Kilpatrick Townsend’s Government Relations Team represents a variety of clients across many industries and in all levels of government, with a focus on the North Carolina General Assembly. Below is an update on the activity at the NC General Assembly this week. Please feel free to contact a member of the team with any questions or visit our website to learn more about our Government Relations practice.

Budget Negotiations
House and Senate budget conferees were appointed two weeks ago to negotiate the differences between the House and Senate budget proposals. At this point, there has been a breakdown in negotiations between the two chambers. House and Senate leadership have not yet reached an agreement on some major budget components. Some of the major differences in the proposals include state employee and teacher raises and tax cuts. The original goal was to have a final conference report to the Governor by Labor Day. Earlier this week, Senator Berger indicated a final agreement may not be reached until the end of September.

Remote Business Access
H320, Modernize Remote Business Access, would authorize remote meetings of corporation shareholders, nonprofit corporation members, and mutual insurance company policy holders. The bill would also authorize nonprofit corporations to conduct all business electronically. Most of these authorizations were granted temporarily by Executive Orders during the pandemic, but this legislation would make it a permanent option in the state. It received a favorable report from the Senate Judiciary and Rules Committees on Wednesday. We expect the bill to be heard on the Senate floor next week.

ABC Omnibus Legislation
This week, the Senate considered a large omnibus bill that would make various changes to the laws pertaining to ABC stores, distilleries, and other alcohol related statutes. Some of the provisions of the proposed committee substitute (PCS) for H890 include:

Allowing online orders from ABC stores;

• Expanding the allowable growler size;
• Establishing the North Carolina Spirituous Liquor Advisory Council;
• Increasing the number of drinks a patron can purchase at a college stadium from one to two; and
• Allowing local governments to designate “social districts,” which would be a defined outdoor area for consumption of alcoholic beverages sold by a permittee during specified times.

The bill received a favorable report from the Senate Commerce and Rules Committees on Wednesday. We expect the full Senate to vote on the bill next week.

Redistricting Public Hearings
On Wednesday, the Senate and House Redistricting Committees released the public hearing schedule for the redistricting process. Thirteen public hearings will be held in September. By the end of the process, a public hearing will have occurred in each of the state’s current congressional districts. The full public hearing schedule can be found here.