1959 local acts online

The North Carolina online legislative database was updated yesterday with approximately 900 local acts from the 1959 session. The laws were scanned from the bound volumes, proofread, and uploaded. These local acts can be browsed in order of enactment, or searched in our session law database. The 900 local acts from 1959 were identified from among the total of 1350 enactments from the 1959 session.  Our session law database now contains all local acts from 1959 through 1982, and all session laws (local and public) from 1983 to date.

We’ve been going back one legislative session (two years) each year and scanning local acts.  We’ve to date not posted public laws from 1959 through 1982 to reduce the expense of the project (all laws since 1983 are online because that was the year we began saving all acts in an electronic format at the time of enactment).  With a half-century of laws now online, we’ll be exploring a different way of adding to our digital holdings — we might try to fill in the missing local acts or go back farther in time — or both. Here’s an abstract of a session I attended at the National Conference of State Legislature’s Annual Summit in New Orleans this week that gave us an idea of a potentially cheaper and faster way to add more laws:

7:45 am - 9:45 am

Internet Archive and the Ontario Legislative Assembly Collaborative Project

Hilton Riverside Eglinton Winton–Second Floor

How can researchers get access to old and fragile legislative books and records without jeopardizing venerable materials? Learn about the collaborative project between the Internet Archive and the Ontario Legislative Assembly, in which journals are scanned and made available to the public through the Internet Archive. Discuss the implications and gain practical advice for implementing a similar project.

• Moderator: Judy Smith, State Library of Louisiana
• Speakers: Peter Ellinger, Library Technology Applications, Legislative Assembly of Ontario
• Robert Miller, Internet Archive, California

day 6 of 30: zero of 113 bills signed

As of close of business Thursday, July 24, 2008, day six of 30 days for gubernatorial action, none of the 113 bills pending on the Governor’s desk at adjournment of the 2007 Regular Session on July 18, 2008 had been signed.

Under Article II, Section 22 of the Constitution, the Governor has 30 days after adjournment to act on all pending bills, with July 19 being day one.   The 30-day period concludes at midnight, Sunday, August 17, 2008.  Any bills not acted on by the deadline become law on Monday, August 18, 2008. Bills sent to the Governor prior to adjournment where the 10-day limit had not run out at adjournment have a new 30-day clock.

2008 laws enacted are listed here in order of becoming law, and here in order of bill number.  These links are normally updated within a few business hours of action being taken.

Tracking amended statutes and session laws

Trying to track whether a particular General Statutes was amended by the 2008 short session of the North Carolina General Assembly? A particular uncodified session law (usually a local act)?

We have a feature on our website that tracks those statutes and session laws, including bills on the Governor’s desk. As bills are signed, the session law number is added to the spreadsheet.

Studies Act of 2008

I’ve had two email requests asking where the Studies Act of 2008 is (the bill authorizing studies to report to the 2009 Session).  Here it is:

http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2007&BillID=h2431&submitButton=Go

day 5 of 30: zero of 113 bills signed

As of close of business Wednesday, July 23, 2008, day five of 30 days for gubernatorial action, none of the 113 bills pending on the Governor’s desk at adjournment of the 2007 Regular Session on July 18, 2008 had been signed.

Under Article II, Section 22 of the Constitution, the Governor has 30 days after adjournment to act on all pending bills, with July 19 being day one.   The 30-day period concludes at midnight, Sunday, August 17, 2008.  Any bills not acted on by the deadline become law on Monday, August 18, 2008. Bills sent to the Governor prior to adjournment where the 10-day limit had not run out at adjournment have a new 30-day clock.

2008 laws enacted are listed here in order of becoming law, and here in order of bill number.  These links are normally updated within a few business hours of action being taken.

Day 4 of 30: zero of 113 bills signed

As of close of business Tuesday, July 22, 2008, day four of 30 days for gubernatorial action, none of the 113 bills pending on the Governor’s desk at adjournment of the 2007 Regular Session on July 18, 2008 had been signed.

 Under Article II, Section 22 of the Constitution, the Governor has 30 days after adjournment to act on all pending bills, with July 19 being day one.   The 30-day period concludes at midnight, Sunday, August 17, 2008.  Any bills not acted on by the deadline become law on Monday, August 18, 2008. Bills sent to the Governor prior to adjournment where the 10-day limit had not run out at adjournment have a new 30-day clock.

2008 laws enacted are listed here in order of becoming law, and here in order of bill number.  These links are normally updated within a few business hours of action being taken.

2008 short session wrap: 229 bills and 31 joint resolutions ratified

The 2007 Regular Session of the North Carolina General Assembly adjourned sine die (without date) at 4:50 pm, Friday, July 18, 2008.

229 bills got final action in the General Assembly in 2008, with 116 already law and 113 pending on the Governor’s desk.

31 joint resolutions were also ratified. 

To compare, 2006 had 264 bills enacted and 24 joint resolutions ratified.

As noted, the Governor has until midnight, Sunday, August 17, 2008 to act on the bills.  Any not signed or vetoed by that date become effective Monday, August 18, 2008.

Friday adjournment means August 17 deadline for action by Governor

The 2007 Regular Session of the North Carolina General Assembly adjourned sine die on Friday, July 18, 2008. Under Article II, Section 22 of the Constitution, the Governor has 30 days after adjournment to act on all pending bills, with July 19 being day one.   The 30-day period concludes at midnight, Sunday, August 17, 2008.  Any bills not acted on by the deadline become law on Monday, August 18, 2008. Bills sent to the Governor prior to adjournment where the 10-day limit had not run out at adjournment have a new 30-day clock.

You can keep up with bills pending on the Governor’s desk here, and 2008 laws enacted here in order of becoming law, and here in order of bill number.  These links are normally updated within a few business hours of action being taken.

All public bills have been delivered to the Governor.

4,991 bills for the 2007 NC General Assembly

Back on May 26, I reported that the 4,962 bills filed so far in the 2007 General Assembly (including two extra sessions) was second in the last century only to the 5,627 filed in 1913, and had topped the 2005 session total of 4,961.  As we begin to wind up the session, the 2007 total is now at 4,989. Presumably there will be an adjournment resolution filed soon to top things off.

UPDATE Thursday 7/17/2008: Adjournment resolutions filed in House and Senate, grand total now 4,991.

NC 2008-2009 budget document compendium

Here are all the various budget documents for House Bill 2436, all in one post:

2008 Budget (House Bill 2436 Bill Status History)

• New - House Bill 2436, 2008-2009 State Budget, signed into law by Governor Easley at 3:52 pm, July 16, 2008 as SL 2008-107.