Post by CCADP on Aug 30, 2005 21:31:43 GMT -5
House approves death penalty study bill, anti-meth legislation
By NATALIE GOTT
Associated Press Writer
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RALEIGH, N.C. - Despite other failed attempts this session, North Carolina's capital punishment system would come under review after all under legislation the House approved Tuesday.
The bill calls for House Speaker Jim Black, D-Mecklenburg, to appoint a 15-member commission that would consult with law enforcement, representatives of victims and others as it studies the adequacy of counsel and the impact race has in capital cases.
The death penalty study bill is one of several measures the House took up in what is expected to be the final days of a lengthy legislative session. Other bills included restrictions on sales of cold medicines that contain an active ingredient used to make methamphetamine and a limit on the forms of identification that can be used to get a driver's license.
The bills now go the Senate, but it's unclear if that chamber will consider them before next spring. After senators approved a lottery bill Tuesday, Senate leader Marc Basnight said they were adjourning for the session.
"I hope we don't come back again," said Basnight, D-Dare.
Black said the House may adjourn for the year Wednesday.
The capital punishment provisions, part of the traditional session-ending bill that directs the Legislature to study issues while not in session, is watered down from other death penalty study proposals that have been offered this session.
One would have allowed judges to delay some scheduled executions and another would have banned executions from taking place for two years. But supporters couldn't get enough votes in the House to pass a standalone capital punishment study bill.
House Majority Leader Joe Hackney, D-Orange, has tried to get the moratorium bill approved, but couldn't.
"So obviously a backup position is to do the study," he said.
For years, death penalty opponents have sought legislation to stop executions during a study of judicial fairness. The state Senate in 2003 became the first legislative body in the South to pass a moratorium bill, but the legislation never won House approval.
Under the bill approved Tuesday by a 96-14 vote, the commission is to submit a final report to the General Assembly by the middle of 2008.
House members touted the methamphetamine bill, approved unanimously Tuesday, as the toughest in the country.
The legislation sets new regulations on the sales of cold medicines in pharmacies and other stores to curb methamphetamine production. It also requires people buying cold medicines to sign their name and show identification.
Sales of tablets containing pseudoephedrine or ephedrine would be limited to behind a pharmacy counter. Liquids and gel capsules that contain the ingredients could still be sold in grocery and other retail stores, but they would be locked behind a counter.
"We are going to be eliminating the meth aisle from stores," said Rep. Jennifer Weiss, D-Wake.
But the House may have to agree to what supporters call a less restrictive bill if the Senate doesn't come back to take up the version the House approved.
"The reality of this thing is we cannot got home without a meth bill," said Rep. Lorene Coates, D-Rowan.
Under another bill the House approved, a taxpayer identification number could no longer substitute for a Social Security number when a person tries to get a license, a learner's permit or an identification card.
Taxpayer ID numbers have been an acceptable substitute for Social Security numbers on driver's license applications since 2001.
They became a political issue in last year's gubernatorial race when a candidate for the Republican nomination accused Democratic Gov. Mike Easley of making it easier for terrorists and illegal immigrants to get driver's licenses by signing the change into law.
North Carolina recently has taken steps to tighten its rules regarding driver's licenses. The Division of Motor Vehicles last year stopped issuing licenses to people with several forms of foreign identification. Among those no longer accepted are foreign birth certificates, foreign marriage licenses, military identification cards from Mexico and a popular Mexican identification card known as the matricula consular.
The House approved that bill 65-48, with three representatives not voting.
By NATALIE GOTT
Associated Press Writer
>> a d v e r t i s e m e n t <<
>> w e b t o o l s <<
Print Story | Email Story | News Tip?
RALEIGH, N.C. - Despite other failed attempts this session, North Carolina's capital punishment system would come under review after all under legislation the House approved Tuesday.
The bill calls for House Speaker Jim Black, D-Mecklenburg, to appoint a 15-member commission that would consult with law enforcement, representatives of victims and others as it studies the adequacy of counsel and the impact race has in capital cases.
The death penalty study bill is one of several measures the House took up in what is expected to be the final days of a lengthy legislative session. Other bills included restrictions on sales of cold medicines that contain an active ingredient used to make methamphetamine and a limit on the forms of identification that can be used to get a driver's license.
The bills now go the Senate, but it's unclear if that chamber will consider them before next spring. After senators approved a lottery bill Tuesday, Senate leader Marc Basnight said they were adjourning for the session.
"I hope we don't come back again," said Basnight, D-Dare.
Black said the House may adjourn for the year Wednesday.
The capital punishment provisions, part of the traditional session-ending bill that directs the Legislature to study issues while not in session, is watered down from other death penalty study proposals that have been offered this session.
One would have allowed judges to delay some scheduled executions and another would have banned executions from taking place for two years. But supporters couldn't get enough votes in the House to pass a standalone capital punishment study bill.
House Majority Leader Joe Hackney, D-Orange, has tried to get the moratorium bill approved, but couldn't.
"So obviously a backup position is to do the study," he said.
For years, death penalty opponents have sought legislation to stop executions during a study of judicial fairness. The state Senate in 2003 became the first legislative body in the South to pass a moratorium bill, but the legislation never won House approval.
Under the bill approved Tuesday by a 96-14 vote, the commission is to submit a final report to the General Assembly by the middle of 2008.
House members touted the methamphetamine bill, approved unanimously Tuesday, as the toughest in the country.
The legislation sets new regulations on the sales of cold medicines in pharmacies and other stores to curb methamphetamine production. It also requires people buying cold medicines to sign their name and show identification.
Sales of tablets containing pseudoephedrine or ephedrine would be limited to behind a pharmacy counter. Liquids and gel capsules that contain the ingredients could still be sold in grocery and other retail stores, but they would be locked behind a counter.
"We are going to be eliminating the meth aisle from stores," said Rep. Jennifer Weiss, D-Wake.
But the House may have to agree to what supporters call a less restrictive bill if the Senate doesn't come back to take up the version the House approved.
"The reality of this thing is we cannot got home without a meth bill," said Rep. Lorene Coates, D-Rowan.
Under another bill the House approved, a taxpayer identification number could no longer substitute for a Social Security number when a person tries to get a license, a learner's permit or an identification card.
Taxpayer ID numbers have been an acceptable substitute for Social Security numbers on driver's license applications since 2001.
They became a political issue in last year's gubernatorial race when a candidate for the Republican nomination accused Democratic Gov. Mike Easley of making it easier for terrorists and illegal immigrants to get driver's licenses by signing the change into law.
North Carolina recently has taken steps to tighten its rules regarding driver's licenses. The Division of Motor Vehicles last year stopped issuing licenses to people with several forms of foreign identification. Among those no longer accepted are foreign birth certificates, foreign marriage licenses, military identification cards from Mexico and a popular Mexican identification card known as the matricula consular.
The House approved that bill 65-48, with three representatives not voting.