THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, December 28, 1995 TAG: 9512280293
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY DENNIS PATTERSON, ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RALEIGH LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines
Candidates for governor will be eligible to share in a publicly financed campaign fund that has received about $200,000 in donations from taxpayers over the last eight years.
The fund is scheduled to take effect Monday as one of several new laws, covering subjects that include the registration of sex offenders and limiting punitive damages in lawsuits.
The state began allowing taxpayers to donate some of their tax refund to the candidates' fund in 1989. Supporters hoped to have enough money in the fund by next year's gubernatorial elections to persuade candidates to limit their spending in exchange for the public financing.
But the fund has averaged only about $26,000 a year in donations, far too little, most state officials say, to persuade candidates to limit spending.
The fund is available only after the May primary elections to candidates who have won their party's nomination.
Under the law establishing the fund, candidates who apply for a grant must agree to limit their spending next year to $1 for every vote cast in the previous governor's election.
That would limit spending by each candidate for the general election to about $2.6 million next year. The limit does not include spending for the primary.
Taxpayers with children will get an additional $60 credit for each child on the tax returns they file this spring. The child credit was part of a tax-reduction package passed by the state legislature this year.
Convicted sex offenders released from prison after Monday will have to register with the sheriff in the county where they live under another new law.
Their name, address, photograph, fingerprints and details of their conviction will be kept in a register at the sheriff's office. Anyone can ask if a specific individual is listed on the register, and groups that work with children, the elderly or the disabled can obtain a full copy of the register.
The person convicted of a sexual offense must register even if he does not get an active prison sentence. The registration will be maintained for 10 years, but anyone convicted can petition the court for an exemption to the required registration.
Under other new laws:
Any new rental agreements signed after next Monday will require that the landlord provide working smoke detectors. Tenants will be responsible for replacing the batteries under the new law, except that a new battery must be installed by the landlord for each new tenant that moves into a rented apartment or house.
Expert witnesses who testify in medical malpractice cases filed after next Monday will have to show the court that they work in the same specialty as the doctors accused of malpractice.
They also will have to show that most of their professional time in the last year has been devoted to practicing that medical specialty or teaching it in a medical school.
Any lawsuit for malpractice must indicate that it has been reviewed by a doctor who expects to testify as an expert witness and can qualify under the new rules.
The new law was sought by doctors who frequently complain about ``professional witnesses'' who testify in malpractice cases.
The punitive damages that can be awarded in a lawsuit will be limited to $250,000 or three times the actual damages awarded. The limit applies to any lawsuits filed after Monday.
Judges can order a substance-abuse assessment and completion of special training for anyone convicted of driving while impaired.
KEYWORDS: NEW LAWS NORTH CAROLINA by CNB