A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to ESTABLISH THE NORTH CAROLINA CITIZENS' COMMISSION ON LEGISLATIVE compensation.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Chapter 120 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Article to read:
"Article 32.
"North Carolina Citizens' Commission on Legislative Compensation.
"§ 120‑291. Statement of purpose.
The General Assembly declares it to be the policy of this State to base compensation of members and officers of the General Assembly on realistic standards in order that such officials may be paid according to the duties of their offices and so that citizens of the highest quality may be attracted to public service. It is the purpose of this Article to effectuate this policy by creating a citizens' commission to establish proper compensation for such officials, thus removing political considerations in fixing the appropriateness of the amount of such salaries.
"§ 120‑292. North Carolina Citizens' Commission on Legislative Salaries.
(a)	There is created a commission to be known as the North Carolina Citizens' Commission on Legislative Compensation to consist of members appointed as follows:
(1)	One member shall be selected by lot by the Secretary of State from among those registered voters in each congressional district. The secretary shall establish policies and procedures for conducting the selection by lot. The policies and procedures shall include, but not be limited to, notifying persons selected and providing a new selection from a congressional district if a person selected from the district is ineligible under subsections (d) or (f) of this section, declines appointment to the commission, or if a vacancy occurs in one of those positions. The Secretary of State shall forward the names of persons selected under this subdivision to the Governor who shall appoint these persons to the Commission. A person appointed to the Commission, except if removed under this section, may serve the entire term even if the person moves to another congressional district or a congressional redistricting places that person in another district.
(2)	Four persons appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Speaker of the House of Representatives and four persons appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the President Pro Tempore of the Senate. The persons selected under this subdivision shall have had experience in the field of personnel management.
(b)	Initial appointments to the Commission shall be made for terms beginning October 1, 2007, and expiring September 30, 2009, or for terms beginning October 1, 2007, and expiring September 30, 2011, and shall be drawn by lot with 10 of the initial members serving two‑year terms and the other 11 serving four‑year terms. Subsequent terms shall be for four years. Members appointed to fill vacancies shall serve the remainder of the unexpired term. The Secretary of State shall select the members appointed under subdivision (a)(1) of this section during the months of July or August of the year the terms are to commence.
(c)	The Commission shall choose from among its membership annually a chair to serve a one‑year term beginning October 1.
(d)	No person may be appointed to more than two terms on the Commission. Any member of the Commission may be removed by the governor during his or her term of office for cause of incapacity, incompetence, neglect of duty, malfeasance in office, or removal from the State.
(e)	The unexcused absence of any person who is a member of the Commission from two consecutive meetings of the Commission shall constitute the relinquishment of that person's membership on the Commission. Such a relinquishment creates a vacancy in that person's position on the Commission. A member's absence may be excused by the chair of the Commission upon the member's written request if the chair believes there is just cause for the absence. Such a request must be received by the chair before the meeting for which the absence is to be excused. A member's absence from a meeting of the Commission may also be excused during the meeting for which the member is absent by the affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the Commission present at the meeting.
(f)	No officer or employee of the State, nor any lobbyist registered under Chapter 120C of the General Statutes, nor any immediate family member of such an officer, employee, or lobbyist is eligible for membership on the Commission. As used in this subsection, the phrase "immediate family" means the parents, spouse, siblings, children, or dependent relative of the officer, employee, or lobbyist whether or not living in the household of the officer, employee, or lobbyist."§ 120‑293. Administration.
(a)	Members of the Commission shall receive compensation and per diem and travel allowances in accordance with G.S. 138‑5.
(b)	The Commission may contract for consultants or hire employees in accordance with G.S. 120‑32.02. The Legislative Services Commission, through the Legislative Services Officer, shall assign professional staff to assist the Commission in its work. Upon the direction of the Legislative Services Commission, the Directors of Legislative Assistants of the Senate and of the House of Representatives shall assign clerical staff to the Commission. The expenses for clerical employees shall be borne by the Legislative Services Commission.
"§ 120‑294. Duties.
(a)	The Commission officials shall study the relationship of all forms of compensation to the duties of members and officers of the General Assembly, examining compensation paid to other elected officials in North Carolina and other states. The Commission every two years shall recommend to the General Assembly a compensation schedule for members and officers of the General Assembly including the following components:
(1)	Salary.
(2)	Mileage and travel allowance.
(3)	Expense allowance.
(4)	Per diem.
(b)	As used in this Article "officers of the General Assembly" does not include the Lieutenant Governor, Principal Clerks, Sergeants‑at‑Arms, or Reading Clerks.
(c)	Before adopting any compensation schedule, the Commission shall first develop a proposed compensation and then hold no fewer than four public hearings within four months of its final action. At those hearings it shall  take public testimony on the proposed schedule. After the final hearing, the Commission shall adopt its recommended compensation schedule as originally proposed or as amended. At the last public hearing that is held as a regular meeting on the proposed schedule, the Commission shall adopt the salary schedule as originally proposed or as amended.
(d)	The Commission shall make its recommendation to the General Assembly not later than March 1 of each even‑numbered year. The recommendation shall be transmitted to the Principal Clerk of each house, the Secretary of State, and to the Revisor of Statutes.
(e)	The recommended mileage and travel allowance may not exceed the business standard mileage rate set by the Internal Revenue Service. The recommended per diem for attendance at session may not exceed the allowance for federal employees traveling to Raleigh.
"§ 120‑295. Current compensation to remain in effect until changed.
The current rates for salary, mileage and travel allowance, expense allowance, and per diem established in G.S. 120‑3 and G.S. 120‑3.1 shall remain in effect until changed under this Article.
"§ 120‑296. Effectiveness of recommendations.
The compensation schedule recommended by the Commission shall not become effective unless approved by the General Assembly and if so approved by law shall become effective upon convening of the next Regular Session of the General Assembly."
SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law.