Area legislators have many irons in the fire — introducing bills, taking part in committee meetings — when it comes to doing their jobs.

Most mornings during a legislative session include committee meetings. Afternoons, for the most part, are when they meet in their respective chambers to debate and vote. A legislative session is a busy time for the legislators.

State Rep. Michael Speciale, a Republican who represents the 3^rd District in the state House, introduced a bill that would, if it becomes law, change the date of the state’s presidential primary to the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March. Currently, the state’s presidential primary is in May. House Bill 457 would help North Carolina have more of a significant role in helping determine presidential nominees, contends Speciale.

“I have a bill to eliminate all tolling of ferries. This will allow our tourism industry to advertise free ferries, and it makes more folks want to ride and spend in more locations,” Speciale wrote in an email.

The legislator has a bill that would affect the state’s constitution.

“I sponsored a bill that will require a state constitutional amendment to be placed on the ballot. This bill will amend the constitutional change made in the last elections that allows for a defendant to waive his right to a jury trial and get a judge only (bench trial). Currently, only the Judge need sign the waiver.  My proposed Amendment would add the Prosecuting Attorney as well. This will help to minimize ‘Judge shopping,’” Speciale wrote.

State Rep. Paul Time, the unaffiliated legislator from Dare County who represents District 6 in the House, has a history of concerns for the rural areas of the state.

“Rural health care continues to be one of the most difficult problems to address. While we continue to focus on Medicaid reform, some of our rural hospitals are closing and we are losing providers. Working with other lawmakers, we have been attempting to develop a carve-out exemption to provide Medicaid in areas that are losing facilities,” Tine wrote in an email. “Expanding the Medicaid rolls is not a good long term solution. Only getting people back to work in good paying jobs so they can afford their own health insurance will help ensure we will have access to quality healthcare in the future. In the short term, however, we cannot afford to continue losing hospitals. This (session), I will be submitting a bill that would authorize the governor to explore this type of carve-out as an emergency measure to help rural areas.”

For state Sen. Bill Cook, a Beaufort County Republican who represents the 1^st District in the Senate, tax reform is a key issue. He is the co-sponsor of a bill that he said would reform and simplify the state’s tax code and provide $1 billion in tax relief to North Carolina families and small businesses.

“It is the latest step in the Senate’s long-term commitment to phasing out North Carolina’s personal and corporate income taxes and create a progressive zero-percent tax bracket to ensure all North Carolina taxpayers, regardless of income, have the option to pay no state personal income tax on their: first $17,500 of income in 2016 and first $20,000 of income in 2017 for those married filing jointly, first $8,750 of income in 2016 and first $10,000 of income in 2017 for single filers; or they could opt to claim itemized deductions available under current law, including those for mortgage interest, property tax and charitable contributions,” Cook wrote in an email.

According to Cook, the bill further reduces the state personal income tax rate — which applies to families and thousands of small businesses — to 5.625 percent in 2016 and 5.5 percent in 2017. Just two years ago, the state’s top personal income tax rate was 7.75 percent.

In addition, the bill further lowers the corporate income tax rate to 4.5 percent in 2016 and 4 percent in 2017, and it moves to a single sales factor and reduces business franchise taxes, Cook notes.

“This bill not only continues to create a fair, simple tax system, it also delivers a billion dollars in tax relief to North Carolina’s job-creating small businesses and families of all incomes. Putting more money back into the pockets of the people and small businesses who rightfully earned it will continue to drive economic growth in our state,” Cook wrote.