Another Hurdle for the New Annexation Laws Cleared

I've seen many of the letters that were sent to the DOJ by various city officials, and have been tracking this development. The NC League of Municipalities fingerprints appeared to be all over this effort to derail the new laws. They've lost this round and we can all breath easier, but I do expect the cities to find other ways to challenge the new rights of the people that have been restored to city initiated annexations. 

Published: 09:09 PM, Tue Nov 15, 2011

 

U.S. Department of Justice doesn't object to state law affecting Gates Four annexation

 

By Andrew Barksdale
Staff writer

The U.S. Department of Justice found no reason to object to North Carolina's new annexation law, which allows property owners to petition to prevent forced municipal annexations.

The decision likely means that Gates Four will succeed in fending off annexation by Fayetteville unless another challenge is filed in court.

"We are pleased the Department of Justice upheld the law," said Mike Molin, secretary for the Gates Four homeowners association.

This summer, Fayetteville and four other municipalities wrote separate letters asking the Justice Department to review the state law and determine whether it meets the criteria of the U.S. Voting Rights Act, which seeks to ban racial discrimination in elections.

Fayetteville officials, including Mayor Tony Chavonne, argued the legislation is unconstitutional and biased against renters since only property owners can sign petitions to fend off forced annexation.

The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division lumped into one case the letters from Fayetteville, Kinston, Goldsboro, Rocky Mount and Marvin, a town just outside Charlotte. The federal agency's response, dated Monday, says it does not impose any objection to how Senate Bill 27 changed the state's annexation laws.

 

New state law

 

(read more here: http://fayobserver.com/articles/2011/11/15/1137167 )

Grace Like Rain..... thank You!

H845 is now the law for "city initiated" Annexations.

At midnight of June 30th, the Annexation Reform Act will become the law of North Carolina.
This represents a HUGE change to a very bad law that was a blemish on the State of North Carolina, whose motto has been "First in Freedom". This is a change of HISTORIC significance.

In my last post, I explained the choices that were before Governor Purdue as H845 sat on her desk. I'm puzzled by the choice that she made.
She could have vetoed this legislation, but she did not. For that we all breath a sigh of relief.

Instead she chose to leave the bill sit untouched for the ten days required by the NC Constitution for the legislation to go into effect without her signature.

The Governor could have signed H845. Instead she chose a 'hands off' approach. WHY? This decision does not show support by her for this legislation. I actually thought there was a chance that she might stand with the people and sign the bill, given the overwhelming bi-partisan support that the legislation has.

Thousands of people and nearly two dozen citizens groups opposed to the practice of forced annexation and the UNC Center for Civil Rights supported the passage of the changes H845 would bring to the annexation laws. This legislation passed the House and the Senate with a STRONG bi-partisan vote. In light of all of the support the legislation had among the people and the overwhelming majority of the Legislature, it is hard to understand why Governor Purdue chose NOT to show genuine support for the bill.

We can thank the Legislators for passing the Annexation Reform Act of 2011. 
The No2wilma group has great pages set up to help you do just that:
https://sites.google.com/site/no2wilma2/email-campaign 
https://sites.google.com/site/no2wilma2/sen-thankyou
Thanks to No2Wilma for putting this together!

NOW we can truly call annexation proposals that are initiated by a municipality "city initiated" annexation.
The NCLM has been trying for years to spin FORCED annexation as 'city initiated'; now they can truthfully call it that to their hearts content.

I want to thank each and every person who wrote a letter, called or emailed a legislator over the years. I thank every local community that stood up and fought a forced annexation win or lose, and contributed to the effort at the Legislature. And every person who made it a point to ask the candidates campaigning to represent them the question of where they stood on ending forced annexation. YOU all made where we are today a reality!! THANK YOU!!

Catherine Heath
StopNCAnnexation Coalition (the coalition is YOU!)

Annexation Legislation Passed by the Legislature!

To All,

A Very Good Year For Annexation Reform!

The 2011 Legislative Session has been a very good year for the effort to obtain real change to the Annexation Laws of NC that helps to protect property rights for all North Carolina citizens. 

It took many years as well as a historic change in the Leadership of the General Assembly, and the journey had its ups and downs, but real change has finally been ratified by the Legislature and is before the Governor. The change will be positive for those living near municipalities and those living inside of municipalities, because the much of the incentive to misuse the law has been removed. 

To achieve this historic change to the law required the efforts of every single person who has spoken up in opposition to the practice and who then took the needed action to be heard loud and clear in the General Assembly, whether through emails, phone calls, visits to legislators, attending events and hearings, or taking the annexation issue to the voting booth. 

Last week at the General Assembly was intense, with the annexation legislation being brought to a final vote and ratified amidst long hours, late nights, and competition with many other Bills. The priority that the new Legislative Leadership gave to the issue of restoring some rights to property owners being targeted by city initiated annexation is much appreciated by StopNCAnnexation and the thousands of people and local Community Groups who have supported this effort to change the law over the last decade. 

What Happened in the Legislature Last Week?

During the week of June 12th, the Annexation Reform Act of 2011 (H845) was taken up by the Senate Finance Committee, voted through on the floor of the Senate, passed to the House for concurrence and ratified on the Floor of the House on June 17th. H845 was sent to the Governor for signature and was received by the Governor on June 20th. 

Our sincere thanks goes out to the House and Senate Leadership, the staff members of the Legislative Leaders, whose hard work on this legislation was critical, to the Sponsors of H845, who worked hard to defend and the legislation and gain support for it, and to ALL the Legislators who voted FOR the Annexation Reform Act and the Local Omnibus Bills H56 & S27. (voting record posted on the SNCA website)

The next step in the progress for this legislation is in the Governor's hands.  


If the Governor takes no action on H845 between now and June 30th, on July 1st the legislation becomes law.  

What Has Been Changed in the Annexation Laws?

H845 changes:

• No more "small city/large city" special rules
• One year advance notice from the city considering an area
• An added provision to allow property owners to obtain water and sewer infrastructure from the annexing municipality to their property at zero to reduced cost
• Added a provision that allows area property owners to REJECT the annexation proposal
• Areas that reject an annexation proposed by the city cannot be considered again for three years

For more detailed information about how the Annexation Reform Act changes the law, visit the SNCA website:

http://www.stopncannexation.com

What About the Areas Currently Being Forcibly Annexed?

Additional legislation was also passed last week that allows nearly every area currently being forcibly annexed the right to use the Petition to Reject.

