North Carolina Legislative Report - September 20, 2013
September 6-20
The General Assembly has officially completed its business for the 2013 long session. The 2014 short session will begin on Wednesday, May 14, 2014. The MVA Public Affairs Legislative Report on North Carolina will be distributed bi-weekly to keep you up to date on the latest legislative issues facing the state during the interim.
COMMITTEE MEETING
Lottery Oversight Committee
The Lottery Oversight Committee met on Wednesday, September 18th. The highlight of the meeting was discussion around the Lottery Commission’s plan to offer online subscriptions for certain games. Specifically, the Commission will allow people to purchase online subscriptions for live-draw games (such as Powerball, MegaMillions, and Carolina Cash 5), subject to a number of conditions. Those conditions are designed to ensure that the online subscriptions are purchased only by those who are old enough to purchase tickets and who are present in the state at the time of purchase. Under a subscription, a player purchases the same set of numbers for each draw of a particular game over a set period of time. Each subscription must span a period of at least two weeks and each player is limited to a maximum weekly expenditure for all subscriptions of $70.
The Lottery Commission currently has the legal authority to offer online subscriptions, therefore approval by the Oversight Committee was not necessary for the Commission’s proposal to advance. Although Alice Garland, the Executive Director of the North Carolina Education Lottery, stated that the proposal had been thoroughly vetted through individual conversations with legislative leaders and in a number of public Commission meetings, a number of members of the Oversight Committee were concerned that the issue had not previously been brought to the attention of the Committee. These members were primarily concerned about the player age-verification process, the effect on sales of lottery tickets in existing outlets, the effect on retail sales of other items that might be bought along with lottery tickets in in-person transactions, and the perceived similarities between online subscriptions of lottery tickets and other forms of online gaming that have been prohibited. A representative of the NC Retail Merchants Association was allowed to address the Committee and echoed these concerns.
IN THE NEWS
News & Observer: McCrory sticking with Medicaid plan (Lynn Bonner and Anne Blythe)
News & Observer: Candidate emerges to replace Foushee in House (Craig Jarvis)
AP: Panel scrutinizes NC lottery subscription service (Gary Robertson)
AP: Newest NC Supreme Court member to seek full term
Charlotte Observer: Democratic women to get taste of Cleveland County at convention (Joe DePriest)
News & Observer: Ellmers may get serious primary challenge (Rob Christensen)
AP: Brunstetter considering US Senate bid (Gary Robertson)
News & Observer: DC politicians to aid Tillis fundraising efforts (Lynn Bonner and Rob Christensen)
News & Observer: Preview of 2014 session (Lynn Bonner and Rob Christensen)
WRAL: Private Commerce Department arm incorporated (Mark Binker)
WRAL: Rural Center to transfer grant money to state (Renee Chou)
AP: Debate on NC governor's power follows session (Gary Robertson)
Charlotte Observer: Airport fight at issue in Charlotte’s mayoral race (Ely Portillo)
News & Observer: Former Ashe County manager picked to run new NC rural division (David Bracken)
WRAL: State panel says gas wells shouldn't be too close to homes
Charlotte Observer: Dannelly wins Post’s Lifetime Achievement award (Steve Lyttle)
AP: McCrory opposed I-85 casino
News & Observer: Thom Tillis adds top fundraisers, political staff (John Frank)
Charlotte Observer: Rev. Mark Harris could jumble GOP Senate race (Jim Morrill)
News & Observer: Lottery Commission expresses concern with new law directing proceeds (John Frank)
Charlotte Observer: Cannon beats Mitchell, Peacock takes GOP nod (Jim Morrill)
WRAL: Berger touts voter ID in new ad (Mark Binker)
News & Observer: GOP Senate field is wide open (Rob Christensen)
WRAL: Freshman Rep. Foushee to fill Kinnaird's Senate seat
Charlotte Observer: Charlotte to host Republicans in 2016? Just talk so far(Eric Frazier)
Triangle Business Journal: N.C. legislators earn half the national average(Rebecca Troyer)
CALENDAR
Mon, September 23, 2013 | ||
10:00 AM | Intentional Death Prevention Committee | 1027/1128 LB |
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1:00 PM | Joint Legislative Program Evaluation Oversight Committee | 544 LOB |
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10:00 AM | Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Unemployment Insurance | 544 LOB |
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10:00 AM | Joint Legislative Economic Development and Global Engagement Oversight Committee | 643 LOB |
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10:00 AM | Perinatal Health Committee | 1027/1128 LB |
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8:00 AM to 5:00 PM | Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services | 643 LOB |
9:30 AM | Revenue Laws Study Committee | 544 LOB |
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7:00 AM | Unintentional Death Committee | 1027/1128 LB |
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10:00 AM | Child Fatality Task Force | 1027/1128 LB |
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10:00 AM | Unintentional Death Committee | 1027/1128 LB |
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10:00 AM | Intentional Death Prevention Committee | 1027/1128 LB |