Work at the General Assembly picked up substantially this week following Speaker Hackney’s announcement on Monday night of the 44 House committees and subcommittees, which will meet during the 2007-08 session.
There has also been an incredible increase in the number of bills that legislators are currently working on and plan to introduce over the next two months.
Members of the House and Senate received several additional briefings on the budget this week related to public education and retiree health benefits and long-term liability, which will help us prepare for the budget discussions that will occur during the next four months.
On Thursday, the House welcomed a special guest: Her Majesty, the Queen Mother Semane Bonolo Molotlegi, who is a member of the Royal Family of Royal Bafokeng Nation based in the North West Province of South Africa.
The House and Senate will convene slightly earlier than usual on Monday night at 6:30 pm in order to welcome Governor Mike Easley for his “State of the State” address, which will begin at 7 pm. This will be Easley’s fourth — and likely final — address, which is given every two years, and usually highlights the requests he intends to make in his upcoming two-year budget proposal. Easley’s budget is expected to be presented to legislators soon. Check your local TV listings if you would like to watch the speech.
Please remember that you can learn more about the General Assembly by visiting www.ncleg.net. Our newly updated website allows citizens to listen in on each day’s legislative session, committee meetings and press conferences, learn more about introduced legislation, and view each day’s schedule and list of bills to be voted on.
As I’ve said many times before, I hope you will continue to let me know how you feel about the issues that are being debated by the North Carolina General Assembly and the challenges you and your family are facing each day. By working together, we can make Northampton, Vance and Warren and all regions of North Carolina a better place to live, work and raise a family.
House Committees Announced
During Monday night’s session, Speaker Joe Hackney announced the 44 House committees and subcommittees, which will meet during the 2007-08 session. After many discussions with members of the House Democratic and Republican caucuses and careful consideration of their requests and suggestions, Speaker Hackney decided to create four new committees and restructure several others that have met in previous years.
The House of Representatives will now have committees that will focus on agribusiness and agricultural economy, energy and energy efficiency, juvenile justice and mental health reform. Several committees will also focus on slightly different issues or have expanded responsibilities than in previous years, including: Commerce, Small Business and Entrepreneurship; Federal Relations and Indian Affairs; Homeland Security, Military and Veteran Affairs; and Ways and Means.
I will serve on the following committees: Education/Subcommittee on Community Colleges, Chairman; Wildlife Resources, Vice Chairman; Agriculture; Appropriations/Subcommittee on Natural and Economic Resources; and Transportation.
For a complete list of all House committees, go here.
Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight, D-Dare, recently announced the Senate committees, which will meet during the next two years. For a complete list of all Senate committees, go here.
Legislators hard at work: bill drafting requests up 35%
Legislators have rolled up their sleeves and are already hard at work on drafting legislation that they plan to introduce during this year’s session. Following last year’s so-called “short session”, which lasted about three months, lawmakers made history with the number of bills they requested to be drafted — an increase of 119 percent over the 2004 session. More bills were introduced in 2006 than in 1913; however, the General Assembly’s bill-writing staff has experienced an even heavier work load this year during the opening weeks of session. In the first three weeks of the 2007 session, legislators have asked staff to draft 1,142 pieces of legislation, compared to 843 bills during the first three weeks of the 2005 session.
I introduced the following bill this week:
* HB 208-FUNDS/WARREN EDUCATION FUND
* HB 209-ADVANCED VEHICLE RESEARCH CENTER/FUNDS OPERATING COSTS
* HB 210-NORTHAMPTON COUNTY WELLNESS CULTURAL CENTER FUNDS
* HB 211-VANCE PUBLIC SCHOOL FOUNDATION FUNDS
* HB 212-NORTHAMPTON COUNTY EDUCATION FUNDS
Fighting against child predators
During a press conference on Monday, Attorney General Roy Cooper urged lawmakers to update state laws meant to combat child sexual predators. He’s supporting legislation that would increase punishment, improve methods of tracking offenders and strengthen reporting requirements for people who discover pedophiles. Internet social networking sites would also be required to receive parents’ permission before children could share sensitive personal information.
