A prominent Western North Carolina legislator may be gone, but his legacy of commitment to public safety and first responders will live on thanks to a bill filed in the General Assembly a month after his passing. 

House Bill 1019, titled the “Mike Clampitt 1st Responder Tax Fairness Act,” proposes a targeted change to North Carolina’s tax code aimed at reducing financial burdens on certain volunteer emergency service organizations. 

Nonprofits that provide legal services are calling for North Carolina’s General Assembly to unfreeze funds necessary to their operations. In Western North Carolina, Pisgah Legal Services is one of the most crucial entities that represent people in need who find themselves in civil litigation. Now, some of those services may be in jeopardy.