THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, May 9, 1995 TAG: 9505090290
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY BETTY MITCHELL GRAY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RALEIGH LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
An unusual coalition of Republicans and Democrats joined forces Monday to stall a measure that would require governments to compensate land owners if new regulations reduced the value of private property.
The N.C. House Health and Environment Committee voted 11-4 to refer the bill to a study committee rather than send the measure to the floor of the House for a vote.
And, over the objections of its chairman, Rep. John M. Nichols, the committee left it up to other committees to decide when that study group would be required to report its findings to the General Assembly.
Nichols, a Craven County Republican, told the committee that he would not oppose a study if those findings had to be reported in 1996.
But he opposed a more flexible report date, he said, because he feared that if the Democrats re-gain control of the House of Representatives in 1996, the bill would die.
Nichols said he wanted to be certain the panel was referring the bill to a study committee because it needs more work, and ``not because you're just trying to talk it to death.''
Eastern North Carolina representatives on the panel were just as divided as their colleagues from other areas of the state.
Voting for the study were Rep. Jean R. Preston, R-Carteret; Cindy B. Watson, R-Duplin; and L.W.Locke, D-Halifax. Voting against referring the bill to a study committee were Reps. Nichols and Zeno L. Edwards, R-Beaufort.
Committee members said that in addition to environmental groups, most local government officials objected to the bill because of its effects on zoning and other land-use plans and regulations.
Nags Head Town Commissioner Robert W. Muller, for example, asked his board last week to call their local representatives and oppose the plan, saying it would have an extremely detrimental effect on local governments.
Bill Holman, lobbyist for the state chapter of the Sierra Club, said after the committee vote that he was pleased with the decision but he said he would not rest easy until after Thursday.
Nichols' property rights bill was one of 18 environmental and health-related bills scheduled to be discussed by House and Senate committees as lawmakers rushed to approve bills before a self-imposed deadline on Thursday, known as the ``crossover deadline.''
To be eligible for discussion for the remainder of the session, most bills must be approved by either the House or the Senate by the time the two chambers adjourn Thursday afternoon.
Bills that contain appropriations or authorize studies are among the few types of legislation that don't have to meet the crossover deadline.
Besides the property rights bill, other environment-related bills receiving committee approval Monday afternoon included:
A bill that would limit third-party appeals of permits for water quality, air quality, hazardous waste and mining was approved by the House Health and Environment Committee;
A Senate bill to establish a wetlands mitigation program and a $2 million revolving fund for wetlands construction projects was approved by the Senate Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources Committee;
A bill to require the state Coastal Resources Commission to review some court decisions before those decisions are referred to higher courts was approved by the Senate Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources Committee.
KEYWORDS: REAL ESTATE COMPENSATION PROPOSED BILL by CNB