WHAT HAPPENED: The General Assembly got back to business. House and Senate leaders gaveled their chambers into the 2019 long session proper on Wednesday, opened up bill-filing, and posted procedural rules. As reported
by WRAL, 本届会议的众议院规则似乎要求在更可预测的时间表上以更温和的速度立法.
WHAT IT MEANS: As of this writing, nearly 30 bills were in the queue, 从酒精饮料到土地征用权，再到民主党本届会议的核心议题:医疗补助计划的扩大.
ON TAP: Yes, the session is underway, but the first couple weeks won't be at a breakneck pace. 早期的法案已经提交给了委员会，这些委员会将很快聚集在一起对它们进行审查和辩论. Also in the works: a new state budget, 在众议院和参议院少数党扩大的新政治动态下将形成什么. 不久之后，州长将在他尚未安排的国情咨文中列出他的优先事项.
THE SKINNY: 还有很长的路要走——“长会议”通常会占用一年的大部分时间——但我们已经把账单收藏起来了
our easy-to-use Bill Tracker available to members on our website. Read on for more details and a look at some of the early proposals in the mix.
本周，大量社区领导人和居民参加了三个地区会议，听取当地的意见, 州和国家专家讨论宽带接入以及公私伙伴关系如何解决这些伙伴关系面临的数字和政策障碍. The Let’s Connect NC tour – with stops in Albemarle, Fuquay-Varina and Jacksonville – was billed as a conversation to engage local residents, and that is exactly what it did. More that 80 people attended the meetings – sponsored by the League, the Minneapolis-based Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), and NC Broadband Matters -- in Albemarle and Jacksonville, and while a cold rain and the threat of ice held down attendance in Fuquay-Varina, 出席该活动的40多人还就宽带接入以及哪里需要更好的互联网连接和速度展开了富有洞察力的对话.
Christopher Mitchell, Director of Community Broadband Networks for ILSR, pointed out that North and South Dakota, two of the most rural states in the country, 享受一些最好的高速光纤宽带网络，因为这些州已经接受了公私合作伙伴关系，并利用电话和电力合作社为居民提供服务. In North Carolina, meanwhile, 米切尔说，该州在城市地区享有相对良好的交通条件，但在该州的农村地区，一些交通条件在全国范围内较差. In Jacksonville, League Legal Counsel Erin Wynia noted that there are urban areas that also have gaps, 但在谈到该州的宽带前景是一个富人和穷人的故事时，他又提到了这个主题, a situation that has to be addressed.
365足彩下载主席和杰克逊维尔市长迈克尔·拉扎拉在杰克逊维尔发表了开幕词和闭幕词, 365体育足彩365足彩下载的努力和政策目标，即消除国家对公私合作模式的政策障碍，在这种模式下，地方政府投资光纤和其他基础设施，并将这些基础设施租赁给零售供应商. 活动包括由当地社区领袖和创新互联网服务提供商参与的小组讨论. A question-and-answer session led to at times provocative questions, 包括一位居民，他想知道当邻居唯一的选择是卫星服务时，他怎么能有宽带接入. 在此，我要感谢所有参与此次活动的市政府官员，感谢他们的辛勤付出, as well as our partners in organizing them. You can read media coverage of the events here and here, and see the full event broadcast from Jacksonville here.
当地政府雇员退休制度(LGERS)董事会周四投票决定，在2019-20财年将该制度的雇主缴费率提高到近9%，这是增量0的变化.根据雇主供款率稳定政策(ECRSP)，原计划增加25%.
尽管近年来地方政府提供的捐款超过了该系统所需的全部资金, a combination of factors – including a projected -1.预计2018年系统投资回报率为5%，将导致未来几年系统资金短缺. Due to this shortfall, the board considered options to amend the ECRSP, which
was approved in 2016 with League support and until now has allowed for full funding of the system.
