The last straw...HB954 left to die on the vine by NC Senate Republicans

Tuesday, the other shoe finally dropped on the latest best chance at stopping the I77 HOT lanes project.  The NC Senate Republicans met in caucus and decided to not advance HB954 which had passed overwhelmingly in the House.

Soon after the closed door meeting, Kurt Naas posted this to the Exit 28 Ridiculousness group on Facebook.

Last week when it became clear the fate of this bill would be decided this way, Naas told me he wasn't sure what to think about the delay in the caucus meeting to this week.

To that I responded that maybe, just maybe, the Senate was hoping to run out the clock on the session and pass this bill just before it ended.  That would have given Governor McCrory the face saving opportunity to let the bill become law without his signature.

According to StateScape.com in North Carolina...

"The governor must sign or veto legislation within 10 days after transmittal, or it becomes law without his/her signature. If the legislature adjourns for more than 30 days, the governor must act within 30 days after adjournment, or the legislation becomes law without being signed. If the governor vetoes legislation after adjournment, he/she must reconvene the session or the legislation becomes law despite the veto on the 40th day after session adjournment."

To that Naas said "You're an optimist."

And you know what?  He's right.  I am an optimist.  I want to believe the system can be fixed.  I want to believe people will do the right thing if given enough information.

But after seeing this on Tuesday and coming on the heels of Davidson Commissioners' inaction last week regarding the Travis-Woods visit to Senator Berger's office to lobby for the project, that optimism that people will do the right thing has finally been shaken.

The last benefit of the doubt has been given.  The last second chance has been granted.

It is time to set a new course.

Contact your #NCGA Senators - Help stop I77 tolls!

Last week, the effort to cancel the 50 year contract and stop the I77 HOT lanes project achieved the unthinkable.  HB954 passed the NC House by a vote of 81-27.

As you can see, the vote was overwhelmingly bi-partisan with support across the state.  8 of 12 Mecklenburg County representatives supported the bill with one being absent during last Thursday's vote.

Now comes the hard part - the NC Senate.

For various reasons the Senate seems significantly less keen on the idea of cancelling the contract.  The bill is sitting in the Senate Transportation Committee, but if it stays there it will be dead by the end of the month.

aShortChronicle was started in large part to encourage citizen activism.  This moment may be the most important one since the site's inception.  Please take this moment to send a brief message to the below list of NC Senators.  Ask them to support HB954.  Mention HB954 in the subject line.  Be polite and be brief.

This is as close as this effort has ever been to stopping this project.  Help make that happen!

NC Senate
Andrew.Brock@ncleg.net,
Andy.Wells@ncleg.net,
Angela.Bryant@ncleg.net,
Ben.Clark@ncleg.net,
Bill.Cook@ncleg.net,
Bill.Rabon@ncleg.net,
David.Curtis@ncleg.net,
Brent.Jackson@ncleg.net,
Buck.Newton@ncleg.net,
Chad.Barefoot@ncleg.net,
Dan.Blue@ncleg.net,
Bob.Rucho@ncleg.net,
Don.Davis@ncleg.net,
Erica.Smith-Ingram@ncleg.net,
Fletcher.Hartsell@ncleg.net,
Floyd.McKissick@ncleg.net,
Gladys.Robinson@ncleg.net,
Harry.Brown@ncleg.net,
Harry.Brown@ncleg.net,
Jane.Smith@ncleg.net,
Jay.Chaudhuri@ncleg.net,
Jeff.Jackson@ncleg.net,
Jeff.Tarte@ncleg.net,
Jerry.Tillman@ncleg.net,
Jim.Davis@ncleg.net,
Joel.Ford@ncleg.net,
John.Alexander@ncleg.net,
Joyce.Krawiec@ncleg.net,
Joyce.Waddell@ncleg.net,
Kathy.Harrington@ncleg.net,
Louis.Pate@ncleg.net,
Michael.Lee@ncleg.net,
Mike.Woodard@ncleg.net,
Norman.Sanderson@ncleg.net,
Paul.Lowe@ncleg.net,
Phil.Berger@ncleg.net,
Ralph.Hise@ncleg.net,
Rick.Gunn@ncleg.net,
Ron.Rabin@ncleg.net,
Shirley.Randleman@ncleg.net,
Stan.Bingham@ncleg.net,
Tamara.Barringer@ncleg.net,
Terry.VanDuyn@ncleg.net,
Tom.Apodaca@ncleg.net,
Tom.McInnis@ncleg.net,
Tommy.Tucker@ncleg.net,
Trudy.Wade@ncleg.net,
Valerie.Foushee@ncleg.net,
Warren.Daniel@ncleg.net,
Wesley.Meredith@ncleg.net,

Toll contract cancellation bill passes NC House committees

On Wednesday, HB954 passed the first of several major milestones on its way to becoming law.  The bill, filed by Huntersville Rep Charles Jeter as soon as the session opened, would cancel the contract with Cintra to build the I77 HOT lanes.

After weeks since filing, the bill was finally heard in the NC House Transportation and Appropriations Committees.

In both cases the bill passed on voice votes.

Here is what Rep John Bradford had to say after the bill passed these hurdles.  The Appropriations Committee was the second committee vote of the day.

Rep Bradford's excitement is very understandable.  That's because the Committee process is where unpopular or controversial bills often go to die.

Committee rooms are where the political sausage is made.  Amendments are proposed. Voice votes are taken.  Much of the action is often not documented all that well.  If a bill is going to be stabbed in the back, this is where it happens.

Passing through that gauntlet intact is no small achievement and all those involved deserve the community's hearty appreciation.

As a frame of reference, check out the stories on HB267 back in 2013.  See here and here.  That bill would have required a vote by the General Assembly on each toll toad project.  The bill went into committee as an anti-toll effort and came out as a pro-toll bill.  The legislature never had to go on record voting for this specific project.

Three long years later, the first of those on-record floor votes at the NCGA for this project will happen Thursday when HB954 heads to the House floor.

Correction: The original post got the days off.  The bill passed committee on Wednesday, not Tuesday.  It heads to the House floor on Thursday.