Senate Bill 97 debate continues prior to the third-reading vote in the House tonight.
Rep. Nelson Dollar, R-Wake, has an amendment that Speaker Joe Hackney rules out of order. Dollar makes a motion to set aside the rules and allow the amendment to be heard.
His amendment would return the $30 million designated for the Nags Head pier back to the General Fund and says the pier is not essential.
Rep. Paul Luebke, D-Durham, says the rules shouldn’t be changed this late in the session. (It will be interesting to see if he still thinks that rules shouldn’t be changed when the budget discussion begins.)
Rep. Tim Spear, D-Chowan, says the pier is well underway, and legislators can’t set aside the contracts that have been signed to build the pier and it’s extra amenities. Legal fights would cost more than the remaining costs for the pier.
The motion to suspend the rules to consider Dollar’s amendment fails, 51-59.
With no additional debate, the bill (with further details on the expansion of tax increment financing here) passes 85-25.
One additional note on the bill, it includes in the purposes of tax increment financing for local governments ? financing the installation of distributed generation renewable energy sources or energy efficiency improvements that are permanently fixed to residential, commercial, industrial, or other real property? These provisions are necessary, in part, because of the requirements set out in Senate Bill 3 in 2007. What is this leading to and what will the cost be to consumers and the taxpayer? See the new report from Beacon Hill Institute on the costs of SB 3. SB 97 is just one of the many bills this session that expand the requirements of SB 3. Dangerous stuff and still no one (except JLF) is asking, what will this cost? Apparently SB 97 answers “Who will pay for it?” Hint, hint: Taxpayers.
Senate Bill 97 has to go back to the Senate for concurrence now.
