Minutes 03-11-2019 Legislative Breakfast

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