NC General Assembly Calendar for 04-26-2012

The North Carolina General Assembly [link] has convened for the short session. The NC Senate [link] and the NC House [link] are not scheduled to meet today.

I have posted the calendar of scheduled legislative activity along with links to where you can listen online to our state legislators as they go about their tasks. I plan on listening and recording what I can (but not today), so be sure to check back later today and see what audio I've managed to upload.

Another good source of live and recorded audio of the NC General Assembly is Voter Radio. Check out their website. [link]

If you experience problems listening to the meetings via the links below, try the North Carolina General Assembly website. [link]

9:30 AM	Environmental Review Commission Committee Members | Agenda	[audio]  544 LOB
10:00 AM	Banking Laws Modernization, Jt. Leg. Study (2011) Committee Members	[audio]  643 LOB
1:00 PM	Diabetes Prevention Task Force, Jt.Leg (2011) Committee Members | Agenda	[audio]  643 LOB
1:00 PM	Trusts Drafting Committee of the General Statutes Commission - UNC School of Law Member List of Subcommittee Not Available | General Statutes Membership	Off-site N/A

Here are the deadlines relating to filing bills for this session:




2012 Bill Drafting and Filing Deadlines

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NC General Assembly Calendar for 04-25-2012

The North Carolina General Assembly [link] has convened for the short session. The NC Senate [link] and the NC House [link] are scheduled to meet today.

I have posted the calendar of scheduled legislative activity along with links to where you can listen online to our state legislators as they go about their tasks. I plan on listening and recording what I can, so be sure to check back later today and see what audio I've managed to upload.

Another good source of live and recorded audio of the NC General Assembly is Voter Radio. Check out their website. [link]

If you experience problems listening to the meetings via the links below, try the North Carolina General Assembly website. [link]

9:00 AM	Session Convenes (House) Pursuant to House Rules, the following bills must appear on the Calendar; however, no votes will be taken. UNFINISHED BUSINESS RECONSIDERATION OF VETOED BILLS HB 7 Ingle, Cleveland and McCormick (Primary Sponsors) - COMMUNITY  COLLEGES/OPT OUT OF FEDERAL LOAN PROGRAM.  (Vetoed by Governor - 4/13/11) (Ratified Edition) HB 351 Lewis, T. Moore and Killian (Primary Sponsors) - RESTORE CONFIDENCE IN  GOVERNMENT. (Vetoed by Governor - 6/23/11)  (Veto Override Vote Reconsidered - 7/26/11) (Ratified Edition) HB 482 Burr - WATER SUPPLY LINES/WATER VIOLATION WAIVERS.  (Vetoed by Governor - 6/27/11) (Ratified Edition) SB 709 Rucho, Brown and Tucker (Primary Sponsors) - ENERGY JOBS ACT.  (Vetoed by Governor - 6/30/11) (Ratified Edition) PUBLIC BILLS SECOND AND THIRD READINGS HJR 940 Committee on Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House - ADJOURN  RECONVENED SESSION.  (Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House ) (1st Edition)	[audio] House
9:15 AM	House Select Committee on Childhood Obesity -- CORRECTED (House) Committee Members	[audio] 643 LOB
9:15 AM	Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government (House) Committee Members	415 LOB
10:00 AM	Session Convenes (Senate) SB 795 Apodaca P. Berger Tillman EXCELLENT PUBLIC SCHOOLS ACT	[audio] Senate
10:00 AM	Justus-Warren Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Task Force Task Force Meeting Must be recorded (no website that I could find)	1027/1128 LB
10:00 AM	Program Evaluation Oversight Comm., Jt. Leg. Committee Members | PDF of Agenda | Download MP3 of last meeting	[audio] 544 LOB
12:00 PM	Rep. Rick Glazier Press Conference	[audio] Press Room LB
1:00 PM	E-Procurement, House Select Committee on Committee Members | Agenda |	415 LOB
1:00 PM	Extraterritorial Jurisdiction, House Select Committee on Committee Members	[audio] 643 LOB
2:00 PM	Senate Judiciary I - Pharmaceutical Liability NC Senate Judiciary I | Agenda	[audio] 544 LOB

