The Joint Legislative Study Commission on Municipal Annexation is allegedly set to meet for the first time on December 4, 2008 and then again on December 17, 2008.
This commission was set up in the 2008 studies bill.
I have criticized this commission as being a sham and explained that it
wouldn’t have enough time to do any meaningful work. I never
imagined the legislature would have the audacity to meet for the first
time in December. Somewhere the League is laughing.
I always have thought annexation commissions in general were a bad
idea–there is nothing to study. However, the House commission
that was studying annexation looked like it might develp something
positive in terms of recommendations. However, its work was
effectively killed off through the creation of this new joint
commission.
July, 2008: I explained that:
“This commission will have way too little time to meet and come up with
any meaningful recommendations before the 2009 session. The
commission expires at the start of the next legislative session or
earlier. There will be excuses like there are elections,
holidays, etc so it is hard to meet. The language is drafted in a
way so that it may never meet (which would be good).”
September, 2008: I said:
Now,
with about three months to go before the end of the year, plus
elections and holidays, a joint committee, which has not been formed
yet, has to learn the issue (something the House committee wouldn’t
have had to do) and actually develop recommendations before the end of
2008.
October, 2008: I wrote:
“This
House-Senate commission still hasn’t met yet. It was supposed to
finally meet on October 22nd, but that meeting was just
cancelled. Its first meeting was going to be listening to David
Lawrence from UNC give his annexation overview which the House
committee already heard–the joint commission would have to start from
scratch.
“It would be good if this commission doesn’t meet. The
anti-property rights Senate would simply undermine any real
recommendations. Senator Basnight had the audacity to appoint
Senator Rand to this joint commission–the same person who
single-handledly killed the moratorium bill.”
Best Case Scenario: The Commission doesn’t meet or admits that
the recommendations are far from complete due to time constraints and
their primary recommendation is that the legislature needs to consider more significant action.
Worst-Case Scenario (Likely): Committee meets and the bill and
report drafting is done behind closed doors as is typical. The
recommendations tinker with the annexation law to give the impression
like something has been done. The League celebrates by being able
to point to the sham commission’s work as the reason why the forced
annexation issue doesn’t need to be addressed beyond what is contained
in the recommendations.
This is a dangerous committee for
annexation reformers–nothing good is likely to come out of it–the
question is whether something bad will come out of it, and how can the damage
be minimized.
