Legislative Scorecard

Legislative 2018 Scorecard of North Carolina 1 2018 Legislative Scorecard of North Carolina Table of Contents 6 The 2017 Long Session 10 The 2018 Short Session 14 GenX Timeline 17 Vote Descriptions 21 Scorecard 32 Adversaries & Allies 34 Governor’s Scorecard 36 Constitutional Amendments 37 What to Do Now Cover, back photo credit: Waterkeeper Alliance Message from Our Director Dear Conservation Voter, environmental protection rollbacks. Indeed, the legislative biennium as a whole was a full-frontal assault on This is the first time in NCLCV history in which our environment. our Legislative Scorecard features the Story of the Bi- ennium: an overview of the 2017 long session hand in Despite the actions (and inactions) of the 2017-18 hand with the 2018 short session. In doing so, we have General Assembly, NCLCV remains hopeful about the created a comprehensive evaluation of the 2017-18 future of conservation in North Carolina. With a record General Assembly’s legislative activity regarding en- number of candidates in the 2018 general election, vironmental issues. and your support at the polls, we are confident that the number of pro-environmental legislators in the General The 2017-18 General Assembly was confronted Assembly will only continue to grow. This November with a wide variety of critical environmental challeng- also brings the retirement of a number of anti-environ- es, but it created more problems than it solved. mental legislators, granting us a unique opportunity First and foremost, the General Assembly still has to fill the General Assembly’s roster with a new crop yet to adequately address GenX and other emerging of environmental champions who will form a Green contaminants. We have watched our elected officials Caucus dedicated to putting people before polluters. sit idly by for over a year now, as chemically contaminated water continues to keep thousands of North Car- olinians from drinking the water that comes out of their tap. In the face of a public health emergency, legislators did not seize the opportunity to come together as fel- low North Carolinians. Instead, they desperately clung to their ideologies—their differences—and failed to Beyond the voting booth, we must be active in our provide one of our citizens’ most basic needs—clean communities to ensure that environmental protections water—when people needed it most. are legislators’ top priorities. Use your voice as an in- strument for change; if you disapprove of your legisla- Although the GenX crisis took center stage over the tors’ environmental records, let them know. Ask your biennium, we hope this holistic approach to the Leg- candidates where they stand on environmental issues. islative Scorecard can shed light on the unacceptable Together, through broader civic engagement, we can anti-environmental legislation that flew under the ra- help build a healthier North Carolina by electing public dar, including the appeasement of multinational cor- servants who will fight for clean water, clean air, and porate hog polluters in our rural communities, the sab- clean energy. otage of wind energy investments, and the continued Sincerely, Carrie Clark Executive Director North Carolina League of Conservation Voters 5 THE 2017 LONG SESSION Poison Pills and Poisoned Water Expanding Solar at the Expense of Wind uring the 2017 long session, the General Governor Cooper was appalled by Senator Brown’s Assembly unveiled House Bill 589, “Com- actions, saying, “The bill is critical for the future of D petitive Energy Solutions for NC.” The bill significant increases in our already booming solar in- was crafted from nearly a year of intensive dustry. I strongly oppose the ugly, last-minute, politi- negotiations between competing interests in the ener- cally motivated wind moratorium. However, this frag- gy sphere. Lawmakers sought input from a wide vari- ile and hard fought solar deal will be lost if I veto this ety of stakeholders, including utility executives, solar legislation and that veto is sustained.”1 companies, and environmental organizations. As the Governor Cooper ultimately opted to sign the bill bill approached its final stages, however, lawmakers into law. However, in an attempt to alleviate the effects slammed the door shut on discussion. of the moratorium, he immediately signed Executive House Bill 589 was designed to boost North Caro- Order 11, requiring the Department of Environmental lina’s already thriving solar industry by implementing Quality (DEQ) to continue the permitting and appli- a competitive bidding process for solar developers and cation process for wind energy projects, so that wind expanding rooftop solar initiatives. Yet what was orig- facilities can be brought online as quickly as possible inally strictly a solar measure quickly turned highly after the moratorium ends. The moratorium is set to contentious after Senate Majority Leader Harry Brown expire at the end of 2018, yet unfortunately, there have inserted a provision to