Wednesday, June 27, 2012

The Latest on Soucek's ETJ Bill

Rep. Ruth Samuelson
In a puzzling move, Senate Bill 949 was moved off the House calendar yesterday and sent back to the Rules Committee. The scuttlebutt in Raleigh is that key Republican opposition to Soucek's stupidity was the motivating force for sidelining it. Odds are now that it will be converted into a "study commission" and buried.

The key Republican opposition has reportedly come from Rep. Ruth Samuelson of Mecklenburg County, a former county commissioner and currently Majority Whip of the House.

Meanwhile, local Watauga County media has been lining up against Soucek's Special Favors for Developers Act of 2012:

David Rogers, The Blowing Rock News:
A more constructive approach might have been for Mr. Soucek to hold one or more highly public "town hall" type of meetings for people to air their opinions and grievances in how the Town of Boone is applying its zoning and planning regulations to ETJ residents and property owners, and the value of an ETJ to begin with.

The Watauga Democrat:
The wise direction would have been to resolve the issue with Boone lawmakers, but in presenting Senate Bill 949 to eliminate Boone's ETJ powers, Sen. Dan Soucek misguidedly chose a route that will surely be mired in constitutional challenges....

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Meanwhile, local Watauga County media has been lining up against Soucek's Special Favors for Developers Act of 2012 in order to provide skewed reporting favoring their leftist masters.

Anonymous said...

Bravo to Rep. Samuelson or to whoever has delayed this for doing what our elected officials are supposed to do and listening to the people!

If we all need to start calling committee members again, here's a list of the members of the House Rules Committee:

Chairmen:
Tim Moore (Rep): 919-733-4838, 704-739-1221
Stephen A. LaRoque (Rep): 919-715-3017, 252-523-7700

Vice-Chairman:
Bill Owens (Dem): 919-733-0010, 252-335-0167

Members:
Martha B. Alexander (Dem): 919-733-5807 / 704-558-4670
John M. Blust (Rep) 919-733-5781 / 336-274-4658 Ext. 121
James W. Crawford, Jr. (Dem): 919-733-5824 / 252-492-0185
N. Leo Daughtry (Rep): 919-733-5605 / 919-934-7265
Bill Faison (Dem): 919-715-3019 / 919-606-6700
Jean Farmer-Butterfield (Dem): 919-733-5898 / 252-237-1506
Dale R. Folwell (Rep): 919-733-5787 / 336-748-0046
Mitch Gillespie (Rep): 919-733-5862 / 828-652-5548
Joe Hackney (Dem): 919-733-0057 / 919-929-0323
Dewey L. Hill (Dem): 919-733-5830 / 910-642-6044
Mark K. Hilton (Rep): 919-733-5988 / 828-464-9006
Maggie Jeffus (Dem): 919-733-5191 / 336-275-4762
Linda P. Johnson (Rep): 919-733-5861 / 704-932-1376
Paul Luebke (Dem): 919-733-7663 / 919-286-0269
Daniel F. McComas (Rep): 919-733-5786 / 910-343-8372
Tim D. Moffitt (Rep): 919-715-3012 / 828-651-8550
Earline W. Parmon (Dem): 919-733-5829 / 336-767-7395
Jason Saine (Rep): 919-733-5782 / 704-479-1803
Ruth Samuelson (Rep): 919-715-3009 / 704-366-8748

Be sure to thank them for their time, tell them that large numbers of ETJ residents vehemently oppose this bill, and urge them not to send it to a vote until more time is provided for public comment. Tell them that making it a study bill would be much more appropriate.

amjp said...

To Anonymous #1: Huh? You obviously know nothing about the Watauga County media. "Leftist masters"? What hole do you live in?

Anonymous said...

To Anonymous #1: Huh? You obviously know nothing about the Watauga County media. "Leftist masters"? What hole do you live in?

Boone's ETJ. You certainly called it right.