Gov. Roy Cooper last week signed three bills into law and allowed another to become law without his signature that impacts municipal elections.

Senate Bill 722 went into effect without Cooper’s signature. That bill outlines options for municipalities considering pushing back 2021 municipal elections because of a delay in the release of 2020 Census data. The delay in Census data makes it impossible for redistricting to take place before the filing deadline in July for 2021 elections.

Filing begins July 2 and ends July 16.

The bill affects 36 municipalities that use population-based electoral districts in elections, said UNC School of Government Professor Robert Joyce. Municipalities where council members are elected citywide wouldn’t be affected. Joyce lists Charlotte, the city of Lexington and Statesville among the municipalities affected by the Census delay.

“The current problem directly affects cities that elect city council members from true electoral districts,” Joyce said in a blog post. “But many, many cities in North Carolina — the vast majority — elect their city council members at-large. That is, all voters in the city vote for all seats. There are no districts. There is no need to redistrict. They are not affected by the delay in the Census numbers. Unless the General Assembly should direct differently, they will hold their elections on the regular 2021 schedule.”

Salisbury and Rowan County municipalities are among those proceeding as usual.

State lawmakers say in the bill the U.S. Census Bureau will release population results by Aug. 16. The full redistricting data toolkit is expected to be released by Sept. 30.

S.B. 722 passed unanimously in the House and 33-14 in the Senate.

“While delays to Census data caused by the pandemic necessitate changes to local elections, decisions about local elections like these should involve more open discussion and public input,” Cooper said. “And therefore, these changes will become law without my signature.”

Meanwhile, Cooper signed House Bill 130, which adds the East Coast Greenway in Central and Eastern North Carolina to the State Parks system as a state trail. Additionally, signing H.B. 360 adds the Dan River Trail in Stokes and Rockingham counties to the the State Parks system.

“Designating these trails as part of the State Parks system will ensure that we continue to develop and maintain these important resources for all North Carolinians,” Cooper said. “It is vital to the health and well-being of our state’s residents that public outdoor spaces are available to everyone in every community.”

Rep. Larry Pittman, a Republican who represents Cabarrus County and previous represented parts of Rowan, was the only state lawmaker to cast a “no” vote for H.B. 130. Pittman voted in support of H.B. 360.

Cooper also signed S.B. 50, which makes various estate planning law changes. It would permit the settlor of a revocable trust to seek a judicial determination that the trust is valid. A revocable trust, which typically accompanies a will, allows one to specify how their major financial assets should be handled during their lifetime and distributed upon their death.

The bill also allows the clerk of superior court to authorize single transactions benefiting a minor or others without a guardian. It updates venue and procedural rules governing trust proceedings, as well as the North Carolina Uniform Powers of Appointment Act to broaden the list of appointees for those holding a non-general power of appointment.

S.B. 50 passed the Senate unanimously, but with a 76-32 vote in the House.

Treasurer Folwell calls for Gov. Cooper to allow expiration of statewide eviction moratorium

Treasurer Dale Folwell, a Republican member of the Council of State, has called on Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper to allow the state executive order prohibiting evictions to expire by the end of June.

Executive Order 206 was first enacted in October following the national moratorium and recently extended to June 30. Folwell said that he supported the original order but not subsequent extensions because they reduced “opportunities for citizens to rent.”

“As a member of the Council of State (COS), I don’t pretend to be a subject matter expert on contractual relationships, remedies under the law or the success or ineffectiveness of the North Carolina Hope Program,” Folwell said. “However, this policy is reducing opportunities for citizens to rent because landlords don’t want to take the risk that they won’t get paid. What was originally an act of COVID now exists solely as an act of the state and no longer advances any public purpose. It is potentially lowering rental housing inventory.”

Using his personal experience, Folwell noted there are “hundreds of thousands” of relationships between renters and landlords across the state where landlords work with tenants so that they can continue having shelter.

Folwell referenced the expiration of Executive Order 142 prohibiting utilities shutoffs when saying “it’s time that the power be pushed back to the landlords and renters who have compassionately and procedurally dealt with issues like this for decades.”

Florida Congressman Brian Mast endorses Budd for 2022 U.S. Senate race

Republican Congressman Brian Mast of Florida last week endorsed Rep. Ted Budd for the open U.S. Senate seat in the 2022 midterm election.

“Far too many politicians only care about one thing – themselves,” Mast said. “Ted Budd is not like that. Ted knows that leadership is about service and sacrifice, not the perks of office. I’m proud to join President (Donald) Trump in endorsing proven conservative leader Ted Budd for Senate.”

Mast is currently in his third term representing the 18th congressional district of Florida. He’s an Army veteran who lost both of his legs in Afghanistan working as a bomb disposal expert in the Joint Special Operations Command based out of Fort Bragg.

“Brian Mast is a genuine hero who knows all too well the cost of freedom,” Budd said. “(He) took just about the worst blow a person can suffer and came back stronger and even more committed to public service and his family. I hope to earn the support of other military personnel and veterans like Brian across North Carolina as we move forward.”