place an 18-month moratorium already been indications that the General Assembly on wind energy projects across the state. could move to extend it. 8 1 Jarvis, Craig. “Cooper signs solar bill despite controversial wind project moratorium.” The News & Observer. July 17, 2017. Failure to Act on GenX? he legislative biennium co- occurred while tens of thousands of incided with one of North North Carolinians continue to drink T Carolina’s most press- water contaminated with a chemical ing environmental emer- which has been shown to increase gencies in years: GenX. When the cancer risks, liver problems, and other And how did Wilmington StarNews first reported health defects in lab animals.2 GenX’s the General the toxic contamination of the Cape long-term health effects in humans is “ Fear River, North Carolinians were currently unknown, but the National Assembly shocked, and wanted swift action. Institute for Public Health in the Neth- respond? erlands analyzed the animal research And how did the General Assem- It didn’t. on GenX, and concluded that cate- bly respond? It didn’t. gorizing GenX as a suspected human Legislators are still struggling to carcinogen is justified.3 These are real adequately address the growing threat health problems affecting real people. of irreversible GenX damage. While Moreover, this crisis comes on the ” documented GenX discharge into the heels of nearly a decade of drastic cuts Cape Fear watershed has occurred to DEQ and DHHS budgets. These since the 1980s, scientists have since cuts resulted in 70 lost jobs,4 in con- proven that GenX and related chem- junction with ongoing and aggressive icals are not only toxic, but are also regulatory rollbacks, undermining our persistent in our environment, mean- state agencies’ ability to test for these ing they can contaminate water sourc- and other pollutants, and to enforce es far from their initial point of entry rules protecting us from them. and remain there for years. As the legislature stalls, GenX Despite being faced with a seri- continues to erode our quality of life. ous environmental and public health It’s not only present in our drink- issue, legislators dealt our environ- ing water, but in our rain and in our ment additional blows through roll- wildlife.5 Similar contaminants are backs in environmental protections being identified in more places that near the coast (see House Bill 56) and will further stretch limited DEQ re- budget cuts to DEQ and the Depart- sources as the General Assembly fails ment of Health and Human Services in its responsibility to protect North (DHHS). These unacceptable actions Carolinians. 2 “Timeline: GenX Study Results.” https://www.lamblawoffice.com/genx-timeline-study-results/3 Wagner, Adam. “New Hanover, Wilmington officials to meet with Chemours over GenX.”Wilmington StarNews. June 10, 2017. 4 Doran, Will. “As NC pollution concerns grow, so do environmental budget cuts. News & Observer. September 22, 2017. 5 “Preliminary PFAs Study in a Man-Made Lake.” Department of Environ- mental Quality. June 18, 2018. https://files.nc.gov/ncdeq/GenX/SAB/NCDEQ%20Man-made%20Lake%20Preliminary%20PFAS%20Study.pdf 9 THE 2018 SHORT SESSION Shutting the People Out, Handing the Keys to Corporate Polluters Photo credit: Waterkeeper Alliance A Broken Process Leads to Broken Promises he budget bill, SB 99, was the landmark The budget ultimately passed both chambers easily, piece of legislation passed during the 2018 surviving a veto by Governor Cooper. Despite public- T short session. The budget was an opportu- ly promising to deal with GenX, the budget allocated nity to address critical issues facing North $12.2 million less to DEQ than did the governor’s pro- Carolina, including GenX, teachers’ wages, and health- posed budget,7 hamstringing the agency’s ability to test care. Yet somehow, the General Assembly managed to for GenX and enforce the law. The budget also diverted find an avenue to put politics over people. significant research funds to the Policy Collaboratory at UNC-Chapel Hill, which the General Assembly cre- The House and Senate leadership decided to utilize ated in 2016. The collaboratory does not possess the a rare procedural process to pass the budget, drafting it regulatory authority to require Chemours to clean up as a conference committee report attached to a preex- the Cape Fear River. This could set DEQ back signifi- isting bill. Conference committee reports do not allow cantly in its efforts to contain GenX and other contam- members to offer any amendments, even to fix clerical inants, while citizens rightly worry about the safety of errors. This process was highly irregular and conten- their drinking water. tious, as it shut the vast majority of the General Assem- bly out of the budget-making process, and excluded The toxicity of the budget process was fundamen- public input outright. tally undemocratic. Coupled with a failure to prioritize our environment and public health, the General Assem- Legislators were furious.

Load more