The 2020 elections brought very few changes to the state’s legislative landscape. In the Centralina region, there were 27 races for seats in the N.C. House of Representatives, 24 of which had an incumbent seeking re-election.
The House voted 214-207 along party lines to pass the Democratic $2.2 trillion stimulus measure. The legislation is a slimmed-down version of the HEROES Act, the $3.4 trillion stimulus bill that passed the House in May. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called the measure still too expensive to pass the Senate. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin continue negotiations. The proposal contains $436 billion in aid for states and cities.
Centralina has applied for nearly $499,560 in planning assistance under U.S. DOT’s Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development, or BUILD, Transportation Discretionary Grant Program.
The U.S. House of Representatives is readying an infrastructure bill with plans to consider it on the House floor in late June or early July.
The Senate resumed at the end of April and the House will start back May 11. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that her starting point for next relief package (Phase 4) is up to $1 trillion in aid for states and local governments that allows making up for lost revenues.
In early March, what now seems like an eternity ago, two of the primary national organizations for local governments – the National Association of Counties and National League of Cities — held their annual legislative conferences in Washington, DC.
Centralina Executive Director, Geraldine Gardner, and federal relations consultant, Leslie Mozingo, were in Washington DC on February 20th to meet with Congressional offices and federal agencies about Centralina’s 2020 Federal Action Agenda.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has developed a short list of priorities that focuses on a group of energy measures that are being put together in committee, a highway reauthorization bill, and a package of health care measures that have to be done before May 22.
Federal funds are commonly passed through state agencies in North Carolina before being awarded to local governments, which can make the original funding source less obvious. Before proceeding with a procurement, local governments should verify whether an award originates from a federal source. This determination affects compliance obligations, including procurement standards, reporting, and audit requirements.
When a construction or repair contract over $300,000 involves a building, the procurement and contract are subject to additional requirements under N.C.G.S. 143-128. Therefore, this question must be answered to determine whether the additional statutory requirements apply to this procurement scenario.
The micro-purchase threshold is a federal procurement threshold under which competitive procurement is not required. The default micro-purchase threshold is $15,000, but local governments may increase the micro-purchase threshold up to $50,000. An explanation of increasing the micro-purchase threshold and a template for the required annual self-certification is available here.