NC Republican House Representative Tim Moore

CLEVELAND NC NEWS -- Republican NC House Representative Tim Moore is currently serving his fourth term in the North Carolina General Assembly. He was born and raised in Cleveland County and resides in Kings Mountain with his wife, Juli, and their two young sons. Moore is an attorney and recently opened his own private law firm in Kings Mountain, representing clients throughout Western North Carolina. He has been active on a number of boards, committees, and civic groups including the Shelby Rotary Club, Boy Scouts, Life Enrichment Center's Board of Directors, and Cleveland County Partnership for Children. He is a member of First Baptist Church of Kings Mountain.

Representative Moore has held chairmanships and vice-chairmanships during his tenure in the legislature. In his first term, Moore served as Co-Chair of the Child Abuse and Neglect, Foster Care, and Adoption Committee, and as Vice-Chair of Judiciary II. In his second term, Moore continued as Vice-Chair of Judiciary II, and also served as the Co-Chair of the Election Law and Campaign Finance Reform Committee. Currently, Moore is serving as Vice-Chair of the University Board of Governor's Nominating Committee. Representative Moore presently serves on the following House committees: Appropriations, Appropriations Subcommittee on Justice and Public Safety, Judiciary II, Public Utilities, and Transportation.

Since being elected in 2002, Representative Moore has made protecting children a top priority. During the 2005 long session of the General Assembly, Representative Moore introduced House Bill 97, Terminate Parent Rights/Murder of a Parent, which passed into law and was signed by the Governor. This law gives the courts the ability to terminate the parental rights of parents who intentionally take the life of the other parent, which will protect our children from potentially dangerous guardians. Representative Moore's greatest legislative success came in 2008 with the passage of the Jessica Lunsford Act, House Bill 933. Moore worked diligently on the legislation for three years to get this important law passed to protect our children. This law provides that certain criminal offenses of rape or sexual offense committed against a child are either life imprisonment without parole or a mandatory active sentence of twenty-five years and lifetime satellite-based monitoring. The law also increases the penalties for sexual exploitation of a minor and makes the registration requirements more stringent. Upon enactment, Moore said "nothing can be more important than a law that protects the very core of American life -- our families and our children."

Representative Moore believes that creating jobs and promoting economic development is among the most important functions of the state government. This is an especially crucial function in these difficult economic times. North Carolina has a strong workforce and many people willing to work; however, our outdated tax system and high corporate tax rates place the state at a severe disadvantage when competing for good jobs. Representative Moore believes that we must lower taxes in order to gain more jobs for our citizens, grow our economy, and protect our hardworking taxpayers. Throughout his tenure in the legislature, Moore has never voted for a tax increase. Moore has also fought for the passage of the North Carolina Taxpayer Bill of Rights, which would result in dramatic tax reductions in our state, as well as the Small Business Tax Exemption that would give small companies many of the tax advantages enjoyed by large companies. This would provide an increase in employment in areas like Cleveland County, where small business provides for the vast majority of jobs.

Moore also believes that investing in our state's infrastructure is among the most important aspects of economic development. While North Carolina was formerly known as the "Good Roads State," the legislature has reduced funding in recent years to balance the state budget. Moore has consistently opposed these transfers of funds away from transportation and believes that there must be improvements in transportation, including building the Shelby Bypass. Education has always been one of his top priorities, and Moore will continue to help provide the best possible educational opportunities for our children and adults and will continue fighting to fully fund our schools.

In closing, Moore also strongly believes in supporting those in our military who make so many sacrifices for our great country. "I consider it an honor and a privilege to serve the citizens of Cleveland County," said Republican NC House Representative Tim Moore.

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