Rep. Arp Urges Contractors to Take Action on House Bond Package

DURHAM, N.C., Sept. 2, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- North Carolina Representative Dean Arp, PE (R-Union County), presented his infrastructure bond plan to more than 80 attendees at the Carolinas AGC (CAGC) Triangle CEO Luncheon on September 1 in Durham. Rep. Arp's $4.2 billion plan—HB 943 Connect NC Bond Act of 2015—passed the House last month and is awaiting action in the Senate. Senate leadership has not indicated their position on the House plan or whether they will support any financing plan for infrastructure.

"This is a no-brainer," Arp, a two-term legislator, told attendees at the quarterly CAGC event. Rep. Arp's bill would give voters the opportunity to decide to invest in needed infrastructure projects totaling $2.8 billion by voting in a referendum to be held in March, 2016. The House plan calls for financing $2.8 billion from bonds, mostly for capital facility infrastructure, supplemented with a $1.3 billion pay-as-you-go cash plan for transportation. Just last week, the House and Senate announced their agreement to support long-term sustainable funding for transportation by ending the transfer from the state's Highway Fund to the General Fund, thus essentially enacting the transportation cash plan as outlined in HB 943. However, no agreement has been reached on whether to allow a referendum on bonds. 

While the Senate has taken no action on HB 943 or any bond package, there are indications they may come up with their own plan with different projects at a much lower price tag. Carolinas AGC supports the House proposal and is strongly urging the Senate not to reduce the amount of the bond plan given the current favorable financial climate and the vast infrastructure needs across the state. North Carolina is in the enviable position of being able to afford to invest in its infrastructure; we can't afford to wait.

In addition to a presentation from Rep. Arp, Joe Stewart, Executive Director of the NC FreeEnterprise Foundation, briefed CAGC attendees on the shape of political campaigns from the White House to the NC General Assembly. Special thanks also to Safran Law Offices for sponsoring the luncheon.

The quarterly luncheons reflect CAGC's ongoing priority to get its members plugged into what they need to know from business and political leaders.

Carolinas AGC is the construction industry association in the Carolinas, bringing value to our thousands of members through networking, government relations, job leads and meeting with owners/designers, meetings second to none, education and training involving such issues as safety and open shop, and community development. Visit us at www.cagc.org, connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

For more information contact Betsy Bailey ([email protected]); Berry Jenkins ([email protected]) or Dave Simpson ([email protected]), 704-372-1450.

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SOURCE Carolinas AGC