Jon Ostendorff

ASH

Allowing AB-Tech to sell the beer its students make, getting funding for the Interstate 26 Connector and ending onerous rules for the farmer’s market are among the top local items on the list for state lawmakers this summer.

The General Assembly’s short session starts Wednesday at noon and some legislators say it will run at a lightning-fast pace, ending in four-six weeks.

Asheville’s agenda

The I-26 funding is part of Asheville’s legislative agenda, which also includes a request to strengthen and clarify state law on graffiti vandalism. Graffiti has been a big issue in the city this year.

The city is also interested in preserving its ability to levy business privilege license taxes, which Mayor Esther Manheimer said are on the chopping block.

The city gets about $1.9 million of its $90 million budget from the fees. The change would mean a $1.1 million cut, she said.

“That is significant,” Manheimer said. “That is equivalent to a penny on the property tax rate.”

Lawmakers are considering a flat fee capped at $100 per license. They are also considering allowing cities to expand the privilege license tax base.

Legislation that would cap property tax revenue at no more than 8 percent over the previous year will get consideration. Manheimer said that means cities would have to cut tax rates if property values rise. And, lawmakers are considering ending municipal tree ordinances that govern whether trees can be cut on private property.

City leaders want lawmakers to exempt vendors at the farmer’s market from Department of Revenue paperwork rules that require them to register with the state before doing business and record the source of the products they are selling, among other requirements.

City leaders are keeping a close eye on the revenue proposals, which could hurt Asheville’s budget.

“All these recommendations are flying out of study committees,” the mayor. “It’s really hard to know how much to take seriously.”

Beer for sale

Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College is part of a group of five colleges interested in selling the beer they make.

The schools want lawmakers to allow them to sell beer during educational activities or to wholesalers.

The proceeds would be used to fund the brewery training programs. A-B Tech had 24 students in its beer school last year and has another 24 lined up for next year.

Right now, the students have to dump everything they make down the drain.

The new law would allow them to sell up to 100 gallons at 12 events each year.

That’s well more than A-B Tech produces now but it is working on getting a system that could make 14-20 kegs of beer in one run.

It would run twice a week, said Scott Adams, director of the Craft Beverage Institute of the Southeast.

The idea is to train brewers for the growing beer industry in Western North Carolina at a lower cost to tax payers. Adams said he dreams of a self-sustaining program one day.

“The biggest thing we don’t want to do is we don’t want to throw a product down the drain, that if taken and moved forward, could bring back and help support the program,” he said.

He stressed that the school is not interested in competing with private beer companies. Being able to sell the beer would also give students real-world lessons in marketing.

The retail market for A-B Tech beer, he said, would be small. Maybe a tap at a partner restaurant or two at most, he said.

Rep. Chuck McGrady, R-Hendersonville, is sponsoring the legislation. He did not immediately respond to messages.

Teacher pay and coal ash

Statewide, Gov. Pat McCrory and leading Republicans have said getting teachers and other state workers a raise is a top priority, as is finding a solution to Duke Energy’s coal ash disposal problems.

They also want to reform Medicaid rules to streamline services and provider payments.

“If we get those three done, we need to adjourn and go home,” said state Rep. Nathan Ramsey, R-Fairview.

The governor’s pay-raise plan would give increases ranging from 2.8 percent to 4.3 percent starting July 1 for teachers with eight to 12 years of service, with an average 2 percent raise for those with at least 13 years.

Raising teacher pay will cost Buncombe County about $475,000 a year because it has 95 locally paid teachers, County Manager Wanda Greene said.

A spokesman for McCrory said the governor is not telling counties to give their teachers a raise. His plan only applies to state teachers.

Lawmakers have not said how they will pay for the salary increases they are responsible for.

State officials projected a $445 million shortfall for the current fiscal year. The downgraded revenues also mean $191 million less for revenues next year.

Next year’s Medicaid budget also might have to be increased by an additional $193 million.

Coal ash is shaping up to be a battle between McCrory and his own party. Coal ash is a toxic byproduct of burning coal to make electricity.

McCrory has floated a bill mandating Duke develop plans to close the ash ponds at the Lake Julian facility near Asheville within 60 days of the legislation’s passage.

He also wants the closure of lagoons at three other North Carolina plants, including the Dan River facility, where a massive spill in February coated 70 miles of the waterway with toxic sludge.

But Sen. Tom Apodaca, R-Hendersonville, the Rules Committee chairman, has said the governor’s plan does not go far enough.

Environmental groups are also critical of the governor’s plan.

Apodaca is working on a bill that would set deadlines for closing the ash ponds and get rid of the pond near Asheivlle completely.

McCrory’s proposal calls for closure plans on a site-by-site basis. It provides Duke with the options of removing the ash or leaving it in place while placing caps over lagoons to keep water out.

Super short session

The 4-6 weeks Republicans are predicting would be a fast pace given the big issues on the table.

The pressure of state House and Senate elections and the extra spotlight from the U.S. Senate race between Republican state House Speaker Thom Tillis and Democratic incumbent Sen. Kay Hagan could help speed the session along.

“The No. 1 goal is to get out as soon as possible,” said Rep. Tim Moffitt, R-Asheville. “I think the short session, by design, is really intended to finish the work from the long session.”

Moffitt said his goals include getting a bill on expanding crowd funding through the Senate, work on regulation of unmanned aerial vehicles and a change to zoning laws.

He is a sponsor of a bill that would prohibit appearance standards for one and two-family dwellings except for safety reasons, in flood plains and historic districts and for modular homes and those on the National Register of Historic Places.

Moffitt said the law would block local government from regulating color, roofing materials and cladding and some structures like the location of garages.

Sen. Terry Van Duyn, who was elected by the Buncombe County Democratic Party to fill the unexpired term of the late Sen. Martin Nesbitt, said her top priority is more money for schools.

She likes some of McCrory’s ideas but is concerned about where they money will come from.

“We are already looking at a significant shortfall in the budget and I think it would be a mistake to continue with further tax cuts for the rich and corporations if it means cutting essential services or making deeper cuts in the higher education or community colleges,” she said.

She’s also interested in getting Medicaid payments to providers in a timely fashion but also pushing for an expansion.

“Failure to expand Medicaid is putting significant pressure on hospitals and health care providers and will inevitably lead to higher health insurance premiums,” she said.

State Rep. Susan Fisher, D-Asheville, did not respond to a message.

On the agenda

Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College is among colleges interested in selling the beer they make.

The five schools want lawmakers to let them to sell beer during educational activities or to wholesalers.

Proceeds would fund the brewery training programs. The idea is to train brewers for the beer industry at a lower cost to taxpayers.