Public Policy Update: General Assembly tackles indecency, regulatory reform, fracking and unemployment insurance

Jeff Joyce, the Asheville Chamber's Public Policy Manager, reports in from Raleigh:

I must say that I am disappointed to have missed the President's appearance in Asheville but work goes on here at the General Assembly.

In regards to Asheville, Rep. Moffitt's HB 34 (Clarify Indecent Exposure Law) was heard in the House Judiciary C today. The bill aims to clarify state law and ban women from exposing their top sections in public. The bill got a favorable vote from committee and is garnering a lot of media attention.

Another bill of note was HB 74 (Periodic Review and Expiration of Rules), which passed out of the Regulatory Reform Committee. This bill would allow for rules and regulations to be routinely reviewed, modified, and deleted.

Fracking has also been a hot topic today with S.B. 76 (Domestic Energy Jobs Act) getting favorable approval out of the Senate Finance Committee. The bill would speed up the fracking process in NC and now heads to the Commerce Committee.

The Senate concluded its work on HB 4 (UI bill) and passed the third reading of the bill with a 36-12 vote. The bill now heads to Governor McCrory for his signature.

The rest of the rainy day has been spent dropping in on mountain legislatures and working to sure up appointments for the Raleigh Legislative visit. Many thanks to Rep. Moffitt for his office's help with arranging meeting space.

The Chamber also wishes to congratulate Rep. Fisher for her son's marriage. Rep. Fisher is missing in action this week as she is in Japan for the event.

Finally, we will keep you updated on the Medicaid debate, which is going on now.

Go Heels!