Latest news with #HouseBill247
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Senate Agriculture committee considers Wilson for DEQ secretary
North Carolina Legislative Building (Photo: Galen Bacharier/NC Newsline) The North Carolina Senate Agriculture, Energy, and Environment Committee reviewed Reid Wilson's appointment as secretary of the Department of Environmental Quality during its hearing on Wednesday. The hearing was billed as 'discussion only.' Lawmakers will take a vote at their next meeting. Wilson formerly served as secretary for the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources from 2021 to 2024. Before that, he was DNCR's chief deputy secretary from 2017 to 2020. Following his appointment earlier this year by Gov. Josh Stein, he's been serving as DEQ secretary on an interim basis while awaiting confirmation. At the national level, Congress has been working on a federal budget that would include cuts to some of the areas under DEQ's purview. Sen. Jay Chaudhuri (D-Wake) asked what the cuts would mean to DEQ and how Wilson would respond. About half of DEQ's budget comes from federal sources, Wilson said. In particular, the proposed budget would remove $31.5 million from operating grants. 'We would have to let a whole lot of people go, and the consequences of that are that our permitting processes would take longer, our responses to spills and other problems would take longer, our responsiveness and assistance to businesses would not be as strong,' Wilson said. 'Everything we do, we would do less well.' Chaudhuri jokingly followed up with, 'Do you still want this job?' Wilson answered in the affirmative. Sen. Jim Burgin (R-Harnett, Lee, Sampson) asked about water quality, specifically microplastics. Wilson said DEQ staff are looking into the issue, and the department also collaborates with others like university researchers to learn more. 'Water quality is a huge priority,' he said. 'It is a significant health concern, so we're gonna' be involved with that.' After Hurricane Helene swept through the western portion of the state, DEQ worked closely with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to provide mobile programs testing the quality of drinking wells. Wilson said the agencies found out how polluted the drinking water was, how to get it cleaned, and tested it to make sure it was healthy before people drank it again. 'For folks with a well in the yard or on their property, they're more vulnerable, so we want to make sure we are doing as much testing,' Wilson said. 'We have a [fund] which helps pay for additional private well tests around the state when we determine that that is needed.' Lawmakers also voted to approve two pieces of legislation at Tuesday's meeting, which they discussed yesterday: House Bill 247 ('8-1-1 Amendments') and House Bill 694 ('Study Water/Wastewater Regionalization'). The former heads to the Senate Judiciary Committee and the latter proceeds to the Senate Rules Committee.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Senate Agriculture Committee reviews zoning, excavation, wasterwater bills
(Photo: NC Department of Agriculture 2018 Pesticide Report) The Senate Agriculture, Energy, and Environment Committee approved one bill and discussed two others during its hearing on Tuesday. Lawmakers voted to pass House Bill 126, titled 'Revise Voluntary Ag. District Laws,' without any discussion or testimony. This measure would require government agencies considering condemning or rezoning property within a voluntary agricultural district to hold a public hearing. There would be 45 days to set up the hearing and 120 days for the local agricultural advisory board to submit its findings and recommendations to the agency. 'At this point, I've heard no opposition to this bill,' primary sponsor Rep. Jimmy Dixon (R-Duplin, Wayne) said. The bill now heads to the Senate Rules Committee. Legislators also reviewed two bills for discussion only: House Bill 247 ('8-1-1 Amendments') and House Bill 694 ('Study Water/Wastewater Regionalization'). Sen. Michael Lazzara (R-Onslow) presented HB 247 to the panel, explaining the language would be replaced with text from Senate Bill 328, which updates the Underground Utility Safety and Damage Prevention Act. 'We just made the corrections to some of the language, but essentially, it's a consensus,' he said. Sen. Tom McInnis (R-Cumberland, Moore) said he appreciated the bill, seeing as he's had a lot of complaints about 8-1-1. That's the number individuals should call prior to excavating to ensure they don't encounter any buried utilities. 'We can't move forward in our state unless we have a cohesive unit of construction,' McInnis said. If this bill passes the panel, it will proceed to the Senate Rules Committee. It's the same case for HB 694, which would direct the Environmental Finance Center at the University of North Carolina to study wastewater and water regionalization efforts. Sen. David Craven (R-Anson, Montgomery, Randolph, Richmond, Union) presented the legislation. Sen. Lisa Grafstein (D-Wake) asked about the Department of Environmental Quality's role in the process of transferring water between basins. 'This starts with a notice, then DEQ works with the water applicant to develop a draft environmental statement that looks at environmental impacts, it looks at alternatives to the water withdrawal, as well as several other things of that nature,' legislative analysis Kyle Evans said.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lawmakers weigh changes to Ohio vicious dog laws
