Greetings from Raleigh! This General Assembly did great things during the 2012 short session. These include regulatory reform and many bills that were needed in key areas, all while reigning in some of the inefficient spending of the past legislative sessions. Now that the 2012 short session has ended, this column will be coming to you every other week instead of every week and we will focus on bills passed this year.

2012 Summer Olympics

With the 2012 London Olympic Games almost a week under way and the swimming and gymnastics competitions almost completed, I would like to congratulate our American competitors on their amazing feats. The Games bring together 204 nations in a showing of human capability, achievement, and cooperation. Good luck to our remaining Athletes!

Legislation

HB-493 Landlord Tenant Law Changes

This bill that was signed by the governor on June 11 updates the relationship of the landlord-tenant. Some examples of the updates are changes in the value of property left by a tenant that the landlord has the right to deliver to a nonprofit organization from $100 to $500. Along with these types of changes, a landlord now has the right to remove property from a deceased defendant, although it will still require an affidavit.

HB-199 Metal Theft Prevention Act of 2012

The Metal Theft Prevention Act is a result of certain crimes throughout the state where metal was stolen and then sold to a third-party recycler. This bill, signed by the governor on June 20, will put certain requirements on the third-party recyclers in order to identify the sellers, as well as make it more difficult for the criminals to find an available outlet for the stolen property.