Nine Municipalities will have the current attempt to forcibly annex areas made subject to the results of the Petition to Reject. The legislation allows the property owners being annexed by these cities the right to use the Petition to Reject as enacted by H845. Many will be watching this new process in action as these local communities will be the first to use it.

Those cities are: Kinston, Lexington, Rocky Mount, Wilmington, Asheville (Biltmore Lakes), Marvin, Southport, Fayetteville (Gates Four), and Goldsboro.

Three cities in the process of forcibly annexing communities that opposed being annexed that were not included in this special legislation are Burlington, Elizabethtown, and a small area annexed by Asheville. "Why?" is a question that still needs an answer.

All of this legislation is dependent now on what the Governor chooses to do with H845. 

Governor Purdue can choose one of three options;

• She can VETO H845
• She can SIGN H845
• She can allow the bill to remain unsigned without veto for ten days which would allow H845 to become law without her signature.

You can contact the Governor to communicate your support for the passage of H845:

Office of the Governor
Constituent Services Office116 West Jones Street
Raleigh, North Carolina 27603
Phone: (800) 662-7952 or (919) 733-2391
Fax: (919) 733-2120governor.office@nc.gov

Contact information for Legislators who can be thanked for making this legislation a priority can also be found on the StopNCAnnexation website. 

Thanks to everyone for your sacrifices made for this cause.

Catherine Heath

StopNCAnnexation

http://www.stopncannexation.com 

Update on Annexation Legislation Progress

House Bill 845 - Annexation Reform Act of 2011, passed the Second Reading on the House Floor on Thursday May 12th! 

The Bill passed by vote of 102 for H845, and 13 voting against H845.
As Speaker, Thom Tillis did not vote on H845. 

The Legislators voting against H845 were:

Representative(s) Hugh Blackwell; Larry Brown; George Cleveland and
Representative(s): Alice Bordsen; Beverly Earle; Susan Fisher; Rosa Gill; Ken Goodman; Philip Haire; Susan Hamilton; Grier Martin; Mary Ann Mobley; Larry Womble

Not voting:
Representative(s): Keever; Hastings; Killian; McElraft
 

*****************************************************

H845 will now be on the House Floor Calendar for Monday evening for it's third and final reading. This will be the final House vote to pass H845 on the House side. 

H845 will be sent to the Senate for consideration after the vote on Monday.
The Senate is expected to thoroughly review the provisions of H845 and move it quickly to passage. Additional Legislation to help everyone faced with forced annexation is also expected to be brought forward in the Senate.  

The people finally have a very good piece of legislation moving through the State Legislature after all these years of asking for REAL reform of the annexation laws.

This is legislation that delivers justice and fairness to those to whom justice has been denied for half a century.

If you can make it to Raleigh to witness the passage of this Bill by the House on Monday, May 16th at 7:00 pm., please join the many others who will be there in the House Gallery.

If you cannot make that trip, please listen online from the General Assembly website:
http://www.ncleg.net

 

And write to thank all the House Legislators who voted for the Annexation Reform Act of 2011.

Especially thank the Sponsors and Co-sponsors of H845.

Thom.Tillis@ncleg.net, Speaker of the House,  

Primary Sponsors Stephen.LaRoque@ncleg.net, Nelson.Dollar@ncleg.net, Bill.Owens@ncleg.net 

Co-Sponsors David.Guice@ncleg.net, Jonathan.Jordan@ncleg.net,Tim.Moffitt@ncleg.net, Paul.Stam@ncleg.net, Edgar.Starnes@ncleg.net, Michael.Stone@ncleg.net

Find email contact information for all House Legislators at http://www.stopncannexation.com

Grassroots Action Alert!

A very good Bill has been introduced in the House to change the North Carolina Annexation laws and the window of time to get it passed in the House will close soon!
******

StopNCAnnexation supports the passage of H845 to restore the voice of the property owners. 

Email - CALL ALL House Legislators to ask them to support H845;
BEFORE it's TOO LATE!!

"Crossover" deadline for this bill to be the hands of the Senate is May 12th
 

EMAIL ALL House members

Contact information for House Members

• H845 will restore a voice to the property owners being considered for annexation
  
• H845 will give property owners relief from the costs of water and sewer infrastructure IF the annexation is successful.
  
  
• H845 will stop all annexations that are now in process and haven't reached final passage of the annexation ordinance.
  Cities across NC are rushing to annex areas before this law passes.
  If you are being annexed or oppose forced annexation,
  call and email the House Legislators today. 

 Visit http://www.stopncannexation.com for more information.

NC Annexation Laws Hailed? Many Do NOT!

You can tell the NCLM is getting desperate and are calling on their buddies at the newspapers.
The N&O went beyond the size of their typical "editorial" and gave this opinion piece lots of space:

'Many hail North Carolina annexation law'
http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/03/27/1085023/many-hail-ncs-annexation-law.html

I faxed the following rebuttal to the News & Observer the very same day, and followed up with an email.
I wasn't holding my breath waiting for them to publish what I had to say in response.
As expected, the N&O declined to publish the counterpoint and published few LTE in response either. I'm betting they heard from plenty of people from across the State, but the paper apparently decided to ignore them.

'Many Do Not' !!

by Catherine Heath for StopNCAnnexation

The March 27th article about the debate over FORCED annexation reads like an opinion piece rather than an unbiased report on the facts behind the debate over forced annexation going on the Legislature.

Where are the quotes from the credentialed researchers and policy experts who have refuted the theory being promoted by David Rusk in his books? Who is David Rusk, other than a former Mayor of Albuquerque, NM who happens to have written some books that support the view of those promoting the creation of “City-States”? Rusk is the darling of those who oppose smaller scale local governments that are closer to and more responsive to the people they serve; a model of public choice found to be more efficient, according to the Nobel Prize winning research of Elinor Ostrom*. 

Rather than lead the reader to simply accept the opinion of Mr. Rusk as the last word on the rightness or wrongness of allowing North Carolina municipalities to force landowners into the city limits, the reader should have been given the opportunity to hear from those who have examined Mr. Rusk’s theory and found it wanting. Wendell Cox, Stephan Hayward, Randal O’Toole and Howard Husock have all quite thoroughly rebutted the theory espoused by Mr. Rusk*. To exclude the criticisms of Rusk’s theory while devoting much ink to what Rusk has to say shows the bias of the writer of the article. 

There was plenty of space to include some local policy experts like Daren Bakst and Michael Sanera at the John Locke Foundation who have published papers critical of the practice of forced annexation. Instead, the abundance of space in the article was given to the opinions of a former Mayor and to the chief lobbyist for NC municipalities. This kind of one-sidedness gives the reader the impression that the debate is settled and the published opinions are fact. 