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Ohio lawmakers are looking to change vicious dog laws, which have not changed in years. 'Story after story after story of sad situations where folks were seriously, seriously injured and/or killed,' Rep. Kevin Miller (R-Newark) said. Miller is sponsoring House Bill 247, which makes several changes to the law, but he said one major portion of it allows a dog who attacks someone to be seized immediately by the dog warden. Franklin County deputy attacked by dog in traffic stop 'So, in many cases, those dogs that maybe bit a neighbor, they remained in the community because the dog warden couldn't remove them,' he said. Some members of the Ohio House Public Safety Committee raised concerns about these dogs being immediately removed from a home. 'When [animal shelters] are full, they don't take dogs,' Rep. Phil Plummer (R-Dayton) said. 'That's why people are quarantining them at home.' 'You're taking them out of the home without due process or going through the hearing process,' Rep. Juanita Brent (D-Cleveland) said. Ohio again ranks among worst states in country in list by U.S. News & World Report But Miller said that the provision acts in the best interest of the victim of the attack. Under the bill, once the dog is seized, there is a ten-day period in which the case must be heard; then if the dog is deemed vicious, the court will decide whether the dog must be humanely put down. 'The responsibility is on the owner,' Miller said. 'However, if they've done such an egregious thing, I feel that the dog should be euthanized.' The bill also increases legal penalties, but not in all cases of attacks. 'If my dog has been a loving animal, no issues of any aggression, but one day it happens to lash out, this bill doesn't change the penalties for that,' Miller said. 'It keeps those the exact same. The increased penalties in this bill are for the repeat offenders.' Ohio's power grid operator warns of potential power shortages this summer This is not the only bill being worked on — there are two Democrat-led bills, House Bill 240 and 241, and a Senate bill also being worked on. Lawmakers hope this helps fast track some sort of action. 'Bottom line is what we're trying to do is come up with something that we all can agree on that makes sense,' Rep. Cecil Thomas (D-Cincinnati) said. The House bills are being heard in the House Public Safety Committee. Those three bills all had sponsor testimony on Tuesday and now await both proponent and opponent testimony. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The death of the death of dueling damages
"The Duel," an illustration found in Major Jack Downing's Life of Andrew Jackson. Photograph, 1834. (Courtesy of the Library of Congress) Montanans are still liable for damages they cause during a duel, at least as far as the state's archaic legal code goes. Of course, the actual act of standing at 10 paces and killing someone, even if mutually consensual, remains a criminal offense. But the Montana Senate on Friday voted down a bill that sought to remove a statute requiring an individual to 'provide for the maintenance of the spouse and minor children' of their opponent, and pay all of their debts. House Bill 247, brought by Rep. Braxton Mitchell, R-Columbia Falls, was billed as a simple code cleanup bill requested by the lieutenant governor's office. In the first hearing on the legislation in January, Lt. Gov. Kristen Juras said that due to the illegality of killing another individual, the 1895 statute needed to be removed because 'it implies that dueling is legal. It is not.' The bill passed the House, 84-16. But the Senate had a different view, with several senators taking great pleasure in the idea of keeping hypothetical duels in Montana statute. 'Dueling is not specifically illegal in Montana. It's against public policy because it's against public policy to kill people,' Sen Andrea Olsen, D-Missoula, said on the Senate Floor. '…I do think if you're willing to kill somebody over an issue, you should be willing to die over it. And I even think it's a great thing if you're willing to compensate the family for the damages you've caused. That's what this statue is, it's the remedies for dueling.' Olsen said that the only reason given in committee for removing the statute was that it was considered 'code clutter.' 'This is at least code clutter that brings a smile to everybody's face. It actually hearkens back to the past in a way that is very interesting,' she had said during committee. Sen. Daniel Zolnikov, R-Billings, said the statute was one that gave him peace of mind. Laying out a scenario where in order to defend his honor, he challenged Sen. Greg Hertz, R-Polson, to a duel, Zolnikov said he would likely lose that fight. But, 'he's now responsible for making sure my child and spouse are taken care of. And I like that in law,' Zolnikov said. Hertz said it would 'be my honor,' to take care of the remaining Zolnikovs, if he won such a duel. Before the Senate voted down the bill, 16-34, Sen. John Fuller, R-Kalispell, reminded his colleagues that anybody challenged in a duel has the right to designate the weapons and conditions of the face-off. 'I suggest they do as Abraham Lincoln did,' Fuller said. 'Cow pies at 10 paces.'
