Representative Chris Whitmire

NC House District 113 Transylvania,

Southern Henderson, & Polk

RALEIGH UPDATE

June 20, 2015

Greetings,

This week tragedy struck our sister state in Charleston and the Senates version of what it seeks in the state budget was released. Details follow

Charlestonplease keep the families and loved ones of those who were senselessly murdered Wednesday evening in

Charleston in our hearts and prayers

Speaker Moore Comments on Charleston Shooting

Raleigh, NC On Thursday Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) released a statement in response to the tragic shooting event at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, and the

apprehension of the suspect in Shelby, North Carolina.

The horrific event in Charleston yesterday has left us all shaken. Our thoughts and prayers are with our neighbors in South Carolina. Today, we are one Carolina, Speaker Moore stated. I am proud that North Carolinas finest could apprehend the suspect today quickly and without conflict, in my hometown of Shelby.

The House extends our deepest sympathies to our General Assembly colleague, Senator Malcolm Graham, for the unimaginable loss of his sister on this tragic day.

Preparing to Deliver the Opening Prayer for Tuesdays Session

On Tuesday of this week I had the privilege of opening The House Chamber in Prayer. Click here and my prayer

followed by the pledge begins after approximately 10 seconds.

The Senates Budget Was Unveiled This Week

This week the North Carolina Senate unveiled their proposed budget which places emphasis on tax cuts, economic

development and job growth. The budget will now go into conference for a few key leaders from both The House

and Senate to work out details of the final biennial budget. The Senates proposed budget would be an increase of

approximately 2% from last years budget to account for population growth and inflation. Due to major tax

reforms North Carolina is expected to have a $400 million surplus in the budget which enables the Senates design

to add $800 million toward the rainy day and renovation fund over the next two years. State troopers, magistrates

and Registers of Deeds will see a step increase in pay also. A plan has been put in place to reduce personal income

tax to 5.5% and build ground work for Medicaid reform. Classroom funding has been increased by $270 million

over the next 2 years to reduce classroom sizes and increase starting teacher pay to $35,000.

Payment rates to Primary Care Physicians accepting Medicaid will increase by 22% and 26.5% for Obstetricians

and The Certificate of Need system will be phased out by 2019.

Families can now claim all deductions offered by the federal government on their North Carolina tax returns

including those for medical, mortgage interest, property tax, charitable, education and other allowable expenses

up to a maximum of $20,000.

The Corporate income tax rate will decrease to 4 % in 2016 and 3% in 2017 and the state will transition to a single

sales factor methodology over a 3 year period. The Senate Budget seeks to lower the franchise tax by 33 % and

makes changes in sales tax over 4 years such that 80 % of sales tax revenues are allocated based on where people

live with the remaining 20% staying at the point of sale.

A breakdown of the budget can be seen here.

Bills Passed This Week

Election Modifications: HB 836

HB 836 included several election and local government related measures including HB 373 that Representative

Dennis Riddell and I sponsored to allow Transylvania, Henderson, Polk, and 21 other counties the opportunity to

continue to use their existing electronic voting machines until September 2019, a nineteen month extension. The

HB 373 provision included in HB 836 will allow additional acquisition time for these counties to search the free

market for the best machinery at the best cost and save taxpayers money while ensuring elections proceed

smoothly.

An additional provision included in HB 836 that has received significant comment is addressed in the following

commentary provided by Mr. John Bryant

Our NC Legislators made a change this week to our Voter ID law.

These changes strengthen, not dilute, our great voter ID law. By making allowances (with strict rules) for

dealing with legitimate problems (situations), our General Assembly has made the law more likely to

survive potential lawsuits AND helped ensure all eligible voters are allowed to vote.

In an attempt to clear up some confusion, the following information comes to us from our local General

Assembly members:

It is important to just please remember these quick points:

Because NC has a very high standard of what photo IDs we will accept (NCDMV Issued or Federal {passport,

military photo id} and we do not accept most IDs accepted in other states {College IDs -Georgia, etc.} we

provided a failsafe - just in case - someone gets to the Poll and legitimately does not have their ID. (Our

General Assembly members talked about someone losing their wallet right before the election, or someone

having their driver's license expire a few days before Election Day and not realize it until they go to vote.

These changes will take care of these possible situations.)

The State Board, DMV, political parties, and other groups are working hard to make sure everyone gets their

required ID. But, just in case, an individual can present him/herself at the polling site, provide their name

AND address AND last four of social AND birth date AND sign under penalty of perjury that they are who

they say they are, the individual would be allowed to complete a provisional ballot which must then be sent to

the County Board of Elections which will verify it using the same system they use to handle absentee ballots.

We would argue that this is actually the hardest way possible to commit voter fraud because a person actually

must show up to a polling place and claim to be who they say they are, provide the correct identifying

information and STILL have the County BoE verify it all BEFORE the provisional ballot can be counted.

And, the State Board will, after the election, follow up with those people and help them get an ID if needed.

Please know too, that South Carolina also has a reasonable impediment statute and has had it the entire time

they have had photo voter ID. In 2014, 1.1 million South Carolinians voted and only 119 used this

procedure. That is 1 out of every 10,000 votes cast.

We know some outside groups are using this to stir the pot and raise money. That's pretty much the way it

always goes.

Here is a posting from John Locke. We think it sums things up pretty well. http://lockerroom.johnlocke.org/2015/06/18/voter-id-law-gets-relaxed-just-a-bit/#.VYOECsSt2zY.email

We hope this clears up any confusion. Again, these changes make our tough voter ID

laws even stronger by including a mechanism to deal with problems that is clear, precise

and accountable.