Where are the actual facts about cities that have great credit ratings in States without FORCED annexation? They do exist, but you wouldn’t think so after reading this article. The article seems to want the reader to believe they will witness scenes of desolation straight out of an apocalyptic movie if they venture beyond the borders of NC. There are other factors that contributed to the success of NC metropolitan areas that have nothing to do with credit ratings or forced annexation.

Why does this article devote so much space to the opinions of tax funded lobbyists for the municipalities? These lobbyists have enjoyed ‘red carpet’ treatment at the GA and honed their lobbying skills in the “pay to play” culture recently exposed by scandal and Federal arrests. The citizens taking their grievances to Raleigh have witnessed the arrogance of the city lobbyists at the General Assembly. These citizens who traveled to the Legislature, time and again found themselves shut out of the debate while watching these tax funded lobbyists for the cities walk in and say “jump” with too many Legislators responding, “How high?”

Another fact missing is that the anger from citizens across the State has been ongoing for decades and has been coming from Democrats, Independents, and Republicans alike. Restoring the voice for these property owners has been championed in the Legislature by both Democrats and Republicans. This is ignored in an obvious attempt to dismiss these citizens as a new phenomenon sprouting from a partisan agenda. An unbiased examination of the record and history would show the anger is as old as the law itself and goes beyond party affiliation. 

The rise of the internet has been useful to the people who have always been out there across the State in opposition to forced annexation. It is not the reason that the anger is there, it is the reason the anger is no longer invisible.  If it has taken the recent political upheaval of the General Assembly due to the recent exposure of corruption we have witnessed to open the door for these citizens to be heard, so be it. The fact that the State has made progress against “Boss Hog” style corruption in government is something that should be celebrated, not bemoaned by anyone who stands in favor of good government. 

A final note to the writer; it was excellent for you to point out that most of the annexation enabling growth to the cities in NC is done voluntarily. This fact proves the error of the claim that cities in NC would not be able to grow and stay healthy if the Legislature restored the voice of the people to the 9.6% of annexations that are now being forced upon a minority of NC’s property owners.  

Restoring a voice to these property owners would help prevent municipalities from taking in more than they can adequately serve. The law as it is today tempts city officials to grab for an immediate infusion of property tax revenue even when the long term costs that can be delayed will far outweigh the property tax revenue for many years to come. That is the economic reality that saved my neighborhood from being forcibly annexed so far. Too many cities ignore that reality because the temptation is too great. Fayetteville is an excellent example of a city biting off more than it can chew simply “because it can” with the laws we have today. 

It is time to look beyond the rhetoric and restore the checks and balances that promote good government to this segment of North Carolina law.   

Catherine Heath
Director
StopNCAnnexation Coalition
Wake Co. NC

References:
Elinor Ostrom: *http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/12812.html
Rusk refuted: *http://www.stopncannexation.com/Resources.htm 

Pt2 NC Legislative Update

N&O Editorial Attacks Efforts to End Forced Annexation.

I received an email this morning from Dallas Woodhouse of Americans for Prosperity, alerting me to the horrible editorial in the N&O attacking opposition to forced annexation. AFP has supported and helped us all on the annexation issue.

The editorial that Dallas pointed out was written in response to an excellent article published in the N&O on Tuesday after the Senate passed S27:

Annexation curbs pass Senate 

http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/03/08/1037227/annexation-curbs-pass-senate.html

Please consider writing to the N&O in support of the Senate Moratorium Bill and to thank Lynn Bonner for the great article.lynn.bonner@newsobserver.com or 919-829-4821 

Please copy the Executive Editor of the N&O as well:

John Drescher john.drescher@newsobserver.com

 

Notice that the editorial writer is once again spouting the NC League of Municipalities 'talking points' and ignoring the fact that NC law allows VOLUNTARY annexation as well as FORCED annexation. He ignores that what we are trying to put an end to is FORCED annexation only. Is the writer ignorant of the fact that there is more than one way for cities to annex? 

Maybe he needs to learn the difference.  

The cities will be able to annex to their hearts content VOLUNTARILY even with the moratorium in place. 

Out of all the numerous unsupported "talking points' about forced annexation that the NC League of Municipalities use to use regularly during the last five decades, the only one they have left that they continue to use is the "freeloader" argument. 

People living within five miles and the money they contribute to the cities has the same positive impact that money spent in the cities by people who live fifty miles away. If city officials actually believe that "outsiders" coming into their city are having a negative impact on them, then they need to stop spending any of their resources on promoting tourism and building attractions that are designed to bring tourists into their city. 

We need the N&O to hear from Democrats, Independents and Republicans to let the Editor know that ending FORCED annexation is NOT a PARTISAN issue. The failure to get this done under the Democrats was due to the political power being in the hands of an elite few in the GA more than any other factor.

 The people who care about this issue made themselves heard at the ballot box and voted in candidates who promised to end this practice.

The Republicans now in control are willing to listen to the people on this issue and for that we are grateful.

But FORCED annexation has not been, and is not now, a PARTISAN issue. 

Many votes in the last election went to those candidates who promised to end the practice of forced annexation.

The tight-fisted control of a few people wielding power in the previous Legislative Leadership prevented Democratic Legislators who agree that forced annexation is bad from doing anything about it. The Democrat Legislators who are still in the Legislature and who have supported ending this practice, need OUR support and we need them.

People have been organizing and fighting forced annexation LONG before there was a Tea Party movement, although many in today's Tea Party movement agree that forced annexation is wrong. Many organizations believe that forced annexation is wrong, because it IS WRONG.

Please speak up and set this editor straight about who the BROAD spectrum of those opposed to forced annexation are!

Cathy

StopNCAnnexation

Annexation Moratorium Being Discussed This Week

SENATE

NOTICE OF COMMITTEE MEETING

AND

BILL SPONSOR NOTICE

The Senate Committee on Finance will meet at the following time:

                                                                                                                 

DAY	DATE	TIME	ROOM
Tuesday	March 1, 2011	1:00 PM	544 LOB

The following will be considered:

	BILL NO.	SHORT TITLE	SPONSOR
	SB 27	Involuntary Annexation Moratorium.	Senator Brock Senator Newton Senator Goolsby

Presentations by the Office of the State Treasurer

Senator Fletcher L. Hartsell, Jr., Co-Chair Senator Bob Rucho, Co-Chair

Committee Meetings This Week & a bit of News

Senate Bill 27 to be heard in Senate Finance Committee very likely on Wednesday but it has not been scheduled. 
Please check the Senate Calendar daily @
http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/homePage.pl

Senate Finance Committee meets Tuesdays, Wednesdays at 1:00 PM in 544 LOB LB

IF S27 is heard in the Finance Committee on Wednesday, it is very likely to be voted on by the Senate on Thursday.

