North Carolina’s state lawmakers are back from a weeklong break and are attempting to wrap up the bulk of their policy agenda this month.
Over the next four weeks, you can get used to hearing these three letters an awful lot: P-C-S, which stands for Proposed Committee Substitute.
The PCS process is the primary way lawmakers gut and amend bills. And in the closing weeks of a legislative session, they do that a lot. A PCS is a go-to option for lawmakers who want to try to circumvent public scrutiny over a potentially divisive policy proposal.
How It Works
When a lawmaker files a bill, the legislation works its way through the committee process. This is often where top General Assembly leaders resolve problems they or others have identified.
If leadership in North Carolina’s GOP-controlled legislature dislikes a bill, it’ll stay in committee purgatory and never get a hearing. If a prominent lawmaker introduces the bill or has enough influence in the committee process, it will often be heard.
From there, two things can happen: It can either pass in its original form or get revised. Sometimes, the revisions are small. Other times, however, a bill gets substantially rewritten or completely overhauled. If a bill is being changed this dramatically, it is now likely a PCS.
Once a bill passes all committee hurdles and a floor vote, it must go to the opposing chamber for yet another round of review (and it could get PCS’d all over again).
Tracking a PCS
The best way to find out if a PCS is being considered is by looking at the legislative calendar.
Click the name of the committee where the PCS is being considered. In most cases, committee chairs are good about releasing relevant documents shortly before the meeting starts. The bill summary document is often the best way to understand the new provisions of a PCS.
Two to Watch
Senate Bill 484: A bipartisan effort to curb mass picketing and prevent people from blocking roads and workplaces was swapped with language that says that occupancy tax proceeds that a local government collects for tourism expenditures can’t be used for services like law enforcement and solid waste. The bill appears to serve as a response to a state Supreme Court ruling in favor of Currituck County, which had used occupancy tax revenue on enhanced public safety services.
Senate Bill 730: A bill that originally would have promoted nuclear energy has morphed into a crackdown on data centers. The new version would prevent local governments from offering tax incentives to data centers. This comes as some are encouraging lawmakers to go further by repealing state-level tax incentives. It also would require data centers to perform noise studies and implement closed-loop water systems to conserve water. If the House approves it, the Senate would need to sign off on the changes.
