s a recap on House Bill 366: Regulatory Act of 2021. This bill would amend state laws related to State and local government, agriculture, energy, environment, natural resources, and other various regulations. The Senate PCS for HB 366 replaces contents within agriculture, natural resources, and alcohol regulations. The Senate PCS for House Bill 366 has six parts.
 
1. Wastewater Reserve Priority: Changes the effective date regarding priority consideration for loans or grants from the Wastewater Reserve or the Drinking Water Reserve, from July 1, 2021 to August 1, 2021.

2. Clarification regarding use of insurance restatements in interpreting law: Adds new Section 8A, providing that a statement or restatement of the law of insurance in any legal treatise, scholarly publication, textbook, or other explanatory text does not constitute the law or public policy of the State.

3. Nonforfeiture Interest Guarantee Change, includes the following:
a. Adds new Section 8B. Amends GS 58-58-61, the Standard Nonforfeiture Law for Individual Deferred Annuities.
b. Revises the specifications provided in determining the annual interest rate for nonforfeiture amounts, making the determination to be the lesser of 3 percent per annum and the determined interest guarantee resulting from specified parameters provided, now including that the resulting interest guarantee cannot be less than 0.15 percent (was 1 percent).

​4. Allow distilleries to sell spirituous liquor produced by the distiller directly to consumers in other states, includes the following:

1. Revises the proposed changes to GS 18B-1105(a)(2), clarifying that the new provisions allow distillery permittees to sell, deliver, and ship spirituous liquor in closed containers at wholesale or retail to consumers in other states or nations, subject to the laws of those jurisdictions.
2. Changes the effective date of the proposed changes to GS 18B-800, GS 18B-1001, and GS 18B-1105; as well as the directive to the ABC Commission to amend its rules consistent with the proposed changes, to August 1, 2021 (was July 1, 2021.)

5. Waiver of post-construction conference for certain engineered wastewater systems, includes the following:
a. Adds new Section 12A. Amends GS 130A-336.1(j), concerning required post-construction conferences between the professional engineer designing the wastewater system and the owner of the wastewater system, the licensed soil scientist or licensed geologist, the certified on-site wastewater system contractor, the certified operator of the system, and representatives from the local health department and the Department of Health and Human Services, as applicable.
b. Allows for waiver of the required conference for Type I, II, and III wastewater systems, as listed in specified administrative rule, upon written request by the professional engineer and written approval by the owner of the wastewater system.
 
6. Approval of on-site subsurface wastewater systems, includes the following:

1. Adds new Section 12.1.
2. Amends GS 130A-343, regarding the approval of on-site subsurface wastewater systems.
3. Adds to the statute's defined terms prefabricated permeable block panel system, defined, among other things, to be a unit of rigid design, constructed and installed to withstand load requirements without collapse, compression, or deflection.

 
The Senate substitute for House Bill 366 was passed by the Senate Environment Committee and is awaiting action by the Senate Committee on Rules and Operations of the Senate. We will continue to monitor and keep you apprised of its progress. 
 
Last week, the House and Senate gave final approval to Senate Bill 208: Labor Law Changes, which makes various changes to the labor laws of North Carolina. Senate Bill 208: Labor Law Changes would do all the following:

1. Clarify that the medical records obtained under G.S. 95-133(b)(13) must be kept separate from an investigative file and must not be released to an employer under investigation except as necessary to support the issuance of a citation in an OSHANC enforcement proceeding.
2. Repeal the article addressing regulation of job listing services.
3. Makes clarifying changes to statutes addressing youth employment certificates and payment to separated employees.
4. Require employers to notify employees, in writing, at least one pay period prior to changes in wages, and (5) provides that the maximum penalty for employers who violate record keeping requirements must not exceed $2,000 per violation.

 
The bill has been sent to the Governor for final approval before becoming law. He has 10 days from July 1 to sign, veto, or allow the bill to become law without his signature.
 
Stay up to date on Government Affairs priorities, track legislative bills, and read our blog posts by visiting our webpage or follow us on Twitter @RcgaJ, @tierra_rcga, or @raleighchamber.