Also on Thursday, The Kinston and Lexington Annexation Ordinance Repeal Bills will be on the agenda for the House Finance Committee.

February 24 - House Finance Committee - 8:30 am - Rm 544 - Legislative Office Building
300 N. Salisbury St. Raleigh NC


I will be heading to the Outer Banks early Monday morning to be with my daughter as she welcomes her first child into the world. I will be staying with her for most of the week so I will not be attending these Committee meetings. 


Please try to attend the meetings and send me an email about how the meetings went.
I'd appreciate it. 


Thanks for fighting this fight with me!


Catherine Heath
Director
StopNCAnnexation

Update on Annexation Bills

 "POLITICAL CONNECTIONS" on News 14 - Tim Boyum interviews Berger and Tillis

Senator Pro Tem Phil Berger and Speaker of the House Tom Tillis will be interviewed on the show tonight with a replay on Sunday.
The State Budget and the Governor will likely be the main topic of the conversation, but it is also likely that the legislative efforts to stop forced annexations will be mentioned as well.

You might want to tune in and listen Friday night at 6pm and Sunday at 11am. Read more here:
http://triad.news14.com/content/636896/new-feature--big-guests-on-tonight-s-political-connections

---

What is the Status of the Annexation Moratorium Bills in the House and Senate?

Neither Bill is on the Legislative Calendar for this week as of yet.

The Senate Bill might show up on the Senate Finance calendar some time this week
This committee meets Tuesdays, Wednesdays at 1:00 PM in 544 LOB LB

S27 is NOT on the Tuesday agenda for Senate Finance at this time, but is expected to be heard this week.
.
The House Moratorium Bill is not showing up on any legislative calendar at this point in time.

It is being said that the Kinston, HB5, and Lexington, HB37, Annexation Repeal Bills will be discussed and voted on in House Finance on Thursday.
This is very likely, but the House calendar for Thursday's committee meetings has not been published. If the Bills are heard on Thursday of this week, here are the details:

February 24 - House Finance Committee - 8:30 am - Rm 544 - Legislative Office Building 300 N. Salisbury St. Raleigh NC

On the Senate Calendar for Tuesday is Senate Bill 80; "Lewisville Annexations". This is a Bill introduced to stop the Town of Lewisville from proceeding with their plans to annex the asphalt of some roads. The Town is petitioning itself to annex roadways only so they can "control the development" of the land that underlies and adjoins the roadways, although the land itself is not being annexed.

Yes, this move by the Town of Lewisville is as legally suspect as it sounds.
February 22
STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT      12:00 NOON      1124 LB
SB 80   Lewisville Annexations 

In the past, the Town of Wendell tried to annex a corridor of road to reach a community that would have put Wendell closer to the new 64 bypass, but the NC Courts ruled that an illegal "strip" annexation.
This was one of the very few legal challenges that I have seen succeed for the property owners opposing the forced annexation. Strip, or 'shoestring' annexations are already illegal, but they have been done.

The Town of Cary previously annexed a strip of Ten-Ten Rd. to contiguously connect the Town to a parcel that the Town owned where an extension of the Water & Sewer infrastructure was located. Cary was successful in implementing this strip annexation.

---

Please consider these Committee meetings very important to attend. Even if you can't attend them all, try to fit at least some of these meetings into your schedule so we have some people attending all of the meetings that come up. Check the StopNCAnnexation Blog for updates on Legislative Committee Meetings
http://stopncannexation.blogspot.com

OTHER NEWS:
Some of the County Commissioners are opposing the NC League of Municipalities attempt to convince the Legislature to remove the approval of the County in extensions of Extra Territorial Jurisdiction.
http://www.thetimesnews.com/news/jurisdictions-41240-meets-cities.html
It is great to see the County Commissioners stand up against more over reaching for power by the city lobbyists. These Commissioners have our sincere thanks!

StopNCAnnexation has copies of "Fighting Annexation" by Grady Jeffreys available!
(Limited supply)

For a $25.00 or more donation to StopNCAnnexation you will receive a copy of this concise and excellent history of NC Annexation Laws and the battle to end the practice of forced annexation.
This book is an invaluable resource of information to help you when you speak with Legislators.

Send a check by US Mail payable to 'StopNCAnnexation' along with your mailing address and the book will be quickly mailed to you. Details here: http://www.stopncannexation.com/book_order.htm

Senator Berger's Response to State of the State address

NOTE: Annexation Repeal Bills are NOT on the Finance Committee Calendar for Wednesday, 2/16

---

In the response to the Governor's State of the State address, Senator Berger included this firm and unequivocal statement;
"To help you protect your property rights, we will pass a moratorium on forced annexations."

Please take the time to thank Senator Berger for standing strong against forced annexation and making this statement a part of his response that the whole State heard. Phil.Berger@ncleg.net

Also contact Rep. Tom Tillis, Speaker of the House, Tom.Tillis@ncleg.net and let him know that thousands of people across the State are waiting and anxious to see the House Moratorium Bill move forward soon.

*************

In the Senate State and Local Government Committee meeting today @ 12 noon, the Senate Moratorium on Forced Annexation Bill, S27, was on the agenda for a vote.

The rows of seats for the public were full of citizens showing their support for the Bill by wearing red attire. Six or seven rows approximately. The very last row was filled by representatives from the NCLM and even Ellis Hankins showed up for the meeting, but he did not have any public comments for the committee.

Kent Dozier, a citizen who was forcibly annexed by Rocky Mount was the first person to speak to the Committee and he did an excellent job of explaining how he, as a property owner who is now paying taxes to Rocky Mount, received NOTHING from the Town that he needed or wanted or that improved his property or life. The only thing that was added to his life was an additional tax bill from Rocky Mount.
He told the Committee that when he asked the Mayor of Rocky Mount why he annexed his and the largely rural property around him, the Mayor flat out told him that it was for the money.
Kent's testimony was a wonderful thing to be present for.  Well done Kent! Thanks!

