Annexation: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

The Bad:
The House Judiciary II Committee was scheduled to meet twice last Tuesday before the meetings were cancelled. My frustration can be found here. The Judiciary II Committee met on Thursday and shot down every meaningful reform that was proposed. The League essentially won this battle (notice I used battle... not war) within the Committee. Even worse, an amendment was passed that ensured that nobody else in the House will be able to amend the bill. The House Finance Committee met this morning at 8:30 and I was able to listen to the meeting through the General Assembly's website. While there was an amendment put forward by Rep. Hugh Holliman (D-Davidson), it doesn't go as far as you may think. "In order to get a vote, annexation foes would have to persuade 15% of voters in the entire city or town, plus the annexation area, to sign a petition for a referendum. That would be extremely difficult" said Aitken.

The Good (sort of):
During this morning's meeting, many legislators stood up and said "NO" to the fact that there won't be amendments allowed on the floor. There were many calls for democracy and open government. Honestly, it was very refreshing to hear!!!

The Ugly:
Unfortunately, the ugly goes right along with the "good". The title of the bill had been changed to a lengthy and tight new title which is about 1 1/2 pages long. Check it out here. Amendments on the floor will change this lengthy and tight-defining title, so Rep. Johnathan Rhyne attempted to change the title back to its original form. The amendment failed in a 13-15 vote with all Republicans and Rep. Bill Faison voting in favor of the amendment and all Democrats voting against it.

The meeting recessed until after session this afternoon. Expect an update on how the last 4 amendments fare & the final vote within the Committee.