by: Ryan Brown, LPNC Chair
During the first week of the North Carolina General Assembly session there were a significant number of bills filed. I took a look at a few of them and will rate them, according to our platform and beliefs. If you guys like this type of article, let us know and we’ll keep it up. Today we’re going to keep it short and do a quick writeup on five bills: HB5, HB9, HB11, HB14, and HB28.
Guns
First up, there were three gun-related bills, two of which were pretty good, and one not great, or superfluous, at best.
First up was HB 5 - NC Constitutional Carry Act introduced by Representative Keith Kidwell (REP) and sponsored by another two dozen representatives. Overall, it is a good bill but still includes some disappointing things. It keeps the requirement to notify officers you’re carrying and provide an ID. If not, you’re guilty of a crime. It keeps the stipulation that you are committing a crime if you are carrying and have a single drink out at dinner with your family. And it fails to lift the ban on students or visitors carrying or owning a weapon on college campuses. Regardless, we’d support passage of this bill. On net, it is a reduction of gun laws in North Carolina.
Next, we have HB 9 - Firearm Discharge/Preempt Local Ordinance, also introduced by Representative Keith Kidwell (REP). This bill seems like a response to local governments trying to mandate how people are allowed to exercise their right to self-defense on their own property. This is a short and clear bill restricting local governments and protecting property rights. We strongly support this bill.
Finally, HB28. The Gun Violence Prevention Act was introduced by Representative Jennifer Balkcom (REP). While the intentions of this act seem good, it has no provisions to actually try and prevent gun violence. All the act does is make it extra illegal for people to commit crimes with a gun. North Carolina needs fewer gun laws. Making crime extra illegal isn’t going to help anyone.
Taxes
Regarding taxes, there were two bills introduced, one much more controversial than the other based on initial reactions from press and political pundits. First, on the heels of President Trump’s call for ending taxes on tips, Representative Harry Warren (REP) introduced HB 11 - No Tax on Tips, Overtime, Bonus Pay. We support this short, straightforward tax cut. Any and all taxes should be cut, even if they’re not universal.
Next, HB 14 - Gambling Losses Tax Deduction was introduced by Representative Erin Paré (REP) to a surprising amount of pushback from the Republicans, at least from what I saw. The bill, if passed, allows North Carolinians to write off gambling losses on their state taxes. When sports gambling was legalized, aka regulated and taxed, the bill was written in such a way that you couldn’t write off your losses. This was out-of-step with federal tax laws and created a situation in which people could have small net gains or even losses and still owe taxes. As WRAL wrote, “For example, if a bettor won $10,000 betting on sports over the course of the year, but lost $11,000 in bets, he or she would still owe income tax on the $10,000.” Again, as this lowers tax burden on individuals, we support this bill. The outrage that I’ve seen around this bill is misplaced. We should be railing against the taxes themselves, we shouldn’t get upset at the exemptions. The more income tax exemptions the better.
Thank you for reading. You can read our platform here and see how we’d support the other bills that get introduced this term! https://www.lpnc.org/platform
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