The Senate Judiciary II Committee handles a busy calendar this morning. On the agenda is House Bill 1377, Taxpayer Optimization Act, which would open up the bidding process in state land transactions.
Sen. Ed Jones, (D-Halifax), stands in as Chair for Sen. Fletcher Hartsell, (R-Cabarrus). Rep. Dale Folwell, (R-Forsyth), is recognized to explain the bill. Rep. Folwell is quickly interrupted by Sen. Joe Sam Queen, (D-Haywood), who says that he is on the subcommittee handling this bill and this is the first time he has seen the current version.
Rep. Folwell responds that the subcommittee was considering an idea from Sen. Hartsell, but failed to act on the bill. He says he has been trying to get the subcommittee to meet for 4 weeks, but they still haven’t taken any action on this bill.
Senators Dorsett (D-Guilford) and Dannelly (D-Mecklenburg) both insist that the bill cannot just skip the subcommittee process and insist that it shouldn’t be heard today. Sen. Dannelly asks the Chairman if they can “move on”.
Rep. Folwell speaks again about the importance of this bill and how it brings vital sunlight to state transactions, but consents as the bill is pulled from discussion.
As always, monkey business abounds.
