public policy advocacy for the professional engineer                         May 2010

Your Legislative Update for the week of May 24-28 is below.  Please feel free to forward this on to others who might find the information useful!

Governor Pushes Hard for Mobility Fund

Budget

On Monday, the Governor held a press conference urging the General Assembly to include the mobility fund in their budget to pay for urgent transportation projects of statewide significance – first on the list, the Yadkin River Bridge.Although, the Senate budget did not include the mobility fund proposal, Senator Basnight states that it may still surface as a standalone bill. Click here for full article...

Senate Bond Proposal

Basnight

This week, the Senate officially unveiled their plans for a bond package totaling $451 million. SB 1378, titled “Build North Carolina’s Future Act”, would allow the state to incur special indebtedness to pay the capital facility costs of the projects listed below:

  • $130 million for capital facility costs of repairing and renovating State facilities and related infrastructure

  • $55 million for equipment for use by the UNC system and the Community College system

  • $104 million to complete the College of Engineering building at NCA&T

  • $161 million to complete the Engineering IV building and related site work and infrastructure at NCSU’s Centennial Campus

Click for full article...

Water/Wastewater Funds Included in House and Senate Budgets

Budget

The House appropriations subcommittees revealed their spending plans this week where it appeared they would follow the lead of both the Governor and the Senate budget proposals for Water/Wastewater funding.

Click here for full article...

 

  In the News
Incentives Package
 The Senate Finance Committee has approved an incentives package aimed at luring two computer data centers, an energy turbine manufacturer, and a plant converting wood pulp to paper. Click here for full article...

 

Solar Jobs
The state could generate at least 28,000 jobs in the solar energy field if it shifts electricity production more from traditional sources to solar energy in the next 20 years, according to Environment North Carolina. Click here for article...

Spill Response Plans
Despite what are believed to be low odds that oil from the massive spill off Louisiana's coast will reach the North Carolina coast, state emergency officials are rapidly updating their oil spill response plan. Click here for article...

Rail Planning
The state Department of Transportation's Rail Division is seeking nearly $7 million in federal funds to plan for an expansion of intercity passenger rail service in the state, including service between Raleigh and Wilmington. Click here for article...

If there are questions or you need additional information, please feel free to contact me at bbailey@penc.org or phone 919-834-1144, ext. 1.

Sincerely,

Betsy Bailey
Professional Engineers of North Carolina

In This Issue
Governor Pushes Hard for Mobility Fund
Senate Bond Proposal
Water/Wastewater Funds Included in House and Senate Budgets

Two Opportunities to Advocate

Wednesday, June 2, 7:30 a.m. – Jobs Recovery Coalition Legislative Day, Clarion Hotel State Capital – 320 Hillsborough Street.  Click here for more information and to register.

Tuesday, June 8, 7:30 a.m  - Engineer’s Day at the Legislature, Hosted by PENC and ACEC. Register at www.acecnc.org (link in top left of page)

 Tuesday, June 1, 12:30 pm - PENC Brown Bag Webinar: How to be an Advocate. 1 PDH. Register here.
Quick Links
Contact Us
Professional Engineers
of North Carolina
1015 Wade Avenue, Suite A
Raleigh, NC 27605

Phone: (919) 834-1144
Fax: (919) 834-1148
Web Site: www.penc.org
E-Mail: exec@penc.org