From; Winston Salem Journal

By James Romoser | Journal Reporter
Published: January 1, 2010

RALEIGH

With the arrival of a new year comes a slew of new state laws, regulating areas from government ethics to handicapped-parking placards.

The most-talked-about new law of 2010 — the statewide smoking ban in restaurants and bars — doesn’t take effect until Saturday.

But at least 36 other new laws that were passed by the General Assembly in 2009 will begin to be enforced for the first time today.

One new law is aimed at the motion-picture industry, and supporters say that it will help create jobs this year. The law expands the economic incentive that the state offers to companies involved in film or TV production. Such companies were eligible for a 15 percent tax credit, but starting today, they can qualify for a 25 percent tax credit.

The law was sponsored by state Sen. Linda Garrou, D-Forsyth, who described it as a way to make North Carolina more competitive with other states, many of which give generous tax breaks to film companies.

Aaron Syrett, the director of the N.C. Film Office, said he is already seeing increased interest from companies that will be more likely to film in North Carolina because of the larger tax credit.

“It’s very promising and encouraging that we should have a busy 2010,” he said. “That’s one of the biggest decision factors right now in the movie business on where to land projects — first and foremost, what kind of incentive can a jurisdiction offer?”

Some Republican legislators opposed the law, saying that the state should not be increasing its economic-incentive deals. They cited an outside study commissioned by the state that predicted that, in the first few years, the 25 percent tax credit would not generate more net revenue to the state than the 15 percent tax credit.

Another law taking effect today is aimed at cracking down on people who abuse handicapped-parking placards. The expiration date on each placard must now be clearly visible. Previously, the expiration date was printed in small type that could be read only from up close.

People who qualify for handicapped-parking placards will also get a registration card to keep in their cars in order to prove that the parking placard belongs to them.

The new regulations will allow police officers to spot expired placards and will discourage people from loaning or selling handicapped-parking placards to others.

“I’m sure there’s an abuse of the system, and this will hopefully eliminate a great deal of it,” said Steve Abbott, a spokesman for the N.C. Department of Transportation.

Local government officials are also subject to new regulations starting today. A new law requires elected members of local governments to undergo regular ethics training. Officials have until the end of this year to undergo their first session of training.

A separate part of the ethics law will require, starting Jan. 1, 2011, that all locally elected boards adopt a code of ethics.

The Winston-Salem City Council has already adopted an ethics policy that applies to all city employees, including council members. The policy may need to be tweaked to meet the requirements in the new state law, said Al Andrews, an assistant city attorney.

jromoser@wsjournal.com
919-210-6794