The House unveiled much of its spending plan this week and I’m pleased that we were able to continue making strides for the children of this state.
About $11 billion of the $20 billion plan would be spent for education and teachers would get a 5 percent raise as we continue to try to increase their pay to the national average for their profession. We also took a very important step by expanding health care coverage to “high-risk” people. Many experts agree that creating such a pool is a critical part of reaching the uninsured. We also held the first public hearing on an initiative to reduce dropout rates and remembered two of our departed colleagues. In the week ahead, we will continue to discuss and debate the proposed budget before sending it along to the Senate.
Thank you as always for allowing me to share this information with you and please let me know if I can be of any service.
Budget
The House rolled out much of its budget proposal Thursday that, under Democratic leadership, ensures that education will remain the state’s top priority. The state’s public schools, community colleges and universities will get a total of $11 billion, about 55 percent of the roughly $20 billion plan. The proposal recommends: A 5 percent pay raise for teachers and a $250 bonus for first-year teachers; $7 million for a dropout prevention program championed by House Speaker Joe Hackney; $20 million more for a program for at-risk students; $3.2 million more for Gov. Easley’s Learn & Earn program and $6.4 million extra to expand Learn & Earn online. State employees would get a 2.5 percent salary increase plus a $400 bonus. It also includes $2.85 million to hire 50 tutors to help with school literacy programs. Community colleges would get $25 million for a facilities and equipment grant program. Both community colleges and the university system would get all the money they requested for enrollment growth at their campuses. Need-based financial aid at the universities would increase by nearly $28 million under the plan. Budget writers also found $8.4 million to subsidize child care costs for an additional 2,000 children and $4 million to hire 80 more school nurses. House leaders anticipate passage of their budget by the end of the week. The measure will then go to the Senate and lawmakers will work to approve a final version before the start of the next fiscal year on July 1.
Health
The House agreed Tuesday on legislation that would extend health care coverage to thousands of “high-risk” people who have otherwise been denied coverage or asked to pay premiums they cannot afford. The bill (H265) passed its final reading in the House by a vote of 104-11, with all House Democrats voting in favor of it after defeating a Republican-supported amendment that would have required the pool to be financed with money out of the state’s general fund. Democrats opposed the measure because they wanted to ensure money for the pool came from a steady, reliable source that wouldn’t get tied in with the yearly budget negotiations. The measure, a part of the Democratic caucus agenda this session, now goes to the Senate, where the chamber’s Democratic leaders say they will support its passage. Thirty-six states already have similar pools. Under the bill, people enrolling in the high-risk pool would pay about two-thirds of the program’s costs through their premiums. The remaining cost would be covered by cost reductions negotiated with medical providers and by a monthly assessment on all health care insurers in the state. The projected assessment would be 4 cents per enrolled member per month in 2009 and 92 cents per month per enrolled member in 2019. An estimated 13,000 people are expected to enroll in the pool. The bill is supported by the state’s largest insurers, who believe it is an important step to expanding health care coverage to the estimated 1.4 million uninsured people in North Carolina. The North Carolina Justice Center, which also supports the bill, estimates that every insured person in the state already pays $438 a year in extra premium costs to cover health care for the state’s uninsured.
Education
The House Education Subcommittee on Pre-School, Elementary and Secondary Education held its first public hearing this week as part of a new initiative to improve the state’s graduation rate. Speaker Joe Hackney, who proposed the initiative and has been its chief supporter, attended the hearing along with subcommittee chairs Reps. Parmon and Fisher and several other lawmakers. Enthusiastic local school administrators, teachers, parents, students, local leaders and concerned citizens were among the members of the audience and several of them shared their ideas about how to reduce the number of dropouts. Some presenters suggested expanding the learning centers established by the Communities In Schools program, looking at ways to better connect the business community and the education community, raising the compulsory school attendance age to 18, bringing more mentors into schools and finding more incentives to keep certified teachers in areas they are needed the most. The subcommittee will hold its second and final public hearing at Southeast Raleigh High School in Raleigh at 6 p.m. Tuesday. The House budget proposal released this week set aside $7 million for this initiative. The money will be used to help pay for pilot programs at schools that want to implement programs proven to reduce the dropout rate.