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NC General Assembly Calendar for 04-24-2012

**2.36 pm** Here is the audio of the NC House Select Committee on Public Private Partnerships. Note that there was some problem with the audio and two parts of the meeting were not recorded. This leaves me to wonder what kind of morons we have in Raleigh for this type of problem to be so persistent. These committee rooms have had this problem for years and haven't been repaired. This is unacceptable for a state government live audio feed to continually have this problem. ~Bobby

Download MP3







The North Carolina General Assembly [link] has convened for the short session. Neither the NC Senate [link] and the NC House [link] are scheduled to meet today. They did, however, meet yesterday. [link]

I have posted the calendar of scheduled legislative activity along with links to where you can listen online to our state legislators as they go about their tasks. I plan on listening and recording what I can, so be sure to check back later today and see what audio I've managed to upload.


Also, since I am moving my Conservative Thunder Social Network to Google Plus, if you wish to be included in our NCGA Project Circle so that you can receive my updates over there, circle me on Google Plus  [my G+ Profile] and send me a message on that network indicating you wish to be added to the NCGA Project circle. Once you are in the circle, you will be given opportunities to become part of our reciprocal NCGA Project circle (this means you will be able to see posts by the Conservative Thunder members of the circle that relate to the North Carolina General Assembly).

Another good source of live and recorded audio of the NC General Assembly is Voter Radio. Check out their website.

9:00 AM	CANCELLED - Governmental Operations, Joint Legislative Commission on	Unknown LB
10:00 AM	Military Affairs, House Select Committee on [web]	414 LOB
1:00 PM	Appropriations Subcommittee on Education [web](House)	421 LOB
2:00 PM	House Select Committee on Public-Private Partnerships [web] (House)	[AUDIO] 544 LOB
2:00 PM	Methamphetamine Abuse, House Select Committee on [web]	1228/1327 LB

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NC General Assembly Calendar for 04-23-2012

**3.33pm** Senator Berger introduced a bill [link] to reform education at a press conference just after noon today.


Reforms in the Excellent Public Schools Act include:

· Adding new reading-intensive instruction for students who struggle with reading. Nearly one in four North Carolina students fails to graduate from high school and many drop out because they never mastered the ability to read by the fourth grade.
· Emphasizing the importance of literacy by ending social promotion of students who can’t read at grade level by the end of third grade. Nearly 97 percent of third-graders are promoted to the fourth grade. Yet 66 percent of fourth-graders cannot read at grade level.
· Allowing parents and the public to clearly identify high-achieving, average and failing schools by creating a transparent system to grade schools A to F. This will encourage weak schools to improve and allow parents to determine the best options for their children.
· Establishing a North Carolina Teacher Corps program – modeled on Teach for America – that will give the best and brightest recent college graduates and mid-career professionals a direct path to teach in low-performing schools where students need the most help.
· Rewarding the most effective teachers with bonuses and merit-based pay increases.
· Boosting accountability in the classroom by employing teachers on annual contracts that are renewed based on performance. The current system rewards mediocrity and punishes excellence by granting job security to all who teach a few years.
· Providing transportation and non-instructional support funding for the five additional instructional days already added to the school calendar.
· Allowing state employees to volunteer in a public school literacy program for up to five hours per month.

Source: North Carolina Republican Senate Caucus 


Here is a copy:

S795v0 "Excellent Public Schools Act"




The North Carolina General Assembly [link] is convening for the short session, and for once, it will truly be a short session since the Republicans are in charge. Both the NC Senate [link] and the NC House [link] are scheduled to convene at noon today.

I have posted the calendar of scheduled legislative activity along with links to where you can listen online to our state legislators as they go about their tasks. I plan on listening and recording what I can, so be sure to check back later today and see what audio I've managed to upload.


