Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1160522
8 UCW AUGUST 28-SEPTEMBER 3, 2019 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Because Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and the Republican-led North Carolina General Assembly have remained dead- locked for weeks over passage of a new state budget. e legislature has passed several bills that make consequential changes to the conduct and reach of government in North Carolina. Gov. Cooper has signed them into law. As their aim is to modify or eliminate outdated laws, think of them as the governmental equivalent of spring cleaning — although it took until summer to begin this latest excavation of the state's regulatory closet. One of the measures, House Bill 590, amends a policy the state initiated back in 2013. at policy requires all regula- tions on the books to be reviewed periodically by the rel- evant agencies or departments. If the rule isn't reviewed as required by law, or deemed no longer to meet a demonstra- ble need at a reasonable cost, it disappears — an outcome known as regulatory sunset. From 2013 to 2018, hundreds of outmoded or counter- productive regulations went away under this law. But there was a bit of a loophole. e original process created three buckets into which administrators could toss regulations: 1) unnecessary (the rule goes "poof'), 2) necessary without substantive public interest (no one has complained lately, so it is automatically renewed) and 3) necessary with substan- tial public interest (because there are complaints, it must go back through a re-adoption process). Regulators were tossing most state rules into that second bucket, so that they weren't getting significant scrutiny. House Bill 590 removes that bucket from the deck. e legislation received overwhelmingly bipartisan support and Cooper's signature. Now all regulations must either survive re- adoption or go away. Another "weeding out" process, this time within our criminal code, is about to accelerate thanks to the passage of Senate Bill 584. It also got overwhelm- ingly bipartisan support and a nod from the governor. It targets North Carolina's "overcriminaliza- tion" problem. Over the decades, state agencies and local governments have adopted a range of criminal penalties for offenses that, whatever their adverse social effects may be, don't necessar- ily merit criminal prosecution. For example, it is a crime in some North Carolina communities to feed stray animals. It is a crime to sell Silly String in Mt. Airy. A prior law had required agencies and localities to report all the ordinances or rules on their books that criminalized behavior — a necessary first step to tackling the problem. But compliance was spotty. Under Senate Bill 584, noncom- pliant municipalities will have their ability to pass criminal ordinances frozen for two years. For state agencies propos- ing rules with criminal penalties, the new law automatically refers them to the General Assembly for review. Finally, Cooper signed Senate Bill 290 into law last month. Another bipartisan measure, it contains several changes to North Carolina's alcohol laws. It allows craft distilleries to sell mixed drinks and removes limits on the number of bottles a visitor can buy on their premises. e law also advances important reforms of the state's archaic Alcoholic Beverage Control system, such as allowing liquor tastings at ABC stores and combatting the proliferation of patronage- heavy ABC boards. State agencies and localities are certainly empowered to use their regulatory powers to protect public health and safety. ey should ensure a true "meeting of the minds" in private contracts by requiring disclosures and policing fraud. ey should protect the persons and property of residents against pollution, communicable disease, and other threats for which effective collective action requires government action. But these powers should be used with caution, focused on clearly identifiable harms, imposed only when the expected benefits exceed the likely costs, and scaled so that any penal- ties involved are proportional to the offense. Over the de- cades, North Carolina has somewhat-haphazardly acquired an odd assortment of intrusive regulations and criminal penalties that don't meet such common-sense tests. Now, Republican and Democratic policymakers are work- ing together to clean up the mess. at's most welcome. Regulatory closet gets cleaning by JOHN HOOD OPINION JOHN HOOD, Chairman of the John Locke Foundation. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcomingweekly.com. 910-484-6200. North Carolina has somewhat-hap- hazardly acquired an odd assortment of intrusive regulations and criminal penalties. presents WorldWide Wellness LLC & Shakespeare for sure, a delicious dinner mixed with a few hearty toasts, period games, improv, lively music and lots and lots of humor! Bold and irreverent with notes of tragedy balanced only by uproarious hilarity for ADULT audiences. Featuring the Sweet Tea Shakespeare Company HamLIT HamLIT Tickets $75 available online w/senior & military discounts 7PM Performance Doors open 6PM for Preshow Reception Friday • Sept 27 • 2019 Saturday • Sept 28 • 2019 at Gates Four Golf & Country Club 6775 Irongate Dr, Fayetteville, NC 28306 For reservations or more information: www.fayettevilledinnertheater.com 910-391-3859 "... a smash(ed) hit and guaranteed good time for local theatergoers." "Cumberland County's Community Newspaper" T i c k e t s N O W o n s a l e w w w. f a y e t t e v i l l e d i n n e r t h e a t e r. c o m