From the Office of Representative Jimmy L. Love, Sr. December 17, 2009

Those of us in public service realize that we must constantly work to try to improve your confidence in government. Some public officials have breached your trust in the past, but I will not be one of them. I continue to work diligently in favor of stronger ethics laws, cleaner campaigns and better lobbying laws, and I expect that we will continue this important work in the coming session.

I hope you will contact me if you have questions, or if I can be of service. Thank you as always for your support and your interest in our state.


Ethics

_A new state law requires the governing boards of cities, counties, boards of education, sanitation districts, unified governments, and consolidated city-counties are required to adopt a code of ethics to guide them in the performance of their official duties. The law (H1452 – S.L. 2009-403) also requires board members to receive at least two hours of ethics education within 12 months of appointment or election.

_ These three measures passed the House this past session but have not yet passed the Senate. Others may be introduced in the short session.

· H1136 would expand the state's revolving door provision, to cover executive branch employees, and bar them from lobbying for 6 months after they leave.

· H944 would require more disclosure of campaign fundraising and donations by appointees to state boards and commissions.

· H961 would prohibit vendors who win large state contracts from giving large campaign donations to the elected official whose office makes the contracting decision.



Voting

_ North Carolina’s absentee voting laws have been improved under a new state law (S.B. 253 – S.L. 2009-537). The law is specifically intended to improve the ability of military and overseas voters to cast timely ballots. This is incredibly important because it is vital that those defending democracy have the opportunity to participate in the democratic process.


Notes

_ In the few days, two major companies have announced plans to bring hundreds of high-paying jobs to North Carolina. Appliance manufacturer Electrolux expects to create at least 738 jobs at its new headquarters in Charlotte and add $60 million to the state’s annual payroll, not including benefits. The company employs 55,000 people worldwide. Also, international risk management consultant IEM will move its headquarters from Baton Rouge, La., to Durham County, creating 430 jobs over the next six years. The nearly 25-year-old company will pay an overall average wage of nearly $63,000. Company President and CEO Madhu Beriwal said the area’s “highly educated workforce, history of innovation, and culture of public and private collaboration” influenced her decision to relocate the company.

_ For the 15th year in a row, North Carolina leads the nation in the total number of teachers who have earned certification by the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards with 15,695 teachers now certified. This group of teachers accounts for nearly 19 percent of the 83,000 National Board Certified teachers in the nation. North Carolina also ranked first in the nation in the number of newly certified teachers, with 1,509 of the 8,874 educators nationwide who earned the recognition this year. In North Carolina, we appropriate money in our budget every year to offset the costs of the certification process and teachers receive a raise after earning the distinction. Those of us who care about education know that having highly qualified teachers means better results for our children.

_Talon Systems Inc., an international manufacturer of household storage cabinets and furniture, will hire 90 workers over the next three years and invest $5.9 million to open its first U.S. manufacturing plant in Statesville. The project was made possible in part by a One North Carolina Fund grant of $46,590.

Prepared with the assistance of the Speaker’s Office of Communications