Orange County 2026 Priority Legislative Issues

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11 TALKING POINTS • Some of the current formulas and distributions favor larger systems. These systems also have lobbyists. • GOAL— Maintain or increase support for programs providing transportation to elderly and disabled residents that allow them to participate in community life, such as senior nutrition and supportive employment. TALKING POINTS • Increased funding would help the County: • Serve more seniors with nutrition • Do more one-on-one passenger training to help people plan their routes to use the fixed routes • Process applications within the 21-day requirement — the County sometimes has difficulty meeting this timeframe. o Under ADA regulations, the County has 21 days to review applications for complementary services. This applies to demand response clients as well. If not determined in that timeframe, applicants get presumptive eligibility until a decision is made. Staff's processing goal is 15 days so onboarding efforts can occur and the County can be ready to serve clients on day 22. • GOAL — Support legislation allowing stand-alone bicycle and pedestrian projects to receive NCDOT administration and maintenance funding. TALKING POINTS • Local funds are insufficient to maintain these projects despite strong community interest. • GOAL — Support legislation to establish a process for an independent, non-partisan redistricting process after each United States Census for the election of representatives from North Carolina to the United States House of Representatives, the North Carolina House, and the North Carolina Senate. TALKING POINTS • Non-partisan redistricting processes enhance democratic fairness by removing map- drawing power from self-interested politicians and reducing partisan gerrymandering. • Non-partisan redistricting processes increase electoral competition. Independent commissions are more likely to create competitive districts, reducing the number of "safe seats" where the outcome is predetermined. • Non-partisan redistricting processes reduce partisan bias. Separating map-drawing from legislators prevents the majority party from creating biased maps that favor their own candidates. • Non-partisan redistricting processes increase voter confidence and transparency. Non-partisan processes generally require public hearings, open data, and, in many cases, non-elected official-led commissions, which fosters trust. • Non-partisan redistricting processes may provide protection of communities of interest. Districts created through non-partisan redistricting processes are more likely to keep cohesive communities, such as neighborhoods or shared-interest groups, together.