The North Carolina General Assembly will be back in action later this month as legislators return to Raleigh April 25th for the so-called “short session.”
Approving a revised budget for 2016-2017 is at the top of the to-do list for legislators, who face re-election this fall. With the election looming, legislative leaders in both the House and the Senate have made no bones about wanting the session to be as short and noncontroversial as possible.
But with an expected budget surplus of several hundred million dollars and sharp divisions over how to spend it – education? tax cuts? – between the House and Senate Republican majorities, there is still plenty of opportunity for lawmakers to disagree – and for the session to stretch on longer than they might intend.
In recent months Audubon North Carolina members and staff have been meeting with their legislators to lay the groundwork for Audubon’s involvement this session.
Top Audubon North Carolina priorities include:
- Protecting and expanding funding for critical habitat and other open space priorities.
- Supporting clean energy policies that expand solar energy like the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard (REPS) to reduce the long-term climate threat to birds in North Carolina and across North America.
- Prevent state dollars from being spent on expensive jetties, terminal groins and other hardened structures that limit public beach access and degrade critical coastal bird habitat.
Stay tuned for more updates from the 2016 Legislative Session and please register for our Advocacy Alert Network to stay up to date on ways you can make your voice heard.
