The pace of work has increased considerably at the General Assembly.
Committees are now meeting each day to discuss and consider the first batches of bills for the year. My colleagues and I continue to work on drafting and introducing legislation on topics related to our districts or statewide issues. Legislators on the House and Senate Appropriations Committees also began discussing and combing through Governor Mike Easley’s budget, which was released late last week.
Members of the House and Senate have introduced close to 900 pieces of legislation during the first five weeks of the 2007 session, which started on January 24 — and there’s no sign of letting up anytime soon. The General Assembly’s bill drafting staff received 1,749 requests for substantive bills through the first month of session, which is 45 percent higher compared to the first month of the 2005 session. Two weeks ago, the requests were about 35 percent higher than two years ago. During the week of February 16-23, staff received 350 bill requests, compared with 204 requests during the comparable time in the 2005 session, which represents a 71 percent increase. Legislators have until March 28th to introduce local bills and May 9th to introduce bills related to the budget.
This week, legislators introduced bills on a wide range of topics, including tax credits for parents, health care benefits for dislocated workers, establishing a mentoring program for new school principals, and phasing out mercury in childhood vaccines.
The number of visitors each day at the General Assembly also continues to increase as we delve into more important issues and begin work on the budget. School children, advocacy groups, average citizens and lobbyists from across the state walk the halls of the Legislative Building in order to meet with Representatives and Senators. All residents of the 27th District-Northampton, Vance and Warren Counties are encouraged to come to Raleigh while we’re in session — and be sure to let me know when you’re coming or stop by my office to say hello.
Next Thursday, legislators will travel to Greenville to hold a special joint session at East Carolina University to celebrate and honor the university’s establishment, achievements and contributions throughout its 100 years of existence. March 8, 2007, which is the 100th anniversary of the ratification of a law establishing the East Carolina Teachers Training School, is the kickoff date for East Carolina University’s centennial celebration, which will continue through October 5, 2009.
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. The House will be back in session on Monday night at 7:00 p.m.
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 Counties and all regions of North Carolina a better place to live, work and raise a family.
Budget Discussions Begin
Governor Easley unveiled his budget to the media last Thursday, and my colleagues and I got a lengthy briefing on his spending proposal on Tuesday from administration officials. Now that we have the governor’s budget recommendations, the various House and Senate budget subcommittees have started discussions and debate on the numerous state programs and funding levels. I serve on the Appropriations/Natural and Economic Resources subcommittee, and we discussed the Governor’s NER budget.
Over the next several months, the House and Senate will pass their own budget proposals, in hopes of reaching a compromise and passing a final budget before the start of the new fiscal year on July 1.
NC’s Graduation Rate
On Wednesday, the State Department of Public Instruction released updated information on North Carolina’s graduation rate, which was very alarming and must be improved upon by elected officials, educators and students. According to education officials, 68.1 percent of freshmen who entered high school in 2002 graduated four years later; however, they also cautioned against assuming that the approximately 32 percent of students dropped out since they may have graduated in more than four years or obtained their GED at a community college. Further, the data does not track students who may have transferred to another school after the ninth grade.
This is the first time North Carolina officials have released the so-called “cohort” graduation rate, which is a new measure approved by the National Governor’s Association. Eventually all 50 states will switch to this new way of reporting graduation rates. In previous years, North Carolina used a different method to calculate its graduation rate, which had been estimated at close to 90 percent.
Here at home, the graduation rate for Northampton County was 61.9 percent, Vance County 47.8 percent, and Warren County 68.2 percent. To view graduation rates for each LEA in the state, go “a href=”http://www.ncpublicschools.org/docs/newsroom/news/2006-07/bylea-attach3.pdf”>here.
Unfortunately, the data also shows large gaps among races, ethnicities and genders. While 73.6 percent of white students graduated within four years, the rate dropped to 60 percent for blacks, 51.8 percent for Hispanics and 51.1 percent for Native Americans. Female students graduated at a rate of 72.4 percent, but it was only 63.9 percent for males. Also alarming, only 55.3 percent of economically disadvantaged students graduated in four years. The state’s new numbers are in line with an estimate last year from the Manhattan Institute, which had North Carolina’s graduation rate for the Class of 2003 as the nation’s 34th highest.
The House Select Committee on High School Graduation and Dropout Rates has been meeting for several months and legislators are expected to address this issue in the coming months. Many education officials continue to push for an increase in the compulsory attendance age from 16 to 18. Legislators are also in the process of reforming and restructuring high schools, offering stronger career counseling programs, and improving alternative learning programs for students with discipline problems.
For more information on the new graduation rates in our area and across the state, go to “a href=”http://www.ncpublicschools.org/newsroom/news/2006-07/20070228-01″>this link.
House Rules: Greater Debate, More Openness & Transparency
After weeks of discussions with Democrats and Republicans, as well as various advocacy groups pushing reforms, House Speaker Joe Hackney on Wednesday announced the rules that the House will abide by during the next two years. The Speaker said the new rules will “ensure greater debate, openness and transparency in the way we do business in the House of Representatives. The rules that will govern the House during the next two years will allow us to accomplish our legislative goals regarding education, health care, our economy and other important issues while also strengthening the trust and confidence of the people of North Carolina, which must be our top priority each and every day.”
The 2007-08 House permanent rules, House Resolution 423, will address the following issues:
* No special provisions will be added to the budget bill unless they pertain to appropriations or the raising or reducing of revenue. The House abided by this rule during last year’s session, but it will now be a permanent part of the House rules.
