News

Members of the General Assembly took a giant step forward in the legislative process this week. Joint appropriation subcommittees began their work on different sectors of the budget including education, general government and transportation. This first step allows smaller groups of legislators to dive into agency budget requests and begin to set spending priorities.  

In the coming weeks, budget subcommittees will be given spending targets based on state revenue projections. The budget is the largest driver of legislative business of any General Assembly and is a strong indicator of how long the session will last. There are no longer super majorities in either chamber, making a compromise between the General Assembly and Governor much more likely.

A top legislative priority, Continuing Education for General Contractors was prepared for introduction in the House. This bill will be the companion bill to Senate Bill 55 which was introduced last week in the senate that garnered sponsorship by the vast majority of the Senate body. Representative(s) Larry Potts (R-Davidson), Mark Brody (R-Union), Julia Howard (R-Davie), and Ashton Clemmons (D-Guilford) have all signed off on the legislation and the bill is expected to be filed early next week. Once this bill is introduced, your legislative team will start the process for NCHBA’s other key legislative initiatives.

Finally, members of the newly formed Housing Caucus met Wednesday to discuss the issues surrounding housing affordability. NCHBA Director of Government Affairs Tim Minton was invited to address a group of legislators concerning the growing need for affordable workforce housing. Tim informed the group that fees, costs, and regulations imposed by all levels of government directly attribute to the problem of affordability. Furthermore, Tim explained to the group of legislators that NCHBA’s legislative agenda is based around legislation that will lower the cost of constructing new homes. The group has planned to meet again in the coming weeks.

 Legislator Of The WeekR

Representative Jamie Boles (R-Moore)

Representative Jamie Boles of Southern Pines is a great advocate for the home building industry. We thank him for his hard work shaping policies that make home ownership a reality for North Carolina families.

This post was written by NC HBA.