RALEIGH ó Two local bills were filed in the North Carolina House on Wednesday ó the last day they can be filed this session.
N.C. Reps. Fred Steen and Harry Warren, who represent Rowan County, are primary sponsors on the following two county-requested bills:
An act to exempt flea and farmersí markets in Rowan County from requirements for temperature control in the North Carolina building code.
County commissioners agreed to ask for the exemption at the request of planning staff and owners of the Webb Road Flea Market. The owners intend to rebuild the flea market after it was destroyed in a September fire, but they said heating the building as required by the state would be too costly.
An act to exempt Rowan County from local match requirements for HOME and Community Care Block Grant funds.
According to the bill, these federal grant funds allocated to the county would not require a local match. The county also would not be entitled to or required to accept assistance for any related services from the Centralina Council of Governments, which the county withdrew from last year.
The last day for local bills to be filed in the Senate was March 9.
Members of Rowanís legislative delegation also signed their names to a few other bills this week:
Steen is sponsoring legislation filed Wednesday that would give the Yadkin River Bridge on Interstate 85 a new name ó the Yadkin River Veterans Memorial Bridge. Warren is listed as a co-sponsor.
Warren is a primary sponsor of an involuntary annexation reform bill that would let residents vote in a referendum before they are annexed. It also would make several other changes to state law, including requiring municipalities to get county approval before any annexation.
N.C. Sen. Andrew Brock is sponsoring a bill that would require nonprofit corporations to meet certain criteria to be eligible for a state-funded grant.
The bill states that at least 35 percent of a nonprofitís funding must come from private sources, and it can spend no more than 15 percent of its total budget or receipts on administrative expenses. If a nonprofit receiving a state-funded grant violates these standards, the state could suspend future disbursements and even try to recover grant funds already given.
Steen, Warren and Brock all are co-sponsoring legislation that would give a $10,000 tax credit, paid as $2,000 each year for five years, to individuals who buy a brand new home or contract for its construction beginning July 1.