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Legislative update

Posted on November 12, 2009 by Staff

By State Senator Ellie Kinnaird

The legislature is not in session now, but interim standing commissions are meeting.
Other special commissions are looking at one-time issues. One Special Coastal Commission is looking into the question of whether North Carolina will allow drilling for oil or natural gas off the coast. The environmental community is arguing against it because some of the most environmentally sensitive areas are in the vicinity of the drilling fields. The threat of pollution, the loss of tourism and damage to an underwater area rich in aquatic life are reasons to not develop the fields. Another argument is that it would be ten years before any oil or gas would be produced and we hope by that time to have a robust alternative energy industry in place.

Wind farms were a contentious issue in the last session. The coast is willing to accept the giant wind-mills, but the mountain areas are protective of the views on and from the ridges. Years ago a multi-story hotel was built on a mountain ridge that was visible for miles along the Blue Ridge Parkway. The legislature quickly passed the Ridge Law that prohibits any building taller than the trees and visible beyond the immediate boundaries of the building. In addition, when roads are built for transmission lines, it opens the area up for development. So we did not allow wind farms on the mountains except in valleys (not much wind there) and for only one house (not very productive). This was distressing to the Appalachian University Environmental Department, since they would like to promote alternate energy to prevent climate change. Several counties would have allowed wind farms in the mountains, but could not convince the legislature to allow it.
North Carolina again was named the “Top Business Climate” by Site Selection magazine.

This is the fifth time in a row and the eighth time for the top honor by one of the nation’s premier magazines for economic development. Some of it is attributable to our excellent educational system, especially our excellent community college system. In addition in areas like the Triangle the enriched and high quality of the educational systems attract people to North Carolina. We also are tops in research and development in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and other research areas as a draw. This designation also belies the usual argument that our taxes are too high to obtain new businesses. I vote against most incentives, which are unreliable and shift the tax burden to the individual taxpayer. I believe the recent failure of the Dell plant shows they are not good economic policy. A study by NCSU and UNC economic experts showed that some of the incentive programs actually lost jobs. We must be careful of our taxpayers and while job creation is the most important goal right now, it must have proven results.

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