Newspapers / The Chowan Herald (Edenton, … / Feb. 3, 1983, edition 1 / Page 11
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Thursday, February 3, 1963 Main Issues Before General Assembly By Charles Evans: Drinking Laws, Budget In this legislative report, I would like to concentrate on two main issues before the IMS General Assembly - the first being the proposals of Governor Hunt concerning changes in the laws dealing with the drinking drivers and the other being the work done on the proposed budget for the 1983-1985 biennium. As many of you may already know, Governor James B. Hunt, Jr. appointed me to serve as a member of his special task force on the DUI laws almost a year ago and for the last several months the task force has worked on the proposals that were presented to the Gover nor in December. House Bill 1 and Senate Bill 1, introduc ed on the first day of the 1983 Legislative Session, embodied the basic proposals that were presented to him by the Special Task Force. In addi tion to serving as a member of the Task Force, I am also one of the three sponsors of the bill in the House of Representatives. Also, I am serving as cochairman of the Judiciary 111 Committee which has the bill. I can tell you, first hand, that Governor Hunt has given a top priority position to this legislation. Last week I was invited to have lunch with the Governor at the Mansion to discuss the status and progress of the bill and will be having dinner with the Governor this week to fur ther discuss the proposal. I very much appreciate Gover nor Hunt’s interest in this legislation and agree with him wholeheartedly that it is a top priority and one that needs to be passed during this session of the Legislature. Many of you have probably read something about the DUI proposals, but I would like to take this opportunity to brief ly review with you the impor tant parts of it. The bill would completely rewrite the laws dealing with driving under the influence offenses so that there would be one offense of driving with impaired faculties. It would repeal the laws dealing wijji driving under the infljjqqOa rfftyef j mid careless " dHthn^' dfTdF" drinking, and the violation of driving with a blood alcohol content of .10 or more. This means that it would be unlike ly that an offender would be able to plead to a lesser of fense annd thereby avoid loss of his license or a jail sentence. One of the greatest criticisms of our present system is that offenders are able to keep their licenses and continue to drive. I think that the bill will eliminate this possibility and in fact will make more severe the punish ment for an offender who has grossly aggravated cir cumstances involved. The most gross offenses will call for a mandatory minimum jail sentence of 14 days and a fine of up to two thousand dollars. Os course, the punish ment for the less aggravated offenses would be less and would include a 24 hour jail sentence or 24 hours of com munity service or a 30 day loss of driving privileges or any combination of these three and a fine of up to one hundred dollars. The present use of limited driving privileges for people convicted of driving under the influence would be very much restricted under the new pro posal. Also, the limited driv ing privilege would not be available until after the of fender had served his minimum sentence or loss of his license which, of course, is a drastic departure from the practice today. j Another important and somewhat controversial part of the proposal is to raise the buying and possessing age for malt beverages and wine to age 19 from the present age of 18. The Special Task Force, of which I was a member, recommended the age be in creased to 19; however, the Governor’s Crime Commis sion, which has also studied * this issue detail, recomm*" J ed that the age be increased to 21. 1 sense that there is substantial support among, the members of the General , Assembly to increase the minimum age, and many are saying that we should go to age 21. Another element of the IXJI bill is the part that creates civil liability before the. unlawful sale of alcohol to underaged or intoxicated per sons. This recommendation > would create a cause of action injured by the operation of a vehicle against the holder of a ABC Permit. It is dependent upon proof tha4 an alcoholic sold to the intoxicated or under aged person who caused the collision and proof that the selling of the alcohol caused the negligent motorist’s intox ication. The sale to the intox icated or underaged person creates a presumption of negligence, rebuttable by pro ving the permittee’s “good practices” ineluding the training of employees, en forcement techniques, inquiry about age, or degree of intox ication of the person. This proposal would create a basis for recovery of damages to the injured party or their relatives or family as well as encourage the sellers of the alcoholic beverages to be ex tremely careful by undertak ing the “good practices” to eliminate the presumption of negligence. One other important part of the proposal calls for a statute requiring an immediate ten day administration revoca tion of the person’s driver’s license for operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol content .10 per cent or more. The license would be con fiscated by the magistrate upon a finding of a probable cause that the arrest was pro per, that the chemical test was performed correctly. Also, an individual who refuses the breathalyzer test will have his license sum marily revoked by the magistrate. A hearing to con test the revocation is provid ed to be held by a magistrate and that decision is final. It is felt by many people who have studied this issue that an im mediate revocation or suspen sion of the driver’s license would have a great impres sion upon the offender and would mean that the license would be lost immediately apd not severq) months after .