RALEIGH — As the North Carolina General Assembly began its current session earlier this week, Rep. Ben Moss wasted no time introducing what he calls “common-sense legislation that will help make our communities a better place to live, work, and raise a family.”
One bill filed by Moss, R-Richmond, is H.B. 21, the Energy Security Act of 2023, which would require utility providers to have around-the-clock security systems at substations to protect against vandalism “in an attempt to secure our electrical grid against further attacks.”
The legislation comes less than two months after an attack on two Duke Energy substations in Moore County that left more than 40,000 homes and businesses — including some in Richmond County — without power for days.
Several days later, shots were reportedly fired near a substation in Kershaw County, South Carolina. A few weeks prior to the Moore County attack, WCTI-TV reported vandalism at a substation in Jones County.
USA Today reported in late December that there had been more than 100 similar cases of vandalism across the nation in 2022.
“We need to be proactive instead of reactive, and my bill, the Energy Security Act, is just the starting point for securing our power grid,” Moss, a second-term Republican representing both Richmond and Moore counties, said in a press release. “It’s not a partisan issue, whether you’re a Democrat or Republican, it doesn’t matter — when the energy goes out, everybody loses.”
As of Friday afternoon, there were 11 co-sponsors on the bill, including one Democrat: Rep. Pricey Harrison of Guilford County.
Moss also filed H.B. 13, which aims to reevaluate the state’s current economic tier system.
The North Carolina Department of Commerce ranks the state’s 100 counties into three tiers — Tier 1 being the most distressed, Tier 3 being the best — based on economic health using four factors: average unemployment rate; median household income; percentage growth in population; and adjusted property tax base per capita.
Richmond, Anson and Scotland are among the 40 counties designated as Tier 1, along with most others in Eastern North Carolina. Stanly and Montgomery counties are in Tier 2, and Moore and Union are in Tier 3.
Moss’ bill calls for a study of the system by the Joint Legislative Economic Development and Global Engagement Oversight Committee to determine if it should be eliminated or replaced for both economic development and non-economic development uses — “in an attempt to find a better way forward for North Carolina.”
Moss also filed two bills that could lead to the elimination of related taxes.
The Back the Blue Act, H.B. 14, directs the Revenue Laws Study Committee to perform a cost-benefit analysis on excluding retirement pay for law enforcement officers from the individual income tax “in an attempt to recruit and retain law enforcement officers” in the state.
H.B. 15 requires a study on the elimination of the local sales tax on groceries “to reduce the government’s burden on working families across North Carolina.”
According to the Civitas Institute, there has been a sales tax on food in the state since 1961. The combined rate of state and local sales taxes on groceries was 6% from 1991 to 1996, when the state tax was phased out through to 1999.
The current local sales tax on groceries is 2%; however, some items — candy, soda, certain prepared foods — are taxed at 6.75%.
That bill currently has 16 co-sponsors.
Moss is one of several primary sponsors for H.B. 18, which would require the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission to issue two Elk Conservation Permits — one for an adult, one for youth — by auction and changes wildlife statues to add elk to approved game to be harvested.
Moss was recently appointed chairman of the House Wildlife Resources Committee, and Rockingham City Manager Monty Crump is chairman of the Wildlife Resources Commission.
Click here to read about Moss’ committee assignments.
According to a press release, Moss also plans to file bills that would:
- create a program between schools and businesses to give students opportunities for internships, apprenticeships and job shadowing
- direct the N.C. Community College System to award military students course credits for their training
- reduce regulatory burdens on housing
“My objective is to get everybody to come together to find policy solutions that are feasible and cost-effective,” Moss said. “As the long session progresses, I look forward to achieving these results and collaborating with my fellow legislators.”
