Late Wednesday afternoon, North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue put pen to paper and signed three of the remaining four bills from the 2012 legislative session. She waited until nearly the last minute to take action on the remaining bills, signing three and allowing the fourth to become law without her signature.
Perdue signed a bill to eliminate emissions inspections on motor vehicles that have fewer than 70,000 miles on the odometer and that are in the three newest model years. She also signed two bills related to environmental issues: one specifically about stormwater management at JORDAN LAKE, the other directing numerous studies on stormwater management at other facilities as well as composting and recycling issues.
However she returned a bill without her signature that would prevent the state from defining the rate of sea level change for 5 years – a move championed by business groups that fought new coastal development policy based on a projected rise in sea levels of as much as 39 inches by the year 2100.
In a statement, Perdue said North Carolina should not ignore science when making public policy decisions, and urged the General Assembly to revisit the issue.