Teachers could take two personal days a year without having to pay for substitutes under a bill (H906) approved by the State Personnel Committee. Teachers in North Carolina are given five personal days a year, but have to pay for a substitute if they use them. The bill sponsored by House Democrats seeks to bring teachers more in line with the leave policies of other professionals. It now goes to the Education Committee for consideration.
Public Safety
The House gave final approval to a bill requiring sheriffs to notify the State Bureau of Investigation when they deny someone a permit to buy a handgun. Sheriffs could access the information through a database when they are considering permit applications. The bill (H1287) does not require the second sheriff to deny a permit or to even contact another sheriff, but supporters of the bill say they would expect a denial would be a warning sign that sheriffs would want to explore. Reps. Joe Kiser and Ray Warren, both former sheriffs, said they supported the bill as a commonsense measure to help sheriffs make good decisions and to keep weapons out of the hands of dangerous people or those with violent mental health histories. Opponents argued that sheriffs have great discretion in determining whether to grant permits and that someone could be unfairly included on the list. The bill cleared the chamber by a vote of 81-34, with largely Republican dissent and opposition from gun-rights groups, and now goes to the Senate.
A bill that would overhaul the way law enforcement investigators conduct eyewitness lineups passed the House unanimously this week as part of an effort to improve North Carolina’s criminal justice system. A state judicial commission proposed the changes a few years ago after studies showed that more than 1 in 4 people identified as perpetrators were actually innocent. An estimated 4,500 innocent people are convicted in the United States every year because of mistaken eyewitness identification. Some law enforcement trainers have taught officers the revised methods recommended by the commission, but they aren’t obligated to use them. The bill (H1625) would require the training and use of the procedures, such as presenting the suspects or their pictures one at a time rather than all together and having an officer not involved in the investigation conduct the lineup.
Environment
The House unanimously approved a bill that would require hazardous waste storage companies to tell their neighbors and emergency response officials more about the materials they store. The bill (H36) would also subject such companies to more inspections. The legislation follows an explosion and fire at EQ Industrial Services in Apex on Oct. 9 that resulted in the evacuation of roughly 17,000 people. Emergency responders had little information about what the company had stored at the site, limiting their ability to extinguish the blaze. North Carolina has 10 remaining commercial hazardous waste storage warehouses that receive truckloads of chemicals and other materials from manufacturers and laboratories. The waste is consolidated and then shipped to incinerators, landfills and recyclers in other states. The legislation now goes to the Senate for approval.
Notes
The General Assembly honored the late Rep. Howard Hunter and the late Sen. Robert Holloman this week with resolutions in both chambers. Hunter died Jan. 8 and Holloman died the next day. Both were Democrats from Hertford County. Hunter first came to the House in 1989 and was known as an advocate for children’s issues and economic development. Holloman, a minister, was in his third term.
County commissioners came to Raleigh this week to lobby lawmakers on a number of issues, but were primarily concerned about reducing how much they pay for Medicaid. Lawmakers have suggested spending $60 M on Medicaid relief for counties, with half being spread among all counties and the other half going to counties with the most need. My colleagues and I in the House support providing as much relief as the state can afford and hope to devote tens of millions of dollars to the issue as we debate our budget proposal in the coming week.
Please remember that you can listen to each day’s session, committee meetings and press conferences on the General Assembly’s website. Once on the site, select “audio,” and then make your selection — House Chamber, Senate Chamber, Appropriations Committee Room or Press Conference Room.
The following people visited my office:
* Bobby Blalock, Blalock Funeral Home, Warrenton
* Dan Blalock, Blalock Funeral Home, Warrenton
* Garry Daeke, Vance County/City of Henderson
* Ernie Fleming, Warren County Commissioner
* Clinton G. Alston, Warren County Commissioner
* Timmy Baynes, Kerr-Tar Regional COG
* Jerry L. Ayscue, Vance County Manager
* Danny Wright, Vance County Commissioner
* Terry Garrison, Vance County Commissioner
* Scott Hughes, Vance County Commissioner
* Dan Brummitt, Vance County Commissioner
* Virginia Spruill, Northampton County Commissioner
* Robert V. Carter, Northampton County Commissioner
* Anthony Clark, Northampton County
* Matthew Delk, Halifax County Manager
* Rachel K. Hux, Halifax County Commissioner
* Judge Manning, Halifax County Commissioner
* Dr. Al Wentzy, Northampton Social Services
The House will return to session Monday at 7 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 Legislature and the challenges you and your family are facing each day.