董事会考虑了解决预期缺口的方案，并在2023-24财年之前逐步将普通雇员的雇主缴费率提高到12%以上. (Documents can be viewed
here and
here). 董事会选择支持尽快开始加薪的选项(今年7月1日生效)。, 将增长分散到三年，以便使其更加渐进，避免一下子出现难以控制的大幅增长.
The board voted for contribution rates for general employees to increase from the current 7.75 percent in fiscal year 2019 as described below; however, 额外的风险和未知因素(特别是关于未来的投资回报)可能需要额外的增加，这将改变这个时间表:
-FY 2020 - 8.95 percent
-FY 2021 - 10.15 percent
-FY 2022 - 11.35 percent
The contribution rate for law enforcement officers increases at the same pace, but is 0.75 percent higher than general employees'. Please note that these rates are only for the pension component of your contribution rates; the death benefit contribution can vary from unit to unit for general employees and is in addition to these rates.
国际365足彩下载评论说，它支持联委会采取这一行动，因为其成员倡导的目标是保护确定福利制度的财政完整性，它赞赏逐步增加的方法, 但指出，预计的增长是显著的，而且未来没有采取一些行动来维持该系统, 为养老金体系提供充足资金的成本可能会继续增加，直至雇主无法单独承担的程度. 州财政部长办公室承诺尽快向当地雇主提供有关2020财年雇主缴费率的信息, recognizing that employers will begin their budgeting soon.
大会项目评估司(PED)对该州的侵蚀和沉积控制(E&SC)计划和改进其运营的机会——重点是效率和有效性. The E&SC program, created in 1973, 是否有一项联邦法令旨在减少建筑工地的侵蚀并防止沉积物对工地外的污染.
PED’s findings focused on how the program could be self-sustained by fee increases, saving the state approximately $1.7 million in appropriations, but also touched on the interaction between the state, the regulated community, 地方政府自愿成为执行项目要求的权威机构. Along with their report, PED建议的立法包括以下变更，这些变更可能对运营当地授权E的地方政府感兴趣&SC program:
-要求沉降控制委员会每五年审查每一个授权的地方项目是否符合《365足彩下载》.
-要求沉积管制委员会通过规则，规定使用特定地点的风险因素，以确定检查干扰土地活动地点的频率.
-要求地方授权项目和全州侵蚀和沉积控制项目制定检查时间表，以便提前与进行土地干扰活动的人进行协调, unless doing so would result in significant damage to environment or private property.
There was no formal vote of the legislators to introduce a bill draft. That would occur at a future meeting. All documents related to the study can be seen here.
一些沿海社区已获得拨款，用于改善公共海滩和水道通道. “这些资金将有助于使我们的海滩和水道更容易进入，造福于每一位游客, as well as the businesses who benefit from their visit," Department of Environmental Quality Secretary Michael S. Regan said in a news release Tuesday. Funding for the Public Beach and Coastal Waterfront Access program, which gives matching funds to the coast's local governments, comes from the General Assembly via the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund. Click here for full details. In other coastal news, Gov. Roy Cooper on Friday announced an $11.6 million fund for commercial fishermen impacted by Hurricane Florence and the granting of a federal disaster declaration for areas hit by October 2018's Tropical Storm Michael. "This is good news for cities, towns and counties that suffered damages from Michael, which came right on the heels of Hurricane Florence," said Gov. Cooper. "Cleaning up from Michael took a lot of local government resources, and this will help communities recover those funds."
Superheroes exist. Yes, in real life. Just like in the comics, they wear masks and uniforms, they nab bad guys, and they spread peace across their cities and towns. On the latest episode of Municipal Equation, the League's acclaimed podcast, we talk with Sgt. Clint Ferguson of the Granite Falls Police Department and Officer Damon Cole of the Fort Worth, Texas, 为什么他们决定把漫画人物融入到他们的工作中——实际上是穿上他们自己的超级英雄服装——以及这对他们的社区产生的惊人影响. It's another example of law enforcement officers trying new things to connect with the public. Listen to that episode and all past episodes at dctdsj.com/municipalequation. Listeners are encouraged to send ideas for future episodes to host/producer Ben Brown.