Healthy Food Small Retailer/ Corner Store Act: HB 250

HB 250 passed The House and heads to The Senate. This seeks to create a Healthy Food Small Retailer Fund in

the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services so local corner stores in food desert zones can provide fresh

fruit, vegetables, and lean meats for purchase. Obesity related medical costs exceed $147 billion annually and this

is a small effort to mitigate this national crisis.

Local Governments in State Health Plan: HB 154

This bill allows for local municipalities the option to enroll employees and dependents in the State Health Plan.

This would help many local governments in district 113 by providing more health care options for employees.

Any local governments wishing to be added needs to pass a resolution expressing their desire to participate in the

state health plan in accordance with the criteria included in the bill which is now with the Governor for signature

and enactment. HB 154 as ratified includes my HB 370 which was asked for by several county and municipalities

in NC House District 113. A bill summary is available here.

Exempt Builder Inventory: HB 168

House Bill 168 passed The House this week with bi-partisan support 107-10 and will exempt the value of certain

improvements to residential real property held for sale by a builder for 3 years. According to a March Economics

and Housing Policy Group Report of the National Association of Home Builders, HB-168 is estimated to stimulate

an additional 507 new single-family homes across the state in 2016. The construction of these new homes is

projected to produce $30,962,900 in additional state and local revenue, and could generate 2,125 new jobs.

District 113:

Brevard High FFA Students Visit the General Assembly and Excel in State Contests

Mr. Andy VonCanon-BHS FFA Advisor, Daniel Toole, Hannah Fields,

Rep Chris Whitmire, Haley Clark, and Carver Nicholsseeing how it all works at the General Assembly

Daniel Toole won the state FFA Creed Speaking Competition and will

represent NC at the National FFA Convention in Louisville, KY this October.

State FFA Degree Recipients : Zach Merritt, Carver Nichols: First Place Plant Systems Division of Aly Pagano, Sophie Davis, Clay Sweet the Agriscience Fair-- advances to Nationals in KY

Eliza Witherspoon: Second Place Environmental Hannah Field: First Place Environmental Natural

Natural Resources Division of the Agriscience Fair Resources Div of the Agriscience FairNationals in KY

The Forestry Judging Team finished 3rd out of 32 Teams and The Meat Judging Team finished 6th out of 38

Teams

Additionally, the Brevard High Envirothon Team won the state contest April 20th 2015 and will compete in the

Nationals in Louisville in October (Team Members: Carver Nichols, Eliza Witherspoon, Hannah Fields, Samuel

Kicklighter, Damien LaForenza). BHS FFA also advised by Mr. Dan Harris.

Absolutely Outstanding Results!

Congratulations GraduatesPolk and Henderson I will gladly feature photos as I receive them

Rosman High School Graduation

Valedictorian Cody Lupo addresses RHS commencement crowd on

Saturday, June 13, at Brevard Music Center.

Brevard High School Graduation

Davidson River School Graduation

Photo credits: Kevin Smith, Transylvania County Schools.

Transylvania County Comprehensive Plan

The 2025 Transylvania County Comprehensive Plan will guide growth and development by addressing three main

questions: (1) What is the current condition of Transylvania County; (2) What do we want Transylvania County

to look and feel like in 10 years; and (3) What needs to happen to achieve this?

Please participate in the process by taking this brief survey and providing comments on what you feel is most

important in your community. 10 Minutes for 10 Years of Growth, is all it takes to ensure your input is heard. Visit planning.transylvaniacounty.org/2025 to shape the future.

In Case You Missed It:

Military Experience/ LEO Requirements: HB 595 Signed Into Law

HB 595 expedites civilian law enforcement certification of military law enforcement professionals who meet

certain requirements by leveraging military law enforcement training and experience. This is a win-win-win for

our military members; our sheriffs, chiefs of police, and other critical law enforcement agency leaders as they

address recruiting shortages; and ensures highly trained, experienced, disciplined individuals with key leadership

skills remain in North Carolina instead of moving away to other states that already grant accelerated credentials.

Additional coverage https://www.dvidshub.net/news/165476/armed-forces-protect-and-serve#.VYGSUFUpAup .

Congressman Meadows calls for OPM Director to Resign

On Tuesday Congressman Mark Meadows released this statement in lieu of the Office of Personnel Management

(OPM) Director Katherine Archuleta testifying before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee

on cybersecurity breach. How is it possible that the Office of Personnel Managementthe agency tasked with keeping databases of personal information on federal employees was completely unprepared to thwart a cybersecurity attack? Thank you Congressman Meadows for addressing this travesty and demanding competency!

Aerospace Growth in North Carolina

Six aerospace companies are coming to North Carolina as the aviation sector continues to growa full story and list of possible companies can be found here.

Senator Thom Tillis Applauds Passage Of The National Defense Authorization Act

The U.S. Senate passed The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which ensures that those in uniform

are trained and ready to defend our country at any given moment. Included in the NDAA is a provision enabled

by many of us and led by Senator Tillis that ensures a C-130 presence remains in North Carolina at Pope Army

Airfield. C-130s in the 440th Airlift Wing contribute $78 million per year to the states economy and were slated to leave, but this provision will not only preserve this sector of North Carolinas economy, but add to it with additional airframesgreat work by my fellow NC House member!

Concluding Thoughts:

Stephen Curry I Can Do All Things Through Christ Who Strengthens Me

The Billy Graham Evangelical Association recently posted this story on Stephen Curry, an NBA player who

scored 95 3 pointers and last week led the Golden State Warriors to the NBA title. Stephen opens up about his

(click here) faith and Christian beliefs.

Your talent is Gods gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God. Leo Buscaglia

Have a great week!

Chris

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REPRESENTATIVE CHRIS WHITMIRE 537 Legislative Office Building

300 N. Salisbury Street Raleigh, NC 27603-5925

Phone: 919-715-4466

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