On Behalf of Rob Thompson, Executive Director, Covenant with North Carolina's Children:

The Legislature convened this week to take up a few bills, though it remains unclear why the legislature didn't wait for the normally scheduled session in May to take up these issues. Be sure to read to the bottom for a brief budget update.

Racial Justice Act:

The House and Senate approved SB 9, which repeals the Racial Justice Act. The Racial Justice Act was passed in 2009 and allows death row inmates to appeal their sentence if they can show that racism contributed to their sentence.

Governor Perdue has thirty days to veto the bill and has not yet indicated her intentions. If she does veto the bill, it's unclear if the House will be able to override her veto as the original vote was along party lines. Republicans would need to convince at least four Democrats to change their votes to override a veto.

Gas Tax Cap:

The House approved a six-month cap of the gas tax that would take effect on January 1, 2012. However, the Senate refused to take up the measure, so it appears dead for the time being.

If the legislature had approved the cap, it would have cost the state $95 million in revenue.

Beer:

The legislature also passed a bill allowing breweries in western NC to sell beer on location. This bill was passed to accommodate two breweries moving to Asheville - Sierra Nevada and New Belgium.

Veto Overrides:

Per usual, there were all sorts of rumors about overriding earlier vetoes from Governor Perdue (voter ID, NCAE Dues Check-off, etc). No vetoes came up.

Budget Update:

While nothing happened in the legislature regarding the budget, Senior Appropriations Chair Rep. Harold Brubaker has gone on record stating that it's their goal to pass a budget on the first or second day of session in May.

To be clear, if you want to have any impact on the upcoming budget, this winter is the time to do it.