Page 15 - Mark Pless News Today

Bryson City removed from room tax legislation Wednesday, May 05, 2021 Room tax dollars have been on the steady climb in Swain County as Bryson City has become a tourism hotspot. The Town of Bryson City has been removed from a piece of state legislation that would have allowed the town to levy its own occupancy tax and establish its own tourism development governing board. House Bill 412 — sponsored by Rep. Mike Clampitt, R-Bryson City, and Rep. Mark Pless, R-Canton...

Canton, Waynesville to consider room tax increases Downtown Waynesville. A tax bill sponsored by two western Republicans that’s currently making its way through the North Carolina General Assembly has the potential to bring even more room occupancy tax money to the town of Maggie Valley, but as other municipalities across the county and the region consider asking for potential inclusion in the bill, there’s concern over implementation and administration.  North Carolina’s r...

Maggie Valley occupancy tax on the horizon Wednesday, May 05, 2021 Maggie Valley may have the opportunity to levy a 2 percent occupancy tax within its town limits. Maggie Valley may have the opportunity to create its own Tourism Development Authority for the purpose of promoting tourism in the town if House Bill 412 becomes law. Both the Mayor and the Board of Aldermen have expressed support for the idea.  The bill is sponsored by Western North Carolina Republican Re...

This bill is a big, hot mess of unsafe requirements: SECTION 1.(b) It is the policy of this State to promote the interests and well‑being of its residents and to protect their civil liberties, including the right for residents to decide for themselves whether or not to receive an experimental drug. Coronavirus vaccines are considered experimental until the United States Food and Drug Administration formally approves them. Therefore, it is the intent of the General Assembly that residents of...

Editorial busts Berger’s mythmaking about Apple’s decision to come to NC https://t.co/FNy7U15J95 via @ncpolicywatch #ncga #ncpol #ncgov #NCed— NC Policy Watch (@NCPolicyWatch) May 4, 2021 This is SOP for the GOP: Take credit for stuff that is good, even if they actively worked against it. It's a never-ending spin-cycle that will make you dizzy just watching.

To embed, copy and paste the code into your website or blog: The week has been busy at the legislature. Beginning by hosting the Governor, the Chief Justice of the State Supreme Court, and multiple cabinet secretaries for the State of the State, the General Assembly capitalized on having everyone in town with busy days packed with committee meetings throughout the week. National news stories featuring the protests in Elizabeth City have spurred lawmakers to push criminal justice reform, with ma...

Bill addresses judicial efficiency in western counties Sen. Kevin Corbin A House bill proposed by Western North Carolina reps. Mike Clampitt, R-Bryson City, and Mark Pless, R-Haywood, includes significant changes to a judicial district that is larger than the states of Delaware and Rhode Island combined. “Population for this area is growing exponentially, the number of cases are growing exponentially. Dockets get to be so long and there’s so many court cases,” said Clampitt ...

When Republican Sen. Kevin Corbin, R-Franklin, announced  during a March 25 listening session at Southwestern Community College that he intended to file a bill addressing the health care coverage gap, he also said he hadn’t quite formulated the particulars of it because he wanted to introduce something that would pass the Republican-controlled legislature.  With the insertion of specific language into placeholder bill S530  on April 5, Corbin — along with co-sponsors Sen. Jim Burgin, R-...

    HAYWOOD COUNTY, North Carolina (WLOS) — Two mountain lawmakers want Haywood County to be designated as North Carolina’s elk capital. Rep. Mark Pless (R-District 118) and Rep. Mike Clampitt (R-District 119) have introduced the bill in the General Assembly. It has been 20 years since elk were re-introduced into Haywood County’s Cataloochee Valley, part of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Clampitt said it’s appropriate to identify Haywood as the state’s elk capital, a design...

Carolina Journal is taking a brief look at each new member of the General Assembly — 10 in the Senate and 11 in the House. We look at where they’ve been, what they’re doing now, and what we might expect them to do as lawmakers. The 2021-22 session began in late January. Expect COVID-19 and the ongoing fallout from the pandemic to be top priorities for lawmakers, who are crafting a new budget for the biennium. They’ll also draw new legislative and congressional maps for the next decade...