Also, since I am moving my Conservative Thunder Social Network to Google Plus, if you wish to be included in our NCGA Project Circle so that you can receive my updates over there, circle me on Google Plus  [my G+ Profile] and send me a message on that network indicating you wish to be added to the NCGA Project circle. Once you are in the circle, you will be given opportunities to become part of our reciprocal NCGA Project circle (this means you will be able to see posts by the Conservative Thunder members of the circle that relate to the North Carolina General Assembly).

Another good source of live and recorded audio of the NC General Assembly is Voter Radio. Check out their website.

8:30 AM	Transportation Oversight, Jt Leg Committee	1228/1327 LB
10:00 AM	Judiciary Subcommittee B - CANCELLED (House)	421 LOB
10:00 AM	State-Owned Assets, House Select Committee on [web]	[AUDIO] 544 LOB
12:00 PM	Session Convenes (Senate) [Calendar PDF]	[AUDIO]  Senate
12:00 PM	Session Convenes (House) [Calendar PDF] Pursuant to House Rules, the following bills must appear on the Calendar; however, no votes will be taken. UNFINISHED BUSINESS RECONSIDERATION OF VETOED BILLS HB 7 Ingle, Cleveland and McCormick (Primary Sponsors) - COMMUNITY  COLLEGES/OPT OUT OF FEDERAL LOAN PROGRAM.  (Vetoed by Governor - 4/13/11) (Ratified Edition) HB 351 Lewis, T. Moore and Killian (Primary Sponsors) - RESTORE CONFIDENCE IN  GOVERNMENT. (Vetoed by Governor - 6/23/11)  (Veto Override Vote Reconsidered - 7/26/11) (Ratified Edition) HB 482 Burr - WATER SUPPLY LINES/WATER VIOLATION WAIVERS.  (Vetoed by Governor - 6/27/11) (Ratified Edition) SB 709 Rucho, Brown and Tucker (Primary Sponsors) - ENERGY JOBS ACT.  (Vetoed by Governor - 6/30/11) (Ratified Edition) PUBLIC BILLS SECOND AND THIRD READINGS HJR 940 Committee on Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House - ADJOURN  RECONVENED SESSION.  (Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House) (1st Edition)	[AUDIO]  House
12:00 PM	Senator Berger Press Conference Press Conference

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The Counter Offensive Begins

Over the past few years, the Republican party has been invaded by an angry mob of populists who are not really grounded in any political philosophy that goes much beyond, "Tear it down!" or "It's Us against Them!"

These people have more in common with the mobs of Revolutionary France than they do the men who led the American Revolution. [read more about the problems Burke had with the Revolution in France]

These people have to be countered, and as many of them as possible need to be exposed to the philosophy of conservatism instead of the demagoguery they are currently hearing from speakers who (more often than not) have their own designs on using these people to gain power. It is often a fruitless endeavor to stand athwart a raging mob and yell, "Stop!" but that is what must be done if we are to prevent the effort to remake the Republican party into a mob of people mindlessly cheering whatever demagogue is saying things that are most pleasing to them at the moment. That is what the Democratic party is for.

I am going to start taking the material that I've been teaching to the members of this network in the class room to a wider audience online and beyond. My first step in that effort is the addition of a "Conservatism" tab [link to tab] to this network listing the ten principles of conservatism. If you've ever attended one of classes, you are already familiar with it.

I'll start with the first principle in this blog post:

Read the rest at Conservative Thunder

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Town of Black Mountain September 23, 2011 Special Called Meeting

My name is Gary Jones, a resident of Buncombe County and a member of the Conservative Thunder social network of conservative activists and a recent graduate of Thunder Pig's series of classes to produce new conservative bloggers in Western North Carolina.

My news beat and areas of interest include the municipalities in Buncombe County and local issues where conservatives should be getting involved, or are getting involved and doing it in such a manner as to cause more problems than if they hadn't. If you live and work in Buncombe County you know exactly the people I am referencing. They mean well, but are totally tone deaf, ignorant and cannot rub two words together without murdering their native tongue.

This is my inaugural post on Thunder Pig, mirrored on Conservative Thunder, and it concerns a public meeting held by the Town of Black Mountain regarding the potential sale of property to a developer for the purpose of constructing a Walgreens in the Town of Black Mountain.