Tony Tetterton spoke next, and he refuted the comparisons that the city lobbyists have made about NC versus Virginia. After throwing out a lot of statistics and calling attention to a spreadsheet he put together that compares the way the 50 States "do annexation", he finished by bringing to the Senators attention a fact that the city lobbyists like to muddle with confusion regarding the extension of water and sewer to landowners outside of the city limits. Tony reminded them of a point with which I have many times refuted the "water & sewer excuse" to forcibly annex that has been made by the city bunch:
The water and sewer services that cities and towns provide are indeed separate from the property taxes the city charges and this utility is a separate enterprise business that is paid for with user fees.
If the city officials made a decision to extend the utility to additional customers outside of the city limits, then that is a business decision that the city made that has NOTHING to do with forced annexation or annexation AT ALL.
Good point made Tony. Thanks for bringing it to the Committee's attention.

At this point Senator Don East made a motion to approve the Bill. No one else came forward to speak on the bill. It seemed like the time was right to get on with the vote and end the discussion.
The Chair ended the Public Comments.

Before the vote was taken, Senator Hartsell raised his hand to be recognized. Hartsell was the first to once again bring up the request that the cities that are now proceeding with an annexation be exempted from the moratorium and be allowed to complete the forced annexation. Remember that people. Especially those of you who vote in Hartsell's District. He wanted to throw all the current victims under the bus for the sake of his loyalty to the League of Municipalities.

Senator Blake then asked to be recognized and he also supported the idea of exempting cities from the moratorium. He did begin his comments by stating that he supported the moratorium.

Then Senator Kinnard also took the opportunity to try to make the case for exempting cities from the moratorium.

Senator Brock's reply was perfect. He stated that the people who have been working to change the law and reign in the abuses (including himself) have been waiting 8 to 10 years for the League of Municipalities to come to the table and be reasonable to no avail. He explained that the Bill will be discussed further in the Senate Finance Committee where the Bill would go next AND that there would be ample opportunity to discuss the bill that would change the annexation laws when it came out.

The vote was then taken and was unanimously approved to be sent to the Senate Finance Committee.

The meeting was short and sweet for the citizens who came to support the Bill and well worth being a witness to. Thank you once again, Senator Brock! Send your thanks to Andrew.Brock@ncleg.net
and the other committee members who supported the Bill.
All the Committee Members Contact info found here:  http://tinyurl.com/6ygmrtj

Annexation Related Bills in Committee This Week

Senate Bill 27 - Annexation Moratorium _ Andrew Brock, sponsor

In the Senate State & Local Finance Committee
Tuesday, February 15th
12:00 Noon
Room 1124
Legislative Building

************************

House Bill 5 - Kinston Annexation Ordinance Repeal, Rep. Stephen LaRoque
House Bill 37 - Lexington Annexation Ordinance Repeal, Rep. Rayne Brown

Both Bills sent to House Finance.
House Finance Committee regular schedule:
Wednesday and Thursday
8:30 am
Room 544 in the Legislative Office Building.

These House Bills have not been officially scheduled on the published Calendar to be heard.

We have been told that these bills would be heard this week.

Check back here for notice when the Calendar has been officially published.  

The NC League of Municipalities has called on City Officials to implement their astroturf campaign to bring city residents to the General Assembly to speak to Legislators on Tuesday and Wednesday.

If you can be there on either day to bring encouragement to Legislators to put an end to forced annexation, it will be extremely helpful to the cause of getting to the legislation that will end forced annexation.

Forced Annexation Repeals - Government Committee

 CORRECTION: The MAYOR of Kinston, BJ Murphy did not speak at the meeting.

Mayor Murphy won his seat as the first Republican Mayor of Kinston in 100 yrs and he ran on a platform of being adamantly opposed to forced annexation.

It was the Mayor Pro Tem who spoke on behalf of the rest of the Kinston Council members.

Note to Mayor Murphy: Sincere apologies for making that error.

*************************

Two Bills to repeal the recent forced annexations by the cities of Kinston and Lexington were discussed and voted on in the House Government Committee of the Legislature.

There was great attendance by citizens belonging to communities fighting forced annexation. OLCAFA, Rowan Good Neighbors, CUAFA and others were there. Freedomworks representatives were also in attendance.
Big thanks to all for driving to Raleigh in spite of the snow and for the sacrifices you made to be there.

Rep. Larry Brown Chairs the House Government Committee.

House Bill 5 - Repeal Kinston Annexation
Introduced by Rep. Stephen LaRoque.

Rep LaRoque explained and defended the bill forcefully and eloquently today. He stood up for the people he represents who have no other voice to defend them on their behalf when it comes to forced annexation.
It was wonderful to be present and to hear a State Representative stand so strong for the people being harmed by forced annexation and against the arrogant entitlement attitude that the city officials and their lobbyists and Legislative advocates have come to have over the years.

The arrogance of the cities was apparent in the questions that their advocates asked and the statements that were made in opposition to the Bills.
Rep Alma Adams was more concerned about whether the Kinston City Council had approved the repeal than whether the citizens harmed by the forced annexation were being represented or were being helped by the repeal.

Rep. Leubke took the several opportunities he was given to address concerns about the Bill to remind the Committee that the Annexation Study Commission that he co-chaired had recommended House Bill 524 to "fix" the annexation laws. If you recall, H524 was the Annexation Study Committee Bill that included nearly ALL of the League of Municipalities recommendations, would have created MORE financial harm for the victims of forced annexation, and was soundly rejected by the citizens asking for an end to forced annexation.
Let it go Rep. Leubke, let it go. Stop trying to resurrect a very bad Bill that deserved to die.

The new talking point from the League of Municipalities (NCLM) appears to be to accuse the State Legislature of MEDDLING in the affairs of the city governments.
Wow!!
Do the city advocates really believe that the State Legislature has no right to regulate the affairs of the cities?
Have they forgotten that the NC Consitution defines cities as "creatures of the State" and it is not the other way around?

Several of the Representatives on the Committee who were clearly acting as mouthpieces for the City Lobbyists voiced concern that the State was meddling. This accusation was, in my opinion the most egregious example of the arrogance and out of control sense of self importance that has become far too commonplace from the city officials and their chief lobbying organization, the League of Municipalities.

The Mayor PRO-TEM of Kinston was allowed to address the Committee and he spent most of his time opposing the Bill as "meddling" on the part of the General Assembly. It takes one's breath away to hear this type of arrogance, but this is what the NCLM has accomplished over the last 50 years in the State of NC.

This type of arrogance from the NCLM lobbyists has always been on display over the years that I have been attending Committee meetings where property rights issues were being debated, but this new blatant display is incredible.
The NCLM appears to have grown used to waltzing into the General Assembly and saying "jump" to the Legislators and having the Legislators respond with "How High?".
It is a whole new ballgame this Legislative Session and it is refreshing. 

