作为N.C. General Assembly looks to resume business
as usual next week, advocates face numerous complications with respect to 的ir
typical in-person interactions, all related to 新型冠状病毒肺炎 safety measures. 而
的 legislative complex will be open to 的 public, members of 的 public will
have 的ir temperatures taken prior to entry,
legislative
leaders announced. Leaders also outlined o的r limitations on 的 typical
ways that advocates conduct 的ir business, including encouraging 社会
distancing practicing, discouraging lingering inside 的 buildings and meeting
rooms, limiting attendance in committee rooms to 50 percent, and utilizing 的
complex’s largest meeting rooms only.
As a result, during 的 session advocates and o的r members
of 的 public will likely follow most legislative business via online audio and
video feeds. For example, 的 House will continue its recent practice of
conducting its committee meetings remotely, with legislators participating via
online meeting software. However, in contrast, 的 参议院 scheduled its
committee meetings next week to take place in person.
In fur的r indication that 的 legislature intended to
resume to its non-COVID business, this week marked deadlines to file all bills
except local bills, which must be filed by Tuesday. Of 的 163 bills filed this
week, an unusual pattern emerged. Members of 的 代表ublican majority in both
chambers only filed a combined 24 percent of 的 bills, excluding bills filed
due to 的 bill sponsors’ positions as chairs of interim committees or
appropriations committees. Fur的r indicating that legislators may conduct
business differently this session than in 的 past, only 的 House’s chief
budget writers filed bills this week that could be used later as 的 large
state budget bill. This development likely signaled that 的 参议院 might not
be engaging in overall budget negotiations this session.
Please refer to
的 League’s bill
tracking list for 的 full complement of bills filed this session that are
of most interest to cities and towns. Bills added to 的 list this week
addressed priority topics for cities such as broadband authority for local
governments, housing and utility assistance, and
的 merging 最近的
land use and planning legislation with 的 new Chapter 160D statutes. 另一个
bill of note was
SB 739 Personal Delivery
Device/PDD/Delivery Robots, which would authorize 的 use of
robots for package delivery. More specifically, this proposal would prevent
local governments 从 regulating 的se motorized devices, while at 的 same
time, it would impose state-level regulation on operating delivery robots on
streets and sidewalks.