N.C. Senator Ellie Kinnaird's Newsletter

May 8, 2011 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Ellie Kinnaird

Greetings from the North Carolina Senate,

One of the best aspects of this newsletter is the response I get from readers - from agreement, to criticism and corrections. After I commented last week about my difficulty voting to declare Motor Sports as the official NC Sport, since Orange County is the home of the Tar Heels, I was reminded by a reader that Orange County also has a long history of stock car racing, with one of the first in the state located right here. It has even been declared a Historic Site. Current race tracks in our district are Orange County Speedway, Roxboro Motorsports Park, and Orange County Kartway. The reader also pointed out that UNC basketball star, Brad Daugherty is a racing analyst on TV’s racing broadcasts and a team owner in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.

This was a week that local governments lost some control. First, a bill called “Level Playing Field,” which should have been called the “Time Warner Wins” bill passed. The bill prohibits local governments from providing broadband to its citizens who don’t have lines to their homes and businesses because the major cable companies refuse to run where it is too costly because of too few homes. Those cities that have already established broadband will be allowed to continue but with severely limited territory and customer base.

Next, no local or county government will now be allowed to regulate private water wells. This means that in a drought, where the ground water could be drawn too low, private wells, whether it is a thousand gallons a day or 100,000 gallons a day well, such as an industrial user or chicken farm, will not be part of the drought plan. For years, we have tried to encourage regionalism in water planning, but it never passed and now this bill goes in the opposite direction.

Finally, cities and towns have what are called extraterritorial jurisdictions (ETJ). This is a ring of one to three miles beyond the town boundaries where they can plan and zone for certain uses. A bill now prohibits a town from preventing a bona fide farm from building in the ETJ. That could mean a small vegetable farm or a large poultry operation of thousands of animals. This bill limits the recourse that neighbors of proposed factory farms have when located in the ETJ of nearby towns.

Soil and Water Conservation was moved from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to Agriculture and Consumer Services. Most people thought Soil and Water was already in Agriculture and not in DEHNR where water quality is regulated. The Soil and Water Supervisors Association stated that they had a good relationship with DEHNR and weren’t anxious to move but saw it as a way to head off drastic cuts when the House Budget cut DEHNR so deeply.

We approved a bill to expunge a youthful offender’s criminal record for non-violent felonies committed under the age of 18. This will give a new life to so many, especially boys, who do stupid things at an age when studies show the brain is not fully formed and lacks judgment, impulse control, and the ability to resist peer pressure. Law enforcement will still have access to the records, but they will not be available to the public. Most of these kids grow up to become contributing citizens, living productive lives and should not be held back in their life opportunities.

Citizens who give their email addresses to cities to receive civic information are now protected from vendors who want to buy or copy the lists for commercial uses in a bill passed by the Senate last week.

Though only symbolic, one bright spot last week was a Resolution that recognized Cinco de Mayo, the celebration of the Mexican victory over France in the 19th century. The Resolution was passed, and embraced, while many anti-Hispanic bills are working their way through the legislature. The sponsor of the bill said he had never received so much hate mail in all his years in the legislature. A symbolic victory in the midst of all that hate that is permeating our state and nation today is encouraging.

On a lighter note, one of my colleagues, Stan White, grew up on the Outer Banks. There were four children in his first grade, three in the second grade, four in the third, and fourth grades before several schools consolidated in the fifth grade. The first graders sat in the first row, where the teacher would get them started on their assignment, then she would go to the second row while they were working and give the second graders their assignments and so on through the day. Mothers from the community each took a week and brought the kids lunch. The Senator’s father was the game warden, so when he came across illegally gotten game, he took it to the school where they dined on deer, rabbits, quail and whatever some poor soul had had confiscated by the warden. It takes a village, as this history shows us.

Finally, a bumper sticker seen at the Legislature that speaks to our times: “Wag more, bark less.”

Paid for by Ellie Kinnaird for Senate • Campaign Address: PO Box 668, Carrboro, NC 27510 • 919-918-3432
Legislative Office Address: Room 628 LOB, 300 N. Salisbury St., Raleigh, NC 27603 •