To witness Rep. LaRoque brush the arrogance aside and stand strong in knowing he is doing the right thing for the people of his District and of North Carolina was also a breath of fresh air.
Thank you Rep. LaRoque.

HB 5 was approved and with the majority voting the Bill forward.

House Bill 37 - Lexington Annexation Repeal.
Introduced by Rep Rayne Brown 

Rep Rayne Brown was also absolutely eloquent in her statement to the Committee about repealing the forced annexation that Lexington imposed recently. You could really tell that she is an unshakable woman of principle who is stepping up to do what is right for the people in her District. Stepping up for those who have no one other than her speak for them and to defend them against the tyranny of forced annexation.
Thank you Rep Rayne Brown. 

When the Mayor Pro Tem of Kinston was speaking, his defense of the city against the State reversing the annexation, and calling the action of the Legislators "meddling", it brought to mind the way that the City Bunch have responded to the citizens who say that forced annexation is taxation without representation.

The city advocates response to that has been to tell the citizens that they DO have representation in the State Legislature. Now they are complaining that the State should not be standing up for the citizens who were forcibly annexed and are appealing to the Legislature.
As usual, the City Bunch want it all and they want it both ways.
The truth is they couldn't care less about good government. All they seem to care about is increasing the power and the money flowing to the cities.

The Representatives on the Committee who were entrenched in their decision to oppose these repeals and speak for the League of Municipalities kept the conversation going until they ran out the clock for the meeting and a vote could not be taken at that time on HB37.
The way Alma Adams eagerly (a little too eagerly) called out that the clock had run out, it almost seemed like that was a planned strategy.

But Chairman Larry Brown was not to be undone on getting that vote done today. He knew the House was going to have a recess from the Floor and he was able to reconvene the Government Committee a little later on to allow a vote on HB 37. Some of the members were unable to return and some who opposed the bill didn't bother to return. The Bill was approved and soundly voted forward.
Thank you Rep Larry Brown.

There is another Bill that has been introduced on behalf of the forced annexation victims of Rocky Mount.
House Bill 56, Sponsored by Rep. Jeff Collins.
HB56 has been sent to the Committee On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House.

Rep.'s Rayne Brown and Jeff Collins are both new Legislators.
Rep LaRoque made a comeback in the last election. He served in the GA before 2006.

Please take time to send a word of thanks and encouragement to the Legislators who made today possible.
Contact information for House Members

Moratorium Bill, Senate Committee Meeting

WRAL and News14 were filming the Senate Committee meeting on Tuesday as they discussed the Annexation Moratorium Bill. You can watch a half hour of the meeting here. Some of the audio requires your computer volume to be turned all the way up but most of it does not.



Senator Andrew Brock did a terrific job of explaining the Bill and answering questions from the Committee Members. He defended the people of NC and the need for the moratorium very well.

I took notes about the questions that some of the committee members asked.

Senator White asked why a moratorium was necessary and tried to defend the right of cities who have annexations in process to complete them. He also thought some cities should be exempt from the moratorium.

Senator Blake defended the cities right to complete the annexations in process and that each annexation in process should be looked at on a case by case basis. 

Senator Robinson stepped up for the cities by declaring that the cities have added the annexation tax revenue to their balance sheets and shouldn't be asked to forgo that revenue.
She also wanted to know if anyone had an accurate count of the cities who are in the process of a forced annexation. Legislative Staff answered that by stating that the NCLM kept them informed and would provide that number. Hmm...

Senator Jones wanted to know if there was any support from "other organizations" for the moratorium.
Every person in the room who belonged to an anti-forced annexation group stood up to be recognized.
Senator Jones did his best to ignore the people while he clarified that he was referring to the lobbying organizations for the Cities and the Counties.

Senator Kinnard began her comments by telling a story about communities that elected their own Mayor and then followed that by stating that there are now "donut holes" in municipalities.

Perhaps I was having trouble hearing everything she said, but I couldn't make much sense out of her comments other than the fact that she dutifully brought up the "donut hole" argument against changing the law.

Senators East, Tucker, and Goolsby had strong statements in support of the moratorium and against how things have been done in the past.

• The people need a real voice, 
• The people are paying and getting nothing for the money paid to cities, 
• The law has been abused and paper towns were approved as favors and now they are out of control and engaged in land grabs amongst themselves.

All good and true points.

Senator Pate and Senator Nesbitt were absent from the meeting.

Charlotte's lobbyist told us about the horrors of Virginia and the moratorium they passed years ago. 
Mayor Walser from Lexington got up and cried us a river about extending water and sewer to the County schools and that gave Lexington the right to forcibly annex.
It was noted during the meeting that Walser is a Republican who supports forced annexation.
Wow__I wonder how many more of those we need to watch out for.

There were some interesting aspects of the meeting from the perspective of how some things have changed since I began attending committee meetings for the annexation and eminent domain issues:

The city lobbyists and their faithful servants are not quite as arrogant as they have been in meetings as recent as last session. This last election has clearly knocked some of the wind out of their sails, but they are working hard to regain their influence in the General Assembly.

The defenders of the cities and the status quo are still repeating the same old tired push-back arguments against a moratorium or against putting an end to forced annexation as they have time and time again. And they STILL can't make their case with any decent backing. It's just so because the NCLM said it's so.

Paul Meyer, the NCLM lobbyist, did throw out a mild threat. He warned that passing a moratorium would "throw a wet blanket" on the current negotiations underway between our Legislators and the NCLM. (Throw that blanket, Legislators!)

Hmmm..... (again) Meyer stated that our Legislators are "negotiating" with NCLM lobbyists as to what the promised, but still not seen, annexation reform legislation will contain.

Yet we've been told that input from our side is not wanted or needed. We are just supposed to let the Legislators write the Bills because that is what they were elected to do.
Double Hmmmm.... when was the NCLM elected to help write the Bills?

Well, at least the League lobbyist told us that some of their concessions will be surprising.
(eyes rolling)
I can hardly wait. WHOOPPEE!

All I know, _and I believe I'm not alone in thinking this, _is if this Legislature fails to put an end to forced annexation this year, with everything in place that has raised the hopes of thousands and thousands of people across the State, I'm not sure what else the people would have to do to get it done.
Perhaps some further "house cleaning" would be in order? 

Nevertheless, "Thank you Andrew Brock for standing strong against the opposition to the moratorium and for the great answers you gave to their comments."

Annexation Bills in Committee

ACTION ALERT 

Annexation Bills are being discussed by Legislators in Committees this week! 

These Bills and the Legislators that submitted them on behalf of the people need a visible show of support.

