Just a little while ago, the House annexation committee
ignored what they had voted on a few weeks ago, as expected, and voted
to approve legislation that would place a moratorium on involuntary
annexation, but not satellite annexation.
Let me stress: The
issue isn’t whether satellite annexation should be included or not ? it
is the fact that some legislators feel they can work behind the scenes
and make changes to a bill inconsistent with what was approved in an
open and democratic process. Rep. Goforth, co-chair of the
committee, admitted that the changes were discussed by the committee
members behind the scenes.
Also, as I have said in the past, this committee likely will never meet again. Today, the bipartisan
committee announced that it wouldn’t meet during the short session
(despite previous statements to the contrary). At best, if they
actually meet after the short session, they may get in 1-2
meetings. Minor and insignificant changes likely would be
recommended yet they would be touted as major reforms.
Here’s how it almost certainly will play out:
– Recommended
moratorium bill goes nowhere in the short session. Even if by
chance it passes the House, it won’t pass the Senate.
– The committee will not meet again and they will use the fact that the
moratorium bill didn’t pass as the reason for not meeting (other
excuses include elections, time constraints, etc)
Thus will end
the “work” done by this committee. One more scam will have been
played on North Carolinians by legislators from both parties.
