The Civitas Watch List is a compilation of bills either on the floor of the House or Senate or in committee that day that is of interest to conservatives in North Carolina. Civitas will attempt to quickly highlight some of the relevant points of the bills to give a simple overview of potentially impactful legislation.
Since many pieces of legislation make it through committee, onto the legislative calendar and pass with relatively little debate, the Civitas Watch List is an attempt to call attention to bills that may be in need of further discussion and debate prior to being voted on.
We hope you find this service useful, and if you have any questions or need more information on any of the bills listed, please feel free to contact Chris Hayes, Senior Legislative Analyst at chris.hayes@nccivitas.org or (919) 332-8051.
SB 575 – Modify Corporate Apportionment Formula
This bill would provide a target tax break for a very few specific large companies, presumably this bill is needed by the Department of Commerce to lure Apple Computers to build a data center in North Carolina. Instead of reducing the tax rate for a few hand-picked companies, the General Assembly should consider lowering the tax rate for all businesses in North Carolina. This position is supported by 87 percent of NC voters according to the latest Civitas poll results.
HB 291 – Hair Braider Licensure/Cosmetic Art Act
Really? Licensing hair braiders? Is this really necessary for the government to oversee this profession? Is there some imminent threat to public health or safety from getting your hair braided that the government needs to be deciding who can participate in this industry?
Regulations and licensure like this simply limit competition and increase barriers to entry for new people to enter the marketplace. Consumers, not government, should decide the merits of a particular industry such as hair braiding.
HB 395, HB 401, HB 533, and HB 854 – Local Occupancy Tax Changes
While the General Assembly as a rule should grant more autonomy to counties, these particular tax proposals and other proposals to impose new taxes should be given to the voters in the form of a referendum and not given to either City/Town Councils or County Commissioners to unilaterally impose.
Leave a Comment