If there is any way that you can make it to Raleigh and attend these committee meetings please consider your attendance as critical.

Senate Bill 27 (Involuntary Annexation Moratorium) ***** TODAY!!

Tuesday, February 8
State and Local Government Committee
Room 1124 - Legislative Building
12 noon

We also need to bring a show of support for every Bill that DE-annexes the victims of forced annexation.

House Bill 37 (Lexington Annexations Repealed)

Thursday, February 10th
House Committee on Government      (Rep Larry Brown is Chair)
Room 643 - Legislative Office Building
10:00 am

Thank you!!

ACTION ALERT FOR THE GRASSROOTS!

StopNCAnnexation received the following request from anti-forced annexation activists in Union County for support from activists across North Carolina:

---

The Union County Board of Commissioners will be considering a resolution against forced annexation at their next meeting:

Tuesday,

Jan 18th 

7:00 P.M.

Union County Government Offices 

500 N. Main Street, Monroe, NC 28212.

TV and other media will be there to cover the meeting.

We intend on being there to offer our support for the resolution – bodies, signs, public comments, etc.

We are wondering if you know of anyone from neighboring counties/jurisdictions that might come to Monroe to offer their comments and support.

We could really use a show of unity against forced annexation in our fight against Marvin.

---

If you can possibly attend this meeting to support the efforts of the Commissioners to speak out against forced annexation and the local activists encouraging them, please consider being there!

More and more County Commissioners are speaking up against forced annexation We still need them to speak up to the State Legislature as the local government officials who administer State Law and represent ALL the citizens of every County. 

We cannot rest just yet and trust that the right thing will be done this year in Raleigh.

We must continue to speak up and hold the feet of the new Legislature to the fire. 

 

Many of the former obstacles to ending forced annexation in the General Assembly are GONE and we have many reasons to see light at the end of the tunnel in this decades long struggle to change the law in NC and end the abuse caused by the current laws. 

 There should be NO MORE EXCUSES!

Rep.'s Larry Brown, Nelson Dollar and Stephen LaRoque tell us they are working on legislation right now.
They need to hear from as many people as possible that the #1 item that needs to happen is to put an end to forced annexation by giving the people being considered for annexation a VOTE!!
All the other issues in the current annexation law pale to near insignificance against getting this one thing done.

Rep Larry Brown Larry.Brown@ncleg.net

Rep Nelson Dollar Nelson.Dollar@ncleg.net

Rep Stephen LaRoque Stephen.LaRoque@ncleg.net
 

This is what is happening on the NC House side of the discussion.

The NC Senate members also need to be encouraged to pass legislation that ENDS the practice of forced annexation once and for all.

 

Simple, yet civil, message: 

Restore the VOTE to those to be annexed! 

Senate ProTem Phil Berger: Phil.Berger@ncleg.net  

Thank you for keeping up the fight!

WE CAN DO THIS!  

Catherine Heath

Director

StopNCAnnexation Coalition

The Battle Continues.... post election

This past election brought undeniable historic changes to the State Legislature. The Republican Party will now control both the Senate and the House for the first time in over one hundred years and that is quite an event in itself. Aside from that, this new majority has the potential to turn the tide in favor of ending forced annexation once and for all. The stage is set for good things that COULD happen with Annexation reform in 2011, but what we get remains to be seen.

This coming year in the Legislature truly is a 'once in a lifetime' opportunity to see something actually get done about the forced annexation laws, but good change is NOT a given unless every person can do a little to speak up to these lawmakers encouraging them to do what is right by the people; Restore our Voice! 

It has taken nearly a decade of work and an alignment of other outside factors (indictments, arrests, resignations and the economy and the results of the Nov election) to have this opportunity.
Forces at work on both sides of the aisle, in favor of the status quo for the cities, are already hard at work to railroad legislation that won't change much. Adding your voice and support to pushing for what is right, instead of passing into law a very bad compromise, will be needed.

The message from the people has been so loud and clear that forced annexation was an issue that many of these new legislators ran their campaigns on. Please thank them for that!

Please consider sending a postcard to each of these new legislators to congratulate them on their success and to encourage them to address the annexation issue by restoring the voice of the people being considered for annexation. (I could not obtain their email addresses)Also ask them to support a Statewide Moratorium on FORCED annexation while they debate the issue further. There are a number of areas across the State that are battling in court and the clock is ticking for them. They can't wait for new laws.

The list below includes ALL the new Legislators; Democrats and Republicans.

Cities across the State have gone into panic mode and are making noises about forcibly annexing.

The League of Municipalities is kicking into damage control mode and plan to lobby for a resurrection of the bill they wrote for the Study Commission last year; H524!
Just say NO to the NCLM "20 Point Plan"!!  

Although it would be great to see the legislation that Senator Shaw submitted in 2009 brought back for consideration in both chambers, let's give this new majority a chance to settle in and show us what they will bring forward have for annexation reform legislation.

For now, let's stay true to the important talking points and make sure the legislators know what 'we the people' really want to see them do;

End Forced Annexation once and for all! 

•  Restore a meaningful voice in the decision when cities initiate an annexation
• Create meaningful oversight of city initiated annexations by the locally elected County Commissioners whom those being approached for annexation have voted for.
• Make it a requirement that the city that wants to annex must be providing urban services that are shown to be meaningful and needed in the area being annexed.

