To: Alliance Members and Partners
Please read and forward to your colleagues and networks!
In this issue:
SB 703: Passes Committee; Next Stops, State and Local Gov’t Cmt and Floor Vote
HB 683: Another Hearing
Senate Budget Proposal Expected NEXT Week (after Cross-over)
SB 703 Passes Committee;
To be Heard by Senate State & Local Committee
Before Going to Senate Floor
BY Thursday!
Contact Your Senator NOW!
S 703-Limit Local Regulation of Outdoor Smoking
SB 703passed the Senate Agriculture Committeetoday by voice vote, followed by immediate adjournment of the committee to avoid a recorded voted on the bill. The bill’s next stop will be the Senate State and Local Government Committee. Given that this is “cross-over” week, bills are moving quickly and with little public notice. At this time there is NO scheduled meeting of the Senate State and Local Government Committee. However, we are assured by several sources that we are likely to see SB 703 considered by this Senate committee sometime tomorrow (somehow, sometime, somewhere). If not tomorrow, then Thursday.
Here are links to two reports of yesterday’s Senate Agriculture Committee hearing. Please view as they are enlightening.
See this link for the video three/fourths the way down to see for yourself how this debate took place:
WRAL Coverage:
PLEASE KEEP UP CONTACTS WITH YOUR
LOCAL SENATORS AND TELL THEM OF
YOUR OPPOSITION TO SB 703!
Contacts needed before 10 am Thursday!
North Carolina has a long and proud tradition of maintaining decision making at the local level—where it is closest to the people and most responsive to their needs. The ability of our towns, counties and community colleges to do what they think is best is paramount as the General Assembly considers SB 703. Those communities that want to take action to protect health can, and those that do not wish to, don’t have to. Leave the decision-making up to those closest to the community.The current law is working well and should be left as is.
What SB 703 will do:
- Repeal the authority of local governments to protect the health of their citizens from the dangers of secondhand smoke in outdoor places;
- Repeal hundreds of existing and implemented local ordinances and community college policies that are working well across this state;(see additional details below).
- We must preserve the rights of local government to make decisions concerning outdoors smoke-free spaces based on what is best for the people in their community.
SB 703 would repeal the authority of local governments and community colleges to prohibit smoking on outdoor grounds, including parks. Left unclear in yesterday’s debate was the fact that, under Senate Bill 703, no local ordinance on outdoor smoking could be more restrictive than state law. And state law places no restrictions on smoking outdoors. Therefore, local governments would also be restricted from regulating tobacco use in any way in outdoor spaces.
In addition, SB 703 would repealHUNDREDSof existing adopted local government ordinances, rules or policies. For a detailed list of the local and municipal outdoor locations that would be impacted by this repeal,please see the Alliance’s website.
SB 703also repeals the authority of local community college boards of trustees to adopt and enforce policies prohibiting smoking on local community college grounds or at outdoor community college-related or community college-sponsored events.
This bill would repeal all existing community college smoking regulations on their campus grounds.Currently, 33 of the 58 community colleges have adopted, implemented and enforced a tobacco-free campus policy, including all grounds. Two other community colleges, Mitchell Community College and South Piedmont Community College have adopted tobacco-free campus policies that go into effect on May 13, 2013and May 28, 2013 respectively—taking the number to 35 of 58. One other community college (Forsyth Tech) has a smoke-free campus policy. Of the remaining community colleges, all but two community colleges allow smoking only within designated areas on their grounds. A TOTAL of 56 of 58 community colleges have taken some sort of action to protect students and faculty from the dangers of secondhand smoke.
Click Herefor a map of the smoke-free policies of the community college system.
NC citizens do not want to go backwards on efforts to protect the public’s health from the dangers of secondhand smoke.
Contact Your Senator
RegardingYour Opposition to SB 703
To email your Senator, go to the General Assembly’s Website, find the name of your Senatorand double click on the email address.
To call your Senator, please call 919-733-4111 and ask for the member by name to be transferred.
If you are not sure of the name of your Senator, check the General Assembly’s website at:
On this page, you may look up your representative by district number, by County, or address.
If you live in the district of a Senator on the
Senate State and Local Committee,
contact them by Tuesday morning.
Committee Chairs:
Jim Davis (R- Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon, Swain)
919-733-5875
Tommy Tucker (R- Union)
919-733-7659
Trudy Wade (R- Guilford)
919-733-5856
Members:
Tamara Barringer (R- Wade)
919-733-5653
Stan Bingham (R- Davidson, Montgomery)
919-733-5665
Don Davis (D- Greene, Lenoir, Pitt, Wayne)
919-715-8363
Thom Goolsby (R- New Hanover)
919-715-2525
Fletcher Hartsell, Jr. (R- Cabarrus, Union)
919-733-7223
Brent Jackson (R- Duplin, Johnston, Sampson)
919-733-5705
Eleanor Kinnaird (D- Chatham, Orange)
919-733-5804
Gene McLaurin (D- Anson, Richmond, Rowan, Scotland, Stanly)
919-733-5953
Martin Nesbitt (D- Buncombe)
919-715-3001
Louis Pate (R- Lenoir, Pitt, Wayne)
919-733-5621
Jeff Tarte (R- Mecklenburg)
919-715-3050
Michael Walters (D- Columbus, Robeson)
919-733-5651
Also contact SB 703 Primary Sponsor:
Senator “Buck” Newton (R-Johnston, Nash, and Wilson Counties)
919-715-3030
HB 683 Scheduled for House
Judiciary A Committee Again TODAY!
HB 683, the Common Sense Consumption Act and also known as the “Anti-Bloomberg Bill,” would restrict (or preempt) local governments from limiting the size of sodas above a particular size. This bill would also limit the right of a person to sue a food packer, distributor, manufacturer, carrier, holder, seller, marketer or advertiser for weight gain or obesity, or a health condition associated with those conditions.
HB 683 was discussed but not voted on by the House Judiciary A Committee last week. The bill is now scheduled for additional hearing by the House Judiciary A Committee for today, Wednesday, May 15th at 10 am in room 1228 of the Legislative Building.
During the previous committee meeting, the NC Restaurant and Lodging Association and the NC Beverage Association both announced their support for the bill. Organizations which spoke in opposition to the bill included the NC Trial Lawyers Association and Youth Empowered Solutions (YES). The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) is also opposing this bill.
Tobacco control groups from across the country have long been opposed to laws that preempt local authority due to the tobacco industry’s history of working to limit the rights of local governments to regulate smoking indoors or out. Health advocates are just as wary and opposed to laws that would preempt possible future obesity prevention policy efforts. Even if one doesn’t personally like a particular issue, local governments should still have the right to debate the issue at the local level.
If you are concerned about this bill, please contact your local legislator and tell them of your opposition to the bill. Sponsors of HB 683 include:
Rep. Brian Brown
919-733-5757
Rep. Tim Moffitt (R-Buncombe)
919-715-3012
Rep. Nathan Ramsey (R-Buncombe)
919-733-5746
Rep. PhillipShepard (R-Onslow)
919-715-9644
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For additional information about the North Carolina Alliance for Health, please contact
Alliance Executive Director Pam Seamans at or
Alliance Managing Director Lee Storrow at .
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