2007 Regular Session Ends

The 2007 Regular Session of the North Carolina General Assembly adjourned sine die ("without date") at 4:50pm on Friday, July 18, 2008. 229 bills received final action in the General Assembly in 2008, with 116 already law and 113 pending on the Governor's desk. 31 joint resolutions were also ratified.

By way of comparison, the 2006 Short Session saw 264 bills enacted and 24 joint resolutions ratified.

Under Article II, Section 22 of the North Carolina Constitution, the Governor has 30 days after adjournment to act on all pending bills, with July 19 being day one of this period. The 30-day period concludes at midnight on Sunday, August 17, 2008. Any bills not acted on by the deadline become law on Monday, August 18, 2008. Bills sent to the Governor prior to adjournment for which the 10-day limit had not run out at adjournment have a new 30-day clock.

As of the close of business Tuesday, July 22, 2008, day four of 30 days for gubernatorial action, none of the 113 bills pending on the Governor's desk at adjournment had been signed.

Laws enacted in 2008 are listed here in order of becoming law, and here in order of bill number.

Tracking Bills as the Legislative Pace Picks Up

As the 2008 Regular Session of the North Carolina General Assembly speeds up, there are a few bill tracking features on this website worth pointing out:

1. Bill and joint resolutions that have been enacted in 2008, arranged by enactment date, or by bill number.
 
2. Public bills signed by the Governor, covering both 2007 and 2008, arranged by bill number.
 
3. Bills acted on during the 2008 short session.
 
4. Bills pending on the Governor's Desk.
 
5. Bills scheduled to be ratified. Bills in this category have all parliamentary stages excpet signature by the presiding officers in the House and Senate. Ratification is the step before public bills go to the Governor or local bills become law.
 
6. Bills in conference.
 
7. General Statutes amended by bills enacted in 2008.
 
8. Additional reports are available on our Bill reports page.

Most of these are current within a day, but some actions on Thursday evenings, Fridays, and weekends by the Governor are often not shown until Monday afternoon.

Gerry Cohen to Receive Carter-Hellard Staff Excellence Award

The following email was sent to legislators and staff by Legislative Services Officer George Hall on June 3:

I am pleased to announce that Gerry Cohen, Director of Bill Drafting, was selected among his peers at the SLC Legislative Service Agency Directors Meeting in Lexington, KY to receive the Carter-Hellard Staff Excellence Award. Gerry will receive the award at the Southern Legislative Conference Annual Meeting in Oklahoma City in July.

Each year the LSA Directors present the Carter/Hellard Staff Excellence Award to a legislative staff member in the South who has demonstrated distinguished service to their state's legislature. Among the criteria for selection is a staff member who "has demonstrated a longstanding commitment to the legislative institution and a clear vision and understanding of the role of legislative staffing in representative government; participated in the provision of staff work resulting in systemic public policy reform or institutional improvement, and constistently approached his/her legislative work with grace and good humor under pressure." We feel the criteria set forth for this award perfectly describes Gerry.

Congratulations Gerry!

Biennium Bill Requests Highest Since 1913

With filings today, the 4,962 total bills and 2,164 Senate bills filed in 2007-2008 are the highest since the 1913 Session of the North Carolina General Assembly saw 5,627 and 2,660 respectively. The House total of 2,798 bills filed in 2007-2008 was exceeded in the past century only by 2,967 in 1913 and 2,895 in 2005. The 2007-2008 totals include a total of 10 House bills and four Senate bills for the two extra sessions.

Totals for each biennial session appear below (regular sessions have been held each year since 1973). The totals include special sessions. The high totals in the 1911 session promted then Governor W.W. Kitchin to send a special message to the General Assembly, stating that "Special legislation is the greatest scourge of government." The 1913 session, while considering the record 5,627 bills, passed a constitutional amendment to greatly restrict local and special legislation. That amendment was rejected by the voters, but a revised version was passed again in 1915 and approved by the voters in 1916, which banned 26 categories of bills. Bill filings gradually trailed off through 1943, when they began to climb again. The lowest total bills in the past century occurred in 1943 when 1,223 bills were filed.

