Thursday, May 14, is this year’s crossover date for the N.C. General Assembly—when all legislation not requiring new funding must move from one chamber to the other to be eligible for passage.

Action in the N.C. General Assembly for the past and current week addresses sex education in the schools, the misrepresentation of bottled “N.C. spring water,” and limits on developer responsibility for street construction.

Buncombe County Rep. Bruce Goforth has introduced a bill in the House to extend “certain permits and approvals” affecting development or real property in the state. The extension period begins Jan. 1, 2007, and continues through Dec. 31, 2010,

Bills introduced in the N.C. House last week included action to hold a statewide referendum on medical marijuana, introduce more energy efficiency in state-funded buildings and in the state building code, and establish a Department of Military & Veterans Affairs.

Among the far-ranging topics of legislation submitted in the N.C. General Assembly over the past week were bills that would amend the absentee voting law, permit immediate euthanization of stray animals that bite humans, limit mandatory testing in the public schools, and provide written parental notification when a student is recommended for expulsion or suspension.

The General Assembly’s second week of the 2009 session included the introduction of a number of bills of particular interest to Western North Carolina legislators and constituents, including a provision to create four-year terms for the legislators.