N.C. Legislative Leaders Decry Judicial Ruling; Wis. Gov.’s Regulatory Retreat on Fire Safety
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper Ben McKeown / AP Photo
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Also in our State and Local Daily Digest: New Orleans tornado aftermath; Pennsylvania governor’s early retirement proposal for state workers; and Eric Holder’s Sacramento visit.
SEPARATION OF POWERS | Legislative leaders in North Carolina lashed out at a three-judge panel Wednesday, as conflicts simmer in the state over the separation of powers and checks and balances. Their reaction came in response to a temporary restraining order that blocked hearings planned by the state Senate to review Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s Cabinet members. Phil Berger, president pro tempore of the state Senate, and Tim Moore, speaker of the House, issued a joint statement that said: “In a gross misreading of the Constitution and a blatant overstep of their Constitutional authority, three Superior Court judges attempted to dictate to the legislature when it could or could not hold committee meetings and what it could or could not consider in those meetings.” At issue is whether state lawmakers exceeded their authority when they adopted a law in December, shortly after Cooper was elected, making the governor’s Cabinet subject to Senate confirmation. A similar process was not in place under Cooper’s predecessor, Republican Pat McCrory. [The News & Observer]
FIRE SAFETY | Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s administration had planned to end a requirement for fire sprinklers in many apartment buildings but retreated in the face of criticism. Firefighters said that Walker's initial move would have created safety hazards. “A department that has safety in its name and safety in its mission should not be doing things that are unsafe for the public,” the president of the Wisconsin State Fire Chiefs Association said of the earlier proposal from the Department of Safety and Professional Services. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
TAXES | The characterization of a proposed income tax increase that’s part of a school funding ballot measure in Utah is facing scrutiny. The ballot initiative calls for raising the income tax rate from 5 percent to 5.875 percent—a difference of less than one percentage-point. But the percent change in how much money taxpayers would owe each year would rise by 17.5 percent. “Seven-eighths of 1 percent, from a marketing perspective, sounds really, really small," said Republican state Rep. Dan McCay. He’s sponsoring legislation that would require organizers of tax initiatives to list and explain both figures. [The Salt Lake Tribune]
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT | New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu declared a state of emergency on Tuesday following a tornado that touched down and tore an approximately 2.5 mile path through an eastern area of the city. Around 250 properties were damaged and 31 people were injured. No fatalities were reported. [WWL-TV]
STATE LEGISLATURES | Former Obama administration Attorney General Eric Holder joined California legislature leaders, including Senate Pro Tem Kevin de León and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, at the State Capitol in Sacramento on Tuesday. “I’m here just to assist these gentlemen and the people who they serve with in trying to protect the interests of the people of California,” Holder, who has been retained by the California legislature to help navigate its relations with the federal government, told reporters. [The Sacramento Bee]
A school-funding proposal from Ohio Gov. John Kasich is getting a “mixed” reception from state lawmakers, particularly over the plan that would cut some funding for rural school districts that are seeing reductions enrollment and increases in agricultural property values. [The Columbus Dispatch]
STATE EMPLOYEES | Under a proposal from Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, nearly 2,000 state employees would be eligible for early retirement within five years. But there are worries that those early retirements would worsen the commonwealth’s struggling pension liabilities. [PennLive]
PUBLIC HEALTH | Los Angeles County has a recuperative care program at a community hospital designed for homeless people who are dealing with major medical treatments, like chemotherapy, but have no place to recover. The program is expanding and currently includes 200 beds for continuum of care for homeless individuals. [Southern California Public Radio / KPCC]
The Burlington, Vermont, city councilmembers have approved an ordinance that ban smoking in public parks. [Burlington Free Press]
PARKS AND RECREATION | Leaders from Friends of Wisconsin State Parks, an advocacy and fundraising group, are saying that they are worried that rising fees and deteriorating conditions at state parks could deter people from returning. They also want state officials to restore tax support for parks that they eliminated two years ago. [Wisconsin State Journal]
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