06/09/2011

Close to the end?

Meeting until midnight last night, the General Assembly moved closer to adjournment. Everyone is waiting for the Governor to veto the budget. That shoe is certain to fall and it is just as certain that the veto will be over-ridden.

In the meantime it is “the silly season” around the General Assembly. Bills are drafted, attached to other bills as amendments or committee substitutes, and go through committees and on to the floor for a vote before anyone has a chance to really examine them.

We are watching closely for signs of movement on capping the gas tax. As of this past Monday we were told a House bill was a done deal. We have had all hands on deck this week and transportation lobbyists have worked hard to prevent legislation from moving. As of this moment – and I do mean literally this moment – it looks like we might have dodged this bullet. The Senate seems to be holding strong not to cap the tax but there is pressure within the House Republican Caucus to move a bill. We get a different report almost hourly.

Special thanks goes to Berry Jenkins with AGC, Betsy Bailey with Professional Engineers of NC, and Kathryn Westcott with the American Council of Engineering Consultants. Working closely with NCDOT lobbyist Beau Memory we have been successful thus far in holding off a gas tax cap bill and preventing the Life Cycle Cost Analysis bill being pushed by the concrete industry.