* actually occurmqjj The recommendations Am include extending the suspen sion time six to twelve months NCNB Merges With Bank Os N.C. (Editor’s Note: The NCNB Corp. has recently merged with the Bank of North Carolina N.A. A branch of which is located here in Eden ton.) CHARLOTTE - NCNB Corp. reported a 24.3-percent increase in per-share earn ings before securities transac tions for the fourth quarter of 1982. Earnings were 92 cents, up 18 cents from the 74 cents earned in the comparable quarter of 1981. Income before securities transactions for the quarter was $22.2 million, up 26.7 per cent from the $17.5 million earned in the fourth quarter of 1981. , Per-share net income for the fourth quarter was 93 cents a share in 1982, com pared to $1,14 a share for the fourth quarter of 1981. Fourth quarter 1981 included an ex traordinary gain of 49 cents a share from the exchange of common stock for long-term debt. Per-share income before securities transactions for the 1982 was $3.22, up 15.8 percent from the $2.78 earned in 1981. Net income per share for the year was $3.18, compared to the $3.08 earned in 1981. In cluded in the determination of net income for 1982 and 1981 were net securities losses of $.9 million and $4.7 million, respectively. Consolidated income before securities losses for 1982 was $77.0 million, up 22.5 percent from the $62.8 million earned in 1981. Net income was $76.1 million, compared to $69.6 million in 1981. The figures reflect the merger with Bancshares of .Noijh Carolina Inc., which was accounted for as a pool ing of interests on Dec. 23, 1982, and the mergers with Gulfstream Banks Inc. and Exchange Bancorporation Inc., which were accounted for as purchases ort Sept. 3 and Dec. 31, 1982, respectively. “This excellent perfor mance by NCNB occurred in a ytstr tn which many banking ciinip.iriK*s stiowed minor in for a person who refuses to take a breathalyzer examina tion. Another impoitant part of the recommendation would make a person’s license pro visional until they pass the age of 18. Tliat is - from 16 to 18, a person’s license would be ■ lost indefinitely if they are found driving with any trace of alcohol in their system. Un til the person reaches the age of 18, he would be unable to reapply tp obtain his driver’s license. Many of the injuries and deaths that occur each year are caused by young people who, unfortunately, are drinking drivers and this provision would increase the punishment to those who are found driving with any trace of alcohol and hopefully will have the effect of making our young people realize how serious an offense this is. There are many other recommendations included in the proposed DUI bill, but the ones mentioned above are the most talked-about and pro bably the most far-reathing. I will be happy to try to pro vide you with any additional information you might want about the DUI proposal, upon request. The other subject that I want to discuss is the budget proposed by the Governor and the Advisory Budget Commis sion for the 1983-85 biennium. It is the most austere that has been proposed in several years and reflects the conti nuing recession in the na tional economy and the severe impact that it had had on the state’s revenue collec tions. The Governor has recommended only one ex pansion item and that is to reinstate the merit salary in crement and the annual salary step for teachers and state employees, but the pro posed budget does contain significant continuation items in education, skill training, research, and other in vestments that will help build our economy and provide more jobs. Based on the cur rent revenue projections for the rest of this current year ending on June 30,1983. it is o# MiApffedJajdTifty mißWh * but «e* Governor has taken action to offset this shortfall. If it is not creases or even decreases from the previous year,” Thomas I. Storrs, chairman of NCNB Corp., said. “It was done despite a gradual but pervasive deterioration in our economy, and heijce in com mercial loan demand.” “In addition, NCNB ac complished a significant ear nings growth while com pleting major mergers resulting in the addition of more than $3 billion in cor porate assets and the develop ment of a major banking presence in Florida. Storrs said improved earn ings were the result of growth in earning assets, improved interest rate spreads as the result of sound balance sheet management and successful marketing of new consumer deposit forms, strong fee in come, and large earnings on securities trading. Total assets of NCNB Corp. and subsidiaries on Dec. 31, 1982 were $11.5 billion, com pared to $B.l billion on the same date in 1981. Total deposits were $7.9 billion, as compared to $5.6 billion in 1981. Total loans and leases (net of unearned income) were $5.8 billion, compared to $4.2 billion on Dec. 31,1981. Bids For Film ELIZABETH CITY- Northeastem North Carolina Tomorrow is soliciting bids for the production of a regional film. The 12 minute film is to be used in the new Roanoke Island visitors center, various historical sites in the 16 county region, and for special programs. Anyone interested in secur ing the specifications for bid should contact Northeastern North Carolina Tomorrow by 1 writing NNCT, ECSU, Box : 5-S, Elizabeth City, NC 27909; or by calling 919/335-3494. Written proposals must be in by February 14. i ‘Truth it within ourselves. ” Robert Browning THE CHOWAN HERALD made up by cutbacks in pre sent budget and spending by the various state agencies, then that shortfall will have to be funded out of sources available during the coming year since North Carolina Hoke Roberson, Ir. Announces nl ANNUAL PERCENTAGE RATE Buick, OldsmoMle, Pontiac Or GMC Trucks j Now through March 31, 1983, you can get Low GMAC financing on the finest line of low 11.9% GMAC financing on quality 1983 GM GM vehicles ever offered. Available from Hoke cars and light trucks.* And this low rate is not Motor Corp. on vehicles delivered by March 31. just limited to selected models. Qualified Vehicles ordered by February 28 are also eligi buyers can finance any new 1983 Pontiac, ble. Dealer financial participation may affect Oldsmobile, Buick or GMC light-duty truck or final negotiated price of the vehicle. So make van at just 11.9%. y our b es t deal and get a big break with low 11.9% GMAC financing. ‘Excludes fleet sales and leased units. PONTIAC GMAC BUICK I OLDSMOBILE CMC TRUCKS VISIT THE HOME OF THE *GM* GIANT motor c ° Rp - J7\[ HIM r EDENTON4B2-8421 Jr IIUIU.N Broad St. Ext. operates on a balanced budget concept. - *--■ The proposal includes several items concerning our public schools and tend to con centrate in increasing the competence of our math and science teachers by upgrading their qualifica tions. It is felt, by Governor Hunt and the Advisory Budget Commission, that this is the foundation for qualifying our own youth for many of the w / new jobs that will be develop ing and becoming available in North Carolina. There are several other proposals, of course, included in the Governor’s recommen dation, but these are the ma Page 3-B jor ones. I may have more to say about the budgeffo my next legislative at that time, I will br«ig|rou up-to-date about other things that are happening in the 1983 session.
The Chowan Herald (Edenton, N.C.)
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Feb. 3, 1983, edition 1
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