New Senators: Louis M. Pate, Jr. - Wayne (R) P.O. Box 945 Mount Olive, NC 28365 (919) 658-3637 Don Davis(D)* William Peter Rabon - Brunswick (R) 404 W. Brunswick Street Southport, NC 28461 (910) 457-5110 R.C. Soles(D)* former seat Thom Goolsby - New Hanover (R) 212 Walnut Street Suite 100 Wilmington, NC 28401 (910) 763-3339 Brent Jackson - Sampson (R) 2905 Ernest Williams Road Autryville, NC 28318 (910) 567-2202 "A" - E. S. (Buck) Newton - Wilson (R) P.O. Box 2047 Wilson, NC 27894 A. B. Swindell(D)* Wesley Alan Meredith - Cumberland (R) 113 Great Oaks Drive Fayetteville, NC 28303 Margaret Highsmith Dickson(D)* Eric L. Mansfield - Cumberland (D) P.O. Box 35935 Fayetteville, NC 28303 Rick Gunn, Jr. - Alamance (R) P.O. Box 308 Burlington, NC 27216 (336) 229-6981 Tony Foriest(D)* Dr. Gladys A. Robinson - Guilford (D) P.O. Box 20627 Greensboro, NC 27420 (336) 812-9076 Tommy Tucker - Union (R) 1206 Rose Hill Drive Waxhaw, NC 28173 (704) 596-8200 Kathy Harrington - Gaston (R) 3324 Lincoln Lane Gastonia, NC 28056 (704) 460-2998 Warren T. Daniel - Burke (R) 309 West Union Street Morganton, NC 28655 (828) 439-8075 Dan Soucek - Watauga (R) 313 Williams Ridge Road Boone, NC 28607 (828) 963-7426 Steve Goss(D)* Ralph E. Hise, Jr. - Mitchell (R) P.O. Box 86 Spruce Pine, NC 28777 Joe Sam Queen(D)* **********************(possible recount) Jim Davis - Macon (R) (likely winner) 37 Georgia Road Franklin, NC 28734 (828) 369-2054 John Snow - Cherokee (D)* (incumbent) 105 Van Horn Street Murphy, NC 28906 (828) 837-5052 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- An "A" before the name indicates "friend of the issue" * Names in red are the incumbents who have been retired by the voters on November 2nd ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Important Legislators that need to hear encouragement from the grassroots: Phil Berger - Senate (R)  Phil.Berger@ncleg.net Andrew C. Brock (R)  Andrew.Brock@ncleg.net Paul Stam - House (R)  Paul.Stam@ncleg.net Thom Tillis - House (R)  Thom.Tillis@ncleg.net Ric Killian - House (R)  Ric.Killian@ncleg.net Nelson Dollar - House (R)  Nelson.Dollar@ncleg.net

New Representatives: Norman W. Sanderson (Pamlico) (R) 269 Bennett Rd. #4, Arapahoe, NC 28510 252-249-3749 *Alice Graham Underhill(D) Jimmy Dixon (Duplin) (R) P. O. Box 222, Warsaw, NC 28398 910-590-1740 Bill Cook (Beaufort) (R) 75 Cape Fear Dr., Chocowinity, NC 27817 252-946-5876 "A" -Stephen A. LaRoque (Lenoir) (R) P. O. Box 1034, Kinston, NC 28503 252-523-7700 *R. Van Braxton(D) Phillip R. Shepard (Onslow) (R) 111 Vernon Shepard Lane, Jacksonville, NC 28540 910-389-6392 Susi H. Hamilton (New Hanover) (D) 206 Nun St., Wilmington, NC 28401 910-443-2830 "A" - Jeff Collins (Nash) (R) 1109 Culpepper Dr., Rocky Mount, NC 27803 252-443-1441 *Randy Stewart(D) "A" - Tom Murry (Wake) (R) P. O. Box 1054, Morrisville, NC 27560 919-886-4341 *Chris Heagarty(D) G. L. Pridgen (Robeson) (R) 1044 Mercer Mill Rd., Lumberton, NC 28358 910-608-3277 *Douglas Y. Yongue(D) Charles Graham (Robeson) (D) 479 Bee Gee Rd., Lumberton, NC 28358 910-739-3969 "A" - Glen Bradley (Franklin) (R) 144 Ridgewood Rd., Youngsville, NC 27596 919-374-2973 *John May(D) Michael (Mike) Stone (Lee) (R) 1123 Winterlocken Dr., Sanford, NC 27330 919-777-8419 *Jimmy L. Love, Sr.(D) Marcus Brandon, Jr. (Guilford) (D) 808 Glendale Dr., Greensboro, NC 27406 336-987-3357 John Faircloth (Guilford) (R) 2332 Faircloth Way, High Point, NC 27265 336-841-4137 Bert Jones (Rockingham) (U) 299 Fairfield Rd., Reidsville, NC 27320 336-342-6171 *Nelson Cole(D) Ken Goodman (Richmond) (D) 832 Williamsburg Dr., Rockingham, NC 28379 910-997-2712 D. Craig Horn (Union) (R) 5909 Bluebird Hill Lane, Weddington, NC 28104 704-844-9960 "A" - Harry Warren (Rowan) (R) 201 Kingsbridge Rd., Salisbury, NC 28144 704-603-8898 *Lorene Coates(D) "A" - Rayne Brown (Davidson) (R) 416 Lee Ave., Lexington, NC 27295 336-249-2608 *Hugh Holliman(D) Mark W. Hollo (Alexander) (R) 432 Westwood Lane, Taylorsville, NC 28681 828-632-1728 Jonathan C. Jordan (Ashe) (R) P. O. Box 744, Jefferson, NC 28640 336-846-1657 *Cullie M. Tarleton(D) Rodney W. Moore (Mecklenburg) (D) 1914 Yaupon Rd., Charlotte, NC 28215 704-449-6201 Bill Brawley (Mecklenburg) (R) 13612 O’Toole Dr., Matthews, NC 28105 704-574-0894 John Torbett (Gaston) (R) 210 Blueridge Dr., Stanley, NC 28164 704-263-9282 Kelly E. Hastings (Gaston) (R) 405 Jane St., Cherryville, NC 28021 704-473-3468 Mike Hager (Rutherford) (R) 342 Walking Horse Trail, Rutherfordton, NC 28139 828-748-2378 Timothy D. (Tim) Moffitt (Buncombe) (R) 3182 Sweeten Creek Rd., Asheville, NC 28803 828-651-8550 Chuck McGrady (Henderson) (R) 195 Fernbrook Way, Hendersonville, NC 28791 828-696-0672

After this weekend we will know who has been appointed to be Senate Pro Tem and Speaker of the House.

The 2011-2012 biennium of the North Carolina General Assembly will convene on January 26, 2011.

In courtesy to the families of the new legislators who would like to have a seat to watch their loved ones be sworn in, I am recommending that we DO NOT plan a trip to Raleigh for January 26. I do think we should plan to go as a large group early in the session, perhaps once we have some good legislation to support. Stay tuned!!

I attended a meeting last Tuesday with Kathy Hartkopf (Freedomworks), Doug Aitken and Tony Tetterton (FAC), and Daren Bakst to discuss the year ahead. The results of that meeting will be forthcoming as soon as more information is put together.

After taking a much needed break, I WILL be updating the website once again to help keep you updated on news in Raleigh and across the State. Thanks for your patience and a very BIG THANK YOU to ALL who sent a contribution recently. It will be needed in the upcoming year.

Please consider helping SNCA do what needs to be done in the upcoming year with a financial donation.

http://www.stopncannexation.com/Searchfiles/Contribute.htm

Thank you for all that you have done to move all of us toward success!

Catherine Heath

Director,
StopNCAnnexation Coalition