Cue the socialist horde opposing the deal. But, if you live inside the city limits of any municipality in Buncombe County, you know that this is where the socialists tend to congregate.

AGENDA

1. CALL TO ORDER

2. EXPLANATION OF MEETING LOGISTICS AND PROCEDURE- Mayor Bartlett

3. PRESENTATION OF OFFER TO PURCHASE

A. Marcy Onieal, Town Manager

B. Ron Sneed, Town Attorney

4. CITIZEN COMMENTS

Individuals wishing to address the Board are asked to sign in at the entrance to the board room, indicating the topic(s) or agenda item (s) you wish to address, so that the chair may group speakers according to topic. Comments by any one speaker shall be limited to three minutes per topic. If the topic you wish to discuss pertains to a public hearing scheduled for this meeting, please reserve your comment for the applicable public hearing.

5. ADDITIONAL PUBLIC COMMENT ENTERED INTO MINUTES

6. BOARD DISCUSSION & MOTIONS, IF ANY

7. ADJOURNMENT

Download Meeting Agenda Packet

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NC General Assembly 07-07-2009 Legislative Calender

A lot of activity planned in the North Carolina General Assembly today, and I expect that yesterday's Joint Legislative oversight Committee meeting will be influencing the discussions and deliberations for quite a while. In case you missed it, I have the recording and supporting documents embedded at Conservative Thunder.

Here is the schedule...

9:30 AM	Sen. P. Berger	Press Room LB
10:00 AM	JUDICIARY I (Senate) Clarify/Alien. of Affection/Crim. Conversation (H1110) Sex Offenders/Permanent No Contact Order (H1255) Larceny of a Motor Vehicle Part (H1256) Clarify Volunteer Immunity/AED (H1433)	1027LB
10:00 AM	JUDICIARY II (Senate) DHHS/Tracking Outpatient Commitments-AB (H1189) Virtual Visitation/Family Law (H1299) Expand Access/Confidential Intermediaries (H1463) NOTE: Subcommittee reports from HB 578, 1261 and 1377 will be received.	1124LB
10:00 AM	JUDICIARY I (House) Critical Infrastructure Assm't Changes. (S97) Release Contr. Subst. Rep. Data To CME. (S628) Real Estate/Settlement Agent Embezzlement. (S764) Delay Bond/Probationer Arrested For Felony. (S1078)	1228LB
10:00 AM	JUDICIARY III (House) Insurance Law Changes.-AB (H1166) Reform Bill of 2009. (H1445) Modify Crim. Justice Partnership Program. (S1076) Clarify Wt. Measurement/Meth Trafficking. (S1091)	1425LB
10:00 AM	JUDICIARY II (House) Video Gaming Entertainment Act. (discussion only) (H1537) Amend Computer Solicitation of Child. (S65) CON Changes. (S804)	421LOB
11:00 AM	COMMERCE (Senate) 2009 Viticulture/Enology Act (H667) Repeal ACH/Public Housing Study (H996) UI/Severance Modifications (H1090) ABC Rules/Private Clubs (H1228) Insurance/Health Care Provider Relationship (H1485) Employers Must Use Federal E-Verify Program (S32) Community Association Managers Licensure (S516) Regulation of Appraisal Management Companies (S829)	1027LB
11:00 AM	INSURANCE (House) Health Plan Provider Contracts/Transparency. (S877) PEO Amendments. (S1029)	1228LB
11:00 AM	AGRICULTURE/ENVIRONMENT/NATURAL RESOURCES (Senate) Stormwater Control BMP's for Compost/Mulch (H1100) Clean Marinas/Pumpout Stations (H1378) Permitting of Wind Energy Facilities (S1068) Board of Agriculture Confirmation (S1105)	544LOB
11:00 AM	EDUCATION (House) Eugenics Program - Support and Education. (H21) Joining Our Business and Schools Commission. (S1069)	643LOB
12:00 PM	HEALTH (House) DHHS Technical Changes/Health Care Personnel. (H1187) Amend Marriage & Family Licensure Laws/Fees. (S935) Disciplinary Proceedings/NC Medical Board. (S958)	544LOB
12:00 PM	ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES (House)	643LOB
12:30 PM	RULES, CALENDAR, AND OPERATIONS OF THE HOUSE (House) Honor Bob Scott. (S182)	421LOB
1:00 PM	JUVENILE JUSTICE (House) Prevent Racial Profiling. (S464) Amend House Arrest Laws/Adult/Juvenile. (S726)	415LOB
1:00 PM	ALCOHOL BEVERAGE CONTROL (House) ABC Stores/School/Guilford. (S68)	425LOB
2:00 PM	WATER RESOURCES AND INFRASTRUCTURE (House) Creation of Yadkin River Trust. (discussion only) (S967)	1228LB
2:00 PM	STATE GOVERNMENT/STATE PERSONNEL (House) Allow Unpaid Investigatory Suspensions/DHHS. (S800) Firearms Qualification Sites/Retired LEOs. (S978) Authorize Mayors to Solemnize Marriage. (S992)	424LOB
3:00 PM	Session Convenes (House)	House Chamber
3:00 PM	Session Convenes (Senate)	Senate Chamber

