Orange County NC Website
8 <br /> 1 2) County Jail System/Housing State Inmates Reimbursement— <br /> 2 Support legislation to protect the fiscal viability of the county jail system by reinstating <br /> 3 reimbursement for state inmates housed in county jails sentenced to 90 days or less; <br /> 4 <br /> 5 3) Machinery Act— Support local governments' need for more flexibility to remedy <br /> 6 measurement and/or condition property appraisal errors related to local property tax functions. <br /> 7 North Carolina property tax law substantially limits the ability of local governments to address <br /> 8 property tax discrepancies, such as prohibiting the refund of prior years' taxes paid after a <br /> 9 measurement and/or condition property appraisal error is discovered. Just as local governments <br /> 10 can recoup prior years' property taxes from owners for "discoveries", local governments should <br /> 11 likewise be authorized to refund prior years' taxes paid when situations such as measurement <br /> 12 and/or condition property appraisal errors are discovered; <br /> 13 <br /> 14 4) Homestead Exemption — Support revisions to the Homestead Exemption provisions of the <br /> 15 Machinery Act to: <br /> 16 a) provide greater opportunities for low-income seniors to remain in their homes and not be <br /> 17 displaced due to property tax burdens by approving a one-time ten percent (10%) increase in <br /> 18 the base income qualification standard; and maintaining the current provisions which increase <br /> 19 the income qualification standard each year based on any cost-of-living adjustment made to the <br /> 20 benefits under Titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act for the preceding calendar year; and <br /> 21 b) diminish the discriminatory features of the current exemption provisions relating to married <br /> 22 couples by establishing graduated income qualification standards for single individuals versus <br /> 23 married couples; <br /> 24 <br /> 25 5) Sales Tax Distribution Formula — Support legislation directing that all sales tax be <br /> 26 distributed on a per capita basis as it is fair and more equitable for counties with less economic <br /> 27 development as compared to the point of delivery basis. The UNC School of Government has <br /> 28 indicated that a per capita basis tax "would indeed be a more even distribution of LOST revenue <br /> 29 across the state"; <br /> 30 <br /> 31 6) Maintain Local Government Authority over Solid Waste Management— Oppose any shift <br /> 32 of solid waste management and recycling services away from local governments; <br /> 33 <br /> 34 7) Electronics Recycling — Support legislation to provide additional funding to local <br /> 35 governments for electronics recycling to cover significant increased costs for recycling these <br /> 36 materials and to oppose the lifting of restrictions on disposal of electronics in landfills; <br /> 37 <br /> 38 8) Re-instatement of Earned Income Tax Credit— Support legislation to re-instate the State <br /> 39 Earned Income Tax Credit which greatly benefitted low wage earners until its elimination after <br /> 40 the 2013 tax year; <br /> 41 <br /> 42 9) Voter Registration and Voting — Support legislation to restore straight party ticket voting <br /> 43 and provide public financing of judicial elections and eliminate any requirements for photograph <br /> 44 identification; <br /> 45 <br /> 46 10) Abolish State Death Penalty— Support legislation to abolish the State of North Carolina's <br /> 47 death penalty; <br /> 48 <br /> 49 11)Fulfillment of Constitutional Duties — Oppose any legislation, that seeks to exempt any <br /> 50 government employee or agent from fulfilling his/her constitutional duties, including but not <br /> 51 limited to guaranteeing the right to marry for same-sex residents of North Carolina; <br />