Reps. Bruce Goforth, D-Buncombe, and Karen Ray, R-Iredell, chaired the House Select Committee on Sex Offender Registration and Internet Crimes Against Children, which made numerous recommendations that became the basis of several bills already introduced in the House. For example: House Bill 27, Duty to Report Child Porn; House Bill 28, Up Penalties/Sex Offenses with Child Victim; and House Bill 29, Sex Offender GPS/Doc Requests.
To view the Attorney General’s press release and other information regarding sex offenders and child predators, go to: www.ncdoj.com.
The people’s agenda
On Saturday, February 10, more than 2,000 people from across North Carolina ranging from civil rights activists, anti-war protesters and low-income workers marched from Raleigh’s Memorial Auditorium to the Legislative Building to bring attention to the group’s legislative agenda.
The NAACP spearheaded what was called the “Historic K (Thousands) on Jones Street” — a reference to the Legislative Building’s address. More than 60 organizations participated or endorsed the event, from black Masons, the Latino group El Pueblo, union organizers and the North Carolina Green and Socialist parties.
The group’s agenda consists of a 14-point action plan that focuses on issues ranging from expanding health care coverage to abolishing the death penalty and withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq. The agenda also includes offering more education money to comply with the Leandro school-funding lawsuit, creating a “living wage” that would be several dollars more than the current minimum of $6.15 per hour, and giving collective bargaining rights to government employees. To view the group’s entire 14-point legislative agenda, go to: www.naacp.ubernc.com.
Last Saturday’s rally was held while the General Assembly was adjourned for the weekend so more working people could attend. A lobbying day is scheduled for March 28, which is expected to bring together an estimated 1,000 activists and legislators.
South African Royalty visits General Assembly
The House of Representatives was honored to have a very special guest in our chamber on Thursday: Her Majesty, the Queen Mother Semane Bonolo Molotlegi. Her Majesty is a member of the Royal Family of Royal Bafokeng Nation based in the North West Province of South Africa. Her third son King Leruo Tshekedi Molotlegi is the current King of the Royal Bafokeng Nation.
Her Majesty, as Queen and now as Queen Mother, has played a pivotal role in helping her country become a model to which other communities in the region hope to aspire. She champions the issues of job creation for her people, the rights of women in her country, improving education, and health care. In September 2006, a delegation of citizens from North Carolina was invited by a South African Religious leader to meet Her Majesty and to share community, religious, and medical strategies to eliminate health disparities. During that visit, she learned of a health care model that had been in place in NC for nearly a decade.
The purpose of The Queen Mother’s visit to North Carolina was to learn more about North Carolina’s health care innovations. While here, she and members of her delegation toured East Carolina University’s telemedicine program, the Windows on the World Teleconferencing center in Roper, NC, and other health care facilities.
Other Legislative Highlights
Below are several bills that have been introduced in the House or Senate during the last week:
* House Bill 150 would change from Oct. 16 to Aug. 31 the deadline for a child’s fifth birthday in order for the child to attend kindergarten that fall.
* House Bill 179 would appropriate $2.15 million over two years to provide $10,000 bonuses to teachers of students with behavioral and emotional disabilities.
* House Bill 183 would ban cell phone use by school bus drivers
* House Bill 184 would exempt from state income taxes the compensation paid to a member of the armed forces on active duty.
* House Bill 192 would issue $250 million in bonds to help provide affordable housing.
* House Bill 213 would allow local government employees to return to work without losing retirement benefits.
* Senate Bill 163 would establish a special insurance pool for chronically ill patients who don’t have access to affordable coverage.
* Senate Bill 171 would require students to attend school through age 17, up from 16, beginning in 2009; and through age 18 beginning in 2011, unless they graduate from high school at an earlier age.
* Senate Bill 179 would increase penalties and take other steps to strengthen prosecution of Medicaid fraud
I met with the following people/groups this week:
* Henderson City Council
* H. Leslie Perry Memorial Library Trustees
* Gaston Middle School students and staff-School Technology Day