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NC General Assembly 06-03-2009 Legislative Calender

Here is today's meeting schedule for the North Carolina General Assembly...

I'll try to get back to posting the audio at Conservative Thunder...I have been juggling a lot of duties recently.

8:30 AM	APPROPRIATIONS/Justice and Public Safety (House)	415LOB
9:00 AM	SELECT COMMITTEE ON ENERGY, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (Senate) Presentation by NC State’s Institute of Emerging Issues	1027LB
10:00 AM	APPROPRIATIONS/Capital (House)	424LOB
10:00 AM	EDUCATION/HIGHER EDUCATION (Senate) Bldg. Stds./Pre-K Classes in Public Schools (H1031) Comm. Coll. May Offer Safety Driving Course (H391) Reinstatement of Sick Leave/School Employees (H482) Purchasing Process for Community Colleges (H490) Bldg. Code/High Schoolers at Comm. Coll. (H735) Community College Construction Process (H808)	643LOB
11:00 AM	HEALTH CARE (Senate) Speech Language Pathologist Qualifications (H18) Cancer Drug Coverage Changes (H896) Residential Treatment Facil./TBI (H1309) Allow Dietetics/Nutrition Bd./Recover Costs (H886) RVAP/Ensure Grant Eligibility (H1342)	544LOB
12:00 PM	MENTAL HEALTH & YOUTH SERVICES (Senate) Support for Developmental Disabilities Services (H673) Clarify Consecutive Terms - Aging & Child Com. (H358) Study Existing Children/Youth Programs (H659) Clarify Silver Alert-All Ages (H1129)	414LOB
1:00 PM	COMMERCE, SMALL BUSINESS, AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP (House) Defer Tax on Builders' Inventory. (H852) Res. Lead-Based Paint Hazards/Renovations. (H1151) Small Business Incentives Study. (H1598) Zoo and Zoo Funds Modifications. (S332) Modify NC Limited Liability Company Act. (S412) Home Improvement Fraud. (S709) Withholding on Contractors Identified by ITIN. (S1006)	1228LB
1:00 PM	FINANCE (Senate) Revenue Laws Tech, Clarifying, & Admin. Changes (S509) Amend Home Inspector Licensure Laws (S1007) Amend Alarm Systems Licensing Act (S1073) Delinquent Tax - Deny Building Permit (H563) Guest Speaker: Brent Lane, UNC Center for Competitive Economies	544LOB
2:00 PM	ENERGY AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY (House) Alternative Fuels Tax Credits. (H906) Income Tax Credit for Fuel-Efficient Vehs. (H1597) Energy Savings Contracts' Cap/Program Admin. (S304)	421LOB
3:00 PM	Session Convenes (House)	House Chamber
3:00 PM	Session Convenes (Senate)	Senate Chamber

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