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Legislators seek review of DMV practices |
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Oct 6, 2007 - State lawmakers say they want to take a look at two areas under the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles that have raised questions about underworked employees and undertaxed vehicles. House and Senate leaders want to review the DMV's emissions program to determine whether there are too many employees and whether workers should be given more meaningful duties. Leaders also say state laws on vintage vehicles may need to be changed so that those who improperly get vehicles classified as antiques to evade taxes face consequences. In the past week, the DMV has acknowledged that the workloads of emissions specialists are light. The state's 61 specialists have been auditing roughly 4,000 service stations and car dealerships four times a year to make sure emissions inspections are done properly. That amounts to roughly one audit per day for each specialist. An audit takes about 45 minutes to two hours to perform. The specialists have other tasks, such as testing inspection mechanics, but when The News & Observer raised questions about the audit workload, the DMV responded by tripling the number of audits the specialists must perform. DMV officials also created a new task for the specialists: inspecting vehicles parked at shopping centers and other large lots to see whether the inspection sticker tracks back to the vehicle. Some state lawmakers said the increased workload makes little sense, since the federal Environmental Protection Agency has set a quarterly test requirement for inspection station audits. "These are things that need to be looked into," said Rep. Nelson Cole, a Reidsville Democrat and a transportation budget writer. "I'm pretty adamant about the fact that when we take revenue from the general public, it's incumbent upon us to use those dollars the most effective way we can. You can't just triple the work." By Dane Kane |
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House OKs bill to prosecute contractors in Iraq in U.S. courts |
Oct 4, 2007 - The House passed a bill Thursday that would make all private contractors working in Iraq and other combat zones subject to prosecution by U.S. courts. It was the first major response by Congress to a deadly shooting in Baghdad involving Blackwater USA security guards.
Democrats called the 389-30 vote an indictment of the incident, which left at least 13 Iraqis dead. Senate Democratic leaders said they planned to follow suit with similar legislation and send a bill to President Bush as soon as possible. The bill will "deter bad behavior (and) will let everybody concerned know what the rules of the game are," said Rep. David Price, D-N.C., the bill sponsor, after the vote. "It will strengthen our mission because the kind of discipline and restraint that our military shows will be more likely shown in those that support the military." The FBI arrived in Baghdad Thursday to investigate the Sept. 16 shooting. Bush administration officials acknowledge they are unsure whether U.S. courts would have jurisdiction in the case or others like it. In a separate incident, a drunken Blackwater employee left a Christmas Eve party in Baghdad and fatally shot the guard of one of Iraq's vice presidents. That contractor was fired, fined and returned home to the United States; no charges have been filed. By Anne Flaherty |
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Senate approves $6 million for 'Road to Nowhere' settlement |
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Sep 15, 2007 - The Senate has approved a $6 million down payment on a cash settlement for Swain County in the dispute over an unfinished road through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The money, which is part of an expected $52 million settlement for the federal government's failure to build the road along the north shore of Fontana Lake, was included in a transportation appropriations bill the Senate approved Wednesday. While the House version of the bill doesn't include language on the settlement, a spokesman for Rep. Heath Shuler, D-N.C., said his boss has been told by House leaders that the Senate version including the down payment is likely to be adopted during a conference committee on the measure. It could take several years for Swain County to get the entire settlement, said Andrew Whalen, Shuler's spokesman. In May, the National Park Service announced it would recommend against finishing the so-called "Road to Nowhere," which officials had planned to build to replace one that was flooded in the 1940s when Fontana Dam was built. Finishing the road between Bryson City and Fontana Dam could have cost $600 million and would have riled conservationists who have fought the proposal for decades. - AP
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Landfill bill highlights last batch to gain Easley's signature |
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Sep 2, 2007 - New landfills in North Carolina face tough environmental restrictions under a bill signed into law by Gov. Mike Easley, who put his pen to the last 20 measures left from this year's legislative session well before a midnight Saturday deadline. By Margaret Lillard Sep 1, 2007 - New landfills in North Carolina face tough environmental restrictions under a bill signed into law by Gov. Mike Easley, who put his pen to the last 20 measures left from this year's legislative session well before a midnight Saturday deadline.
The landfill bill was one of the biggest, written to address concerns that eastern North Carolina was being targeted as a dumping ground for other states. It also includes a new set of rules for recycling computers and related equipment. "Protecting our state's natural heritage and making sure our water resources are protected are crucial to our state's future," Easley said in a statement released Saturday. "This new law takes a major step in dealing with waste in the 21st century by not just imposing important new regulations to help the environment but by giving communities the tools they need to effectively deal with the increasing need to properly handle trash disposal." By Margaret Lillard |
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Easley signs 37 more bills into law |
Aug 30, 2007 - Gov. Mike Easley on Thursday signed 37 bills into law covering issues ranging from pension investments in Sudan to the legality of mixed martial arts contests.
The signings, along with a veto of an economic incentives bill targeting a Fayetteville tire plant, leave the governor with only about 35 pieces of finalized legislation yet to handle of the more than 200 from the General Assembly session that adjourned four weeks ago. He has until midnight Saturday to sign or veto the bills, or allow them to become law without his signature. Three of the new laws signed Thursday change public records statutes, require the state to divest pension fund investments linked to Sudan's government and legalize mixed martial arts contests. As of late Thursday, Easley still hadn't signed bills that rework the state's landfill laws and create an insurance pool so chronically ill people can get affordable health coverage. Easley said he didn't expect additional vetoes with the remaining batch of bills he was still reviewing. - AP |
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