* No same day consideration of legislation without a vote of the House, which will allow ample time for the study of legislation before a vote.
* No “floaters” or members who serve on all committees. The position of a “floater” was first included in the House rules in 1995.
* Required consultation with the Minority Leader regarding committee assignments. Speaker Hackney collected and considered the committee preferences of all House members and consulted with Minority Leader Stam during the opening weeks of session prior to announcing committee assignments.
* March 30th deadline for adding new members to permanent committees and subcommittees, except in cases of vacancies.
* No “blank bills.” All legislation introduced in the House must contain substantive provisions. The Senate rules allow each Senator to introduce three so-called blank bills per session.
The permanent rules package will be considered by the House Rules Committee on Thursday afternoon and the full House is expected to vote on the bill early next week. To view the entire bill, go to this link.
Update from the Committees
A bill (House Bill 265) that would create a “high-risk” health insurance pool for chronically ill people who aren’t insured or can’t afford coverage was approved on Tuesday by the House Health Committee, the first of several panels that must sign off on it before it goes to all House members for a vote. The next stop is the Insurance Committee. Sponsored by Rep. Verla Insko, D-Orange, the bill would create a pool to allow people with high-risk health conditions to get health insurance at more affordable rates. The pool would be funded through enrollee premiums and insurer assessments. A similar bill was approved by the House last year, but the Senate did not consider it before adjournment.
The House Health Committee approved legislation (House Bill 24) on Thursday that would ban smoking in state government buildings. This ban would cover all buildings owned, leased or used by state government agencies. Last year, lawmakers outlawed smoking inside General Assembly buildings.
The Judiciary I Committee approved several bills this week, which seek to reduce domestic violence and increase criminal penalties. House Bill 47, Violate Order/Possess Deadly Weapon Felony, would make it a felony for some suspected abusers to contact potential victims while possessing a gun, knife or other deadly weapon. Violating a domestic violence protection order is already a high-grade misdemeanor, punishable by up to about five months in jail. House Bill 46, Domestic Violence Victims/Security, would determine whether security guidelines are needed for domestic violence shelters operated by state‑funded agencies and to provide, where feasible, private areas for domestic violence victims who are needed for any court proceeding where the defendant will be present. These measures are two of the 16 recommendations made by the new Joint Legislative Committee on Domestic Violence and come on the heels of sweeping changes to North Carolina’s domestic violence laws in 2004.
Economic Incentives Select Committee Established
House Speaker Joe Hackney and Senate President Pro Tempore Marc Basnight have created a special legislative committee that will review the state’s economic-development incentives and determine if changes should be made. The issue of incentives has gained greater attention from the public and the media in recent weeks due to the details regarding Google’s decision to build a $600 million data center in Caldwell County. State and local incentives for the project could add up to more than $260 million over three decades. The new Google plant is expected to create over 200 jobs by 2012.
The committee will be chaired by Reps. Bill Owens, D-Pasquotank, and Jennifer Weiss, D-Wake, and Sens. David Hoyle, D-Gaston, and Tony Foriest, D-Alamance. Other members include: Reps. Alma Adams, D-Guilford; Nelson Cole, D-Rockingham; Bill Daughtridge, R-Nash; Pryor Gibson, D-Anson; Mitch Gillespie, R-McDowell; Hugh Holliman, D-Davidson; Paul Luebke, D-Durham; Joe Tolson, D-Edgecombe and William Wainwright, D-Craven, and Sens. Pete Brunstetter, R-Forsyth; Dan Clodfelter, D-Mecklenburg; Janet Cowell, D-Wake; Kay Hagan, D-Guilford; Fletcher Hartsell, R-Cabarrus; Clark Jenkins, D-Edgecombe; John Kerr, D-Wayne; Vernon Malone, D-Wake; and R.C. Soles, D-Columbus.
Other Legislative Highlights
Below are several bills that have been introduced in the House or Senate during the last week:
* House Bill 388 would provide tax credits for the parents of children with special needs to help offset the expense of special education costs outside of the classroom.
* House Bill 389 would make it a felony to make false statements to an SBI agent.
* House Bill 380 would rotate the order of candidates and political parties as they appear on the ballot.
* House Bill 391 would provide additional funds for the Community College Child Care Program.
* House Bill 415 would provide $600,000 to Connectinc, Inc., which helps dislocated workers obtain health care benefits, receive vocational training and secure employment.
* House Bill 417 would establish a mentoring program to provide ongoing support for principals entering the profession and for principals from other states who have been in the profession for less than five years.
* House Bill 437 would dedicate revenue from the 7 percent state income tax, which is withheld on lottery winnings, for community college equipment.
* House Bill 404 would allow three days of bereavement leave for state and public school employees upon the death of an immediate family member.
* House Bill 431 would phase out mercury in childhood vaccines. Currently, every child in North Carolina shall be immunized against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, poliomyelitis, red measles (rubeola) and rubella.
* Senate Bill 355 would reenact and expand the long-term care insurance tax credit from $350 per insurance contract to $500.
* Senate Bill 356 would increase the penalty for raping a child younger than twelve years of age.
* Senate Bill 393 would make it a felony to steal or cut another person’s timber.
I introduced the following bills:
* HB 425-Faison Senior Center Funds
* HB 475-Warren School Board Election
I met with the following people/groups this week:
Bill Davis, Bill Sarine and Cliff Rogers-Warren/Vance Counties Technology Initiatives
Northampton High School West-Social Studies Students