Orange County Commissioners recently put together their list of suggested items for the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners’ federal legislative agenda.
Every two years, the NCACC collects recommendations from North Carolina county commissioners to determine its advocacy priorities in Congress.
In the past, the Orange County board’s proposed agenda items have included asking for continued funding for programs like the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher and the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Supportive Services for Veteran Families.
Earlier this month, though, commissioners signed off on a more ambitious set of six recommendations, including expanding Medicare, a $15 federal minimum wage and a ban on discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
That might be difficult to get through Congress in the next two years, but chair of the Orange County Commissioners Mark Dorosin said it was important to represent Orange County’s values in the statewide process.
“I see our role, with regard to the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners and the national association, as trying to stake out the left pole,” Jacobs said. “Because I consider them generally much more conservative organizations than this board.”
Other items included in Orange County’s recommendations were the legalization and decriminalization of marijuana possession, a “Marshall Plan” for Climate Change, both proposed by Commissioner Mark Marcoplos, and dedicated funding from Congress for the Agricultural Conservation Easement program, which Orange County has been using for over 20 years for park and conservation easements.
The resolution passed 6-1, with Commissioner Earl McKee the opposing vote.
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