Nelda Holder at the Mountain Xpress did a great job of summarizing pending state legislation. One of the least vomitous bills would lighten the onerous load of the Sullivan Acts by allowing the City of Asheville to use water revenues to repair streets and sidewalks busted up in the process of waterline repairs. Asheville is the only city in North Carolina prevented by the legislature from doing this.
Legislators are also attempting to enact feel-good. Is it possible that the state can stop sudden infant death syndrome with $40,000 and the strangely-named Safe Sleep Awareness campaign? Or can it stop bullying (but only on the basis of differences, which probably do not include relative submissiveness) by requiring schools to adopt a policy before December 31? Will the Healthy Families and Healthy Workplaces Act live up to its name by limiting small business employees to four paid sick days a year? Will people have to hire a lawyer – or simply sign their life away – to get a drivers’ license if the Terri Schiavo Act passes?
The most vomitous bill is this one. The people got wise and found out what public-financed elections are, so now the legislature is calling them “voter-owned.†This little gem would help people who can’t manage their money get into office, provided they raise a minimum without subsidy and “voluntarily accept strict fund-raising and spending limits.â€