Preventing Opioid Misuse

Posted on June 27, 2017 by admin in Crime, Health, Healthcare

Bottle of painkillers The North Carolina House of Representatives unanimously approved a final version of House Bill 243 — the “Strengthen Opioid Misuse Prevention (STOP) Act” earlier this afternoon, passing a comprehensive measure to address the opioid epidemic through smarter prescribing and labeling, better dispensing and stricter requirements for use of the state’s Controlled Substances Reporting System.

Key provisions of the STOP Act include penalties for improper reporting of controlled substances prescriptions, limits on the initial quantity of opioid prescriptions for acute pain and stricter supervision of prescribers.

Rep. Greg Murphy, MD, the bill’s primary sponsor, spoke in favor of the bill’s final version on the House floor:

“I believe this bill represents what is best about our form of government,” said Representative Murphy. “We’ve had bipartisan support, and stakeholders from many constituencies came together to express support and concerns. We’ve listened and this bill is an important step forward in combating our opioid crisis.”

The STOP Act will also require universal registration and reporting by pharmacies to detect misuse and diversion while strengthening reporting requirements of prescription transactions.

Rep. Ted Davis (R-New Hanover) also spoke in support of the final version of the bill, which was worked on most of the legislative session:

“It was a real honor and privilege in watching this bill develop,” Davis said. “We came up with a great step to eradicate this very serious epidemic that is facing our state.”

Legislative leaders and stakeholders in the law enforcement and medical community maintain the reforms will produce more reliable prevention data, reduce overdoses and save lives.

Honoring Our First Responders

Posted on June 26, 2017 by admin in Celebration, Dan Forest, Emergency Management, Law Enforcement, Municipal Government, Public Employees, Public Safety, Tribute

“With the passage of Senate Bill 257, our state will designate September 11th as First Responders Day, to honor those brave men and women who suit up each day to protect and serve our communities throughout North Carolina. I want to thank the leadership of the General Assembly, and in particular Senator Norm Sanderson, for creating such a day. By making September 11th a State Holiday each year for our First Responders, we not only honor our State’s heroes, but we will be reminded of how in the face of one of our nation’s greatest tragedies, the best of America was brought forth.”

— Lt. Governor Dan Forest

Legislature Approves State Budget

Posted on June 23, 2017 by admin in Agriculture, Appropriations, Budget, Economy, Education, Environment, Government Reform, Health, Law Enforcement, Medicaid, Public Assistance, Public Safety, Technology, Transportation, UNC, Veterans

Great Seal of the State of North Carolina The North Carolina General Assembly gave its overwhelming approval yesterday to a $23 billion state budget that, among other things, increases education investments by more than $700 million, raises teacher pay for the fourth consecutive year, provides needed disaster relief to communities affected by Hurricane Matthew, helps lower-income people by further expanding the state’s zero-tax bracket, and adds $363.9 million to the state’s savings reserve account.

The bipartisan budget bill received unanimous support from the legislature’s Republicans, with more than a quarter of Senate Democrats and more than one in ten House Democrats present also voting for the measure.

“We’ve passed along serious tax relief in this budget,” commented House Speaker Tim Moore. “Roughly 95,000 North Carolinians who today pay income taxes, won’t anymore — that’s helping those who are working to try to get by.”

The General Assembly’s final tax relief and spending agreement is consistent with budgets passed since 2011 that have produced record savings and revenue surpluses in North Carolina since voters elected Republicans to the majority in 2010. This contrasts a string of tax increases under Democrat control that produced massive deficits and nearly $2 billion in debt.

The 2017 budget fully funds the rapid enrollment growth in North Carolina’s public schools with an additional $700 million in education spending over the next two years, while maintaining the General Assembly’s ongoing commitment to dramatically increase teacher pay after salaries lagged last decade and were cut under Democrats in 2009.

The bipartisan budget bill now awaits Governor Cooper’s signature. For more information on this year’s state budget, click here.

Exempting Money from State Sales Tax

Posted on June 21, 2017 by admin in Business, Economy, Tax Reform, Taxes

Legislation passed the House overwhelmingly last month that will help stimulate commerce and job creation for coin dealers and those in the Precious Metals trade.

House Bill 434 updates current sales tax laws to allow for the exemption from sales taxes for the commercial sales of gold and silver bullion and coins. Included in the exemption is the commercial sale of legal tender, typically in the form of misprinted coins and paper money, also known as error currency. Error currency tends to have a greater market value than its face value.

Sponsors of HB 434 say that exempting these types of sales from taxation will attract business activity in this industry and that the tax exemption would amount to a negligible loss in tax revenue for the state. With about 117 professional numismatists (coin dealers) in North Carolina in fiscal year 2017-18, and a state sales tax rate of 4.7 percent, the tax revenue lost in that year amounted to about $600,000 or less. Experts estimate sales tax collection could be as low as $150,000 annually.

In past years, coin and currency chows would do business in North Carolina, but that business has taken a sudden downturn. Dealers say the collection and remittance of the sale tax is just becoming more trouble than the amount of the tax is worth.

North Carolina is surrounded by states that have a complete or partial sales tax exemption on the retail sale of precious metal numismatic and bullion items. Thirty-four states have a complete or partial sales tax exemption on the retail sale of precious metal numismatic and bullion items: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Washington.

During floor debate, Representative Larry Yarborough said in support of the bill, “I have a friend that considers gold to be a good investment as part of a diverse portfolio and he buys all of his gold from Texas because he can avoid the sales tax on it. So we’re not really gaining anything by taxing investment gold.”

Data from the Industry Council for Tangible Assets suggests that retailers in the jewelry, watches, precious stones and precious metals business see an increase in the sale of both exempt and non-exempt merchandise wherever there is a sales tax exemption.

Removing the state sales tax imposed on these items promises to stimulate economic activity at little cost to the state, and the benefits of this tax relief can be passed on to the consumer for spending on other taxable merchandise.

If House Bill 434 is passed by the Senate and becomes law, the sales tax exemptions would begin on July 1, 2017.

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