Session	House	Senate	Total
2007**	2,798	2,164	4,962
2005	2,895	2,066	4,961
2003**	1,826	1,455	3,281
2001*	1,831	1,489	3,320
1999	1,873	1,564	3,437
1997*	1,770	1,608	3,378
1995**	1,542	1,547	3,089
1993*	2,366	1,905	4,271
1991*	1,705	1,285	2,990
1989*	2,415	1,638	4,053
1987	2,659	1,869	4,528
1985*	2,151	1,312	3,463
1983*	1,813	905	2,718
1981**	1,690	877	2,567
1979	1,775	1,107	2,882
1977	1,696	1,030	2,726
1975	1,341	970	2,311
1973	2,193	1,508	3,701
1971***	1,610	1,011	2,621
1969	1,437	910	2,347
1967	1,433	750	2,183
1965**	1,206	626	1,832
1963*	1,405	709	2,114
1961	1,263	512	1,775
1959	1,363	517	1,880
1957	1,452	534	1,986
1955*	1,422	607	2,029
1953	1,336	489	1,825
1951	1,237	623	1,860
1949	1,343	491	1,834
1947	1,129	481	1,610
1945	1,000	445	1,445
1943	858	365	1,223
1941	966	353	1,319
1939*	1,187	509	1,696
1937****	1,326	512	1,838
1935	1,511	649	2,160
1933	1,711	758	2,469
1931	1,495	660	2,155
1929	1,697	1,487	3,184
1927	1,742	1,620	3,362
1925	1,808	1,566	3,374
1923*	2,224	2,044	4,187
1921	1,565	1,382	2,947
1919*	2,143	2,044	4,187
1917	1,943	1,738	3,681
1915	2,150	1,954	4,104
1913*	2,967	2,660	5,627
1911	2,195	1,959	4,154
1909	2,075	1,875	3,950

*one extra session in biennium

**two extra sessions in biennium

***1971 regular session reconvened in October after July recess

****two extra sessions in biennium, one just after election in 1936 under old constitutional provision that terms of members started upon election.

Remaining Categories of Eligible Bills in the Short Session

With the passing of today's 4:00 pm deadline for local and pension bills, only the following categories of bills and resolutions remain eligible for introduction in the 2008 short session under the adjournment resolution. There is no deadline on any of these other than (12). note that bills under category (7) can not be filed until an authorizing resolution has passed each house by a 2/3 vote.

.....

(2) Bills amending the Constitution of North Carolina

.....

(6) Selection, appointment, or confirmation of members of State boards and commissions as required by law, including the filling of vacancies of positions for which the appointees were elected by the General Assembly upon recommendation of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, President of the Senate, or President Pro Tempore of the Senate.

(7) Any matter authorized by joint resolution passed during the 2008 Regular Session by a two-thirds majority of the members of the House of Representatives present and voting and by a two-thirds majority of the members of the Senate present and voting. A bill or resolution filed in either house under the provisions of this subdivision shall have a copy of the ratified enabling resolution attached to the jacket before filing for introduction in the Senate or introduction in the House of Representatives.

(8) A joint resolution authorizing the introduction of a bill pursuant to subdivision (7) of this section.

.....

(10) Joint Resolutions, House resolutions, and Senate resolutions authorized for introduction under Senate Rule 40(b) or House Rule 31.

(11) A joint resolution adjourning the 2007 Regular Session, sine die.

(12) Bills to disapprove rules under G.S. 150B-21.3.

Notes: Resolutions under category (10) might include those honoring the memory of a deceased former member, authorize a study of a subject by the Legislative Research Commission, or deal with some matter internal to the procedures of either house or the General Assembly. bills in category (12) must be filed by the end of the 30th legislative day, which is Wednesday, July 2, assuming sessions only on Monday-Thursday prior to that date.

Short Session Bill Requests Down from 2006 Short Session

All bill request deadlines for the 2008 Short Session have now passed, and while the overall number of requests was up from 2002 and 2004, the number was considerably less than it was in the last Short Session in 2006. The chart below displays the number of bill requests received by each division during the last four Short Sessions.

Division	2008	2006	2004	2002
Bill Drafting Division	1189	1875	889	714
Research Division	251	256	258	154
Total Requests	1440	2131	1147	868

The chart below displays the increase or decrease in the number of bill requests received this Short Session compared to previous Short Sessions in the form of a percentage.

Division	2006 to 2008	2004 to 2008	2002 to 2008
Bill Drafting Division	-36.6%	33.7%	66.5
Research Division	-2.0%	-2.7%	63.0%
Total Requests	-32.4%	25.5%	65.9%

Note: all comparisons are to the eleventh (11th) legislative day.

2008 House/Senate Deadlines

Drafts	To Bill Drafting By 4:00 PM	Filed in House/Senate By 4:00 PM
Study Bills	Wednesday, May 14	Wednesday, May 21
Bills Affecting 2007-2008 Budget	Friday, May 16	Tuesday, May 27
Local Bills	Wednesday, May 21	Wednesday, May 28
Bills Affecting Pension or Retirement Systems	Wednesday, May 21	Wednesday, May 28

Eligible but no deadlines:

(1) Appointments to and confirmation of members of State boards and commissions

(2) State Constitutional amendments

(3) Resolutions honoring deceased persons

(4) Resolutions authorizing other bills (two-thirds vote of both houses required)

Eligible with deadline:

Bills disapproving administrative rules (30th legislative day)

Legislative Drafting Division's Website Now Online

The Legislative Drafting Division's website is now online! This site will be updated on a regular basis.