Legislative Issues

The NCYCA’s goal is to provide a single, strong voice for all youth camp organizations in the state of North Carolina. As such, we will monitor federal, state and local issues, and regulations and legislation that may affect the camping industry, campers, or the public’s access to quality camping services.

The NCYCA will actively lobby local, state and federal governments in support of North Carolina’s youth camps on such issues. In addition, the NCYCA strives to provide proactive education, advocacy, collaboration and action to represent the interests of the camping industry and its clients.

On an ongoing basis, the NCYCA monitors any legislative action regarding the following topics:

  • Industry regulation

  • Taxation

  • School calendar regulations

  • Preservation and access to public lands (e.g., use fees, permits )

  • Building code requirements

  • Employment regulations (e.g. unemployment, minimum wage, etc.)

  • Economic development

  • Health and safety regulations (e.g. water testing, building codes, etc.)

  • International camper/staff regulations

  • Insurance requirements (health, liability, workers' compensation)

NCYCA's Positions on Key Legislative Issues

School Calendar

NCYCA Legislative Affairs and Alliances Committee (LAAC) has identified school calendar legislation as one of the ongoing key issues we will follow. Within the State of North Carolina, the school calendar has been the subject of much debate since the August 25th start date passed the Legislature in 2004. In the 2010 session, a last-minute, backroom deal gutted the existing legislation for most Western North Carolina counties. In 2011, an amendment to a bill extended the school day from 180 to 185 days without any public debate. Schools were unable to comply, and exemptions were extended for 2012. The Legislature then went back and amended the law to allow for 185 days or 1025 hours of instruction.

We believe that the subject is controversial with many of the key players acting without a full comprehension of the issue. Because of these and other factors, we believe that public pressure to adjust the current school calendar law will continue.

The impact of the school calendar on North Carolina camps varies greatly depending on the camps’ own markets. North Carolina’s camps are mainly impacted in three ways:

  • Shortened viable summer season: Many North Carolina camps attract campers from 20 or more states, bringing the camper and their family to the state for camp drop-off and pick-up. With the variation in school calendars from state to state, camps are increasingly challenged to operate their full seasons within dates that apply to the majority of the clientele. In the U.S., 39 states follow the traditional late-August, early-September start with a mid-June dismissal. Several Southern states, i.e. Georgia and Tennessee, start as early as August 4th with a late May dismissal.

  • Reduced opportunities for staffing: Many camps use school system employees as members of the camp staff or employ high school students. In either case, the school calendar impacts the ability of these employees to work the entire camp season. For school system employees, their summer wages from camp jobs can represent a significant percentage of their annual income.

  • Reduced ability to attend camp: The calendar encroachment affects the number of North Carolina children who can attend the early June and mid-August sessions of the state’s summer camps. This limits the choices these families have for sessions and could potentially force them out of the state to find suitable summer opportunities for their children.

NCYCA believes that the summer represents an opportunity for substantial and unique learning in an outdoor environment. The amount of time children are able to spend in physically active pursuits outdoors is decreasing, and therefore becoming increasingly important to a wide variety of child health and developmental issues. Summer camps provide an outstanding means for filling this crucial need in the healthy development of our children.

Therefore, we advocate (1) for protecting a ten-week summer break in the school calendar, (2) for more consistency in school calendars from state to state, and (3) for shifting the summer break one—or in some circumstances two—weeks earlier in the calendar year to better align with the majority of college summer breaks.

Taxation

Federal and state governments are looking to broaden the tax base. One strategy is to include services as a taxable category. If the category were broadly defined, camps in NC would face a substantially higher tax burden. While the idea has been put forward that including services would lower the overall tax rate—thus equally a net zero effect—the NCYCA recognizes that such a net zero effect would only be true if tax rates were never increased going forward. Recognizing that this eventuality is not likely, the NCYCA advocates against including camps in any categories of service that might be subject to additional taxes.

A second strategy for broadening the tax base is to cap, qualify or eliminate the non-profit tax deduction. Through the experience of a number of other states who have implemented this strategy, subsequent data exists to demonstrate that such action provides an incremental increase in revenue, but drastically reduces the funding sources for a wide variety of important services to the community. Several states quickly amended or repealed such legislation once the impact was clear. As such, NCYCA advocates against any such limitation as tax codes are revised.

Based on the experience of a number of NC camps in the past few years, we have learned that any rentals or lodging that occur outside of the program of a camp or are on an individual basis may be subjected to taxation, while any lodging provided as a part of the general camping program or includes the majority of the available lodging on the site would not. Each camp owner needs to contact their CPA and get his/her directive on what to do, specific to their off-season rentals.

The difference between non-profit and conservation easement on property tax valuations and subsequent collections are confusing. Counties around the state have their very own criteria and valuation mechanisms for these non-profit and conservation easement entities, thus eliminating any overall statewide uniform code or approach. The story from county to county varies and thus there is an inequity in the overall approach to both. In some counties, it makes a tremendous impact on taxation for these tax statuses and thus is well worthwhile to attain such. NCYCA supports consistent administration of taxation and supports a change in language so that the tax-exempt status can be consistently applied.

REGULATION OR LICENSING OF THE CAMP INDUSTRY

While NCYCA does not specifically support regulation for regulation’s sake, we are strong advocates for all measures that provide for the safety of our participants and employees. We strongly encourage member camps to pursue accreditation through the American Camp Association and adhere to all state and local regulations that apply to the services they offer.

A large number of state and federal laws and regulations have a specific impact on the camping industry. In addition, the term “camp” is used by a wide variety of businesses and organizations to describe a broad category of activities, some of which have little connection to traditional youth camping. As such, NCYCA advocates for a clear definition of a Youth Camp to be codified in state law. We operate based on a definition that has been approved by the NCYCA Board of Directors, and we are actively looking for opportunities for that definition to become law.

BACKGROUND CHECKS

The youth summer camp industry in North Carolina is fully supportive of any effective effort that would improve safety for campers, counselors, and staff. North Carolina camps want to be part of the solution to improvements in background checks. We believe that every child has the right to a healthy and safe camp experience.

At a minimum, our member camps conduct a check of the National Sex Offender Public Website (NSOPW.gov) and require two-character references for all staff or volunteers who have access to children or other vulnerable populations. In addition, most of our member camps are American Camp Association-accredited and have even more comprehensive, well-established staff screening, training, and supervision standards.

Use of Public Lands

NCYCA is proud to be working on behalf of the member camps with the Nanatahala Pisgah Forest Partnership (NPFP). The NPFP is working directly with the United States Forest Service as they work to rewrite the Pisgah Management plan from 1987. The forest plan will be the first in the country to work under the new guideline which requires the USFS to seek collaboration from the public. The NPFP has built a collaboration of many different types of forest users ranging from conservation groups to the timber industry to summer camps and many different recreation groups. This multi-year process is just starting in 2014 and NCYCA will continue to be the voice of the NC Camping Industry throughout the process.

VAN AND BUS REGULATION

Currently, the DOT categorizes vans and buses based on weight rather than size or capacity. In some instances, that results in some passenger vehicles being placed in the same category as long-haul trucks. The classification significantly increases compliance issues, especially related to CDL requirements and cross-state transportation. In addition, non-profit organizations are not required to meet these same standards simply because of their business structure. NCYCA supports a change in legislation that would result in lowering the burden of compliance to Federal DOT regulations and result in standards being applied equally to all camps.