On Tuesday, I returned to Raleigh for the first day of the “short session.”
Typically during this session, legislators adjust the state budget approved in the previous session and take up some of the unresolved matters from the previous year. Most of those matters are contained in funding bills filed last year and still eligible for consideration this session. I will remind you about some of them this week.
Thank you for your continued interest in state government. Please let me know if I can be of assistance.
This Week in the House
This week House members welcomed Representative Sandra Spalding Hughes to her first session. Rep. Hughes was confirmed as the replacement for former Representative Thomas Wright and administered the oath on April 15. The House still has a vacancy resulting from the retirement of former Rep. Pete Cunningham.
House members passed a joint resolution (SJR 1580) to honor Korean War Veterans. North Carolina is home to more than 110,000 military personnel and almost 770,000 veterans. Of the 36,568 Americans killed in the Korean War, more than 800 were North Carolinians. In 2000, there were more than 100,000 Korean War veterans in North Carolina, three of whom were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
My colleagues and I also adopted a resolution (HR 2133) to honor the 237th Anniversary of the Battle of Alamance. Before the American Revolution, a group of farmers known as the Regulators rebelled against local officials because of excessive taxes and illegal fees. The Alamance Battleground is now a state historic site where visitors can learn about colonial life.
Funding Bills Eligible for Consideration
Health Care
A bill (H97) to provide funds for the Workforce Improvement for Nursing Assistants: Supporting Training, Education, and Payment for Upgrading Performance (Win a Step Up) program passed its first reading in the House. The program’s curriculum features information and exercises involving appropriate care for individuals with dementia, anxiety, depression and other severe mental health problems. The bill is in the Committee on Appropriations.
House members passed a bill (HB 1522) to clarify local management entity (LME) board membership regulations. If the bill is signed into law, an individual who contracts with an LME for the delivery of mental health, developmental disabilities and substance abuse services may not serve on the board of the LME while the contract for services is in effect. It is currently in the Senate Committee on Health Care.
My colleagues and I in the House passed a bill (HB 1784) to improve the quality and accessibility of mental health, developmental disabilities and substance abuse services. The bill requires providers to document services provided and adequately train staff. This bill is also in the Senate Committee on Health Care.
Taxes
House members may consider a bill (HB 184) to deduct compensation paid by the armed forces to military personnel on active duty from state taxable income. The bill is currently in the Committee on Finance.
House members may consider a bill (HB 526) to provide an income tax credit for builders of energy efficient homes. If the bill becomes law, taxpayers who build a federally qualified energy efficient home will be eligible for a tax credit of $1,000. If the home is a state-certified energy-efficient home, the taxpayer could be eligible for a $2,000 tax credit. The bill passed its first reading in the House and is now in the Committee on Finance.
Justice
House members approved a bill (HB 1291) to provide for the fair and reliable imposition of capital sentences. The bill states that no one should be sentenced to death or executed because of race. The bill is in the Senate Committee on Judiciary II.
A bill (HB 341) to clarify proportionality review cleared the House. The bill requires the court to include cases where life imprisonment was imposed that are factually similar to capital cases where the death penalty was used in its proportionality review. It is currently in the Senate Committee on Judiciary II.
A bill (HB 43) to help victims of domestic violence is eligible for consideration this session. The bill provides funding and increases funding for several programs related to domestic violence including the Family Court Program and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds for domestic violence prevention. The North Carolina Council for Women and the Domestic Violence Commission may also receive funds to build shelters for victims. The bill also includes funding for the Governor’s Crime Commission to provide supervised visitation and exchange centers as well as funding to adjust the salary and benefits for the abuser treatment program coordinator. The bill passed its first reading and is now in the Committee on Appropriations.
Digital TV Transition
The Federal Communications Commission in Washington, D. C. asked me to partner with it to educate consumers about steps they may need to take in order to be prepared for the digital TV (DTV) transition. Part of the Commission’s outreach effort is to reach vulnerable groups such as senior citizens, non-English speaking consumers, minority communities, those with disabilities, low-income consumers, and those living in rural areas or on tribal lands. As you may know, our nation is in the process of transitioning free over-the-air television broadcasting from an analog format to an all-digital format. By law, February 17, 2009 is the last day for full-power television stations to broadcast in analog, and they will broadcast only in digital after that date. Benefits of the DTV transition include freeing up frequencies for police, fire, and emergency rescue communications, allowing for advanced commercial wireless services, and allowing broadcasters to offer better picture and sound quality and more programming choices. Many consumers rely on over-the-air broadcasts for important public safety information such as severe weather reports and other government warnings and advisories, as well as local and national news and public affairs programming.
Because Congress has mandated that the last day for full power television stations to broadcast in analog would be February 17, 2009, over-the-air TV broadcasts will be in digital only after that date. If you have one or more televisions that receive free over-the-air television programming (with a roof-top antenna or “rabbit ears” on the TV), the type of TV you own is very important. A digital television (a TV with an internal digital tuner) will allow you to continue to watch free over-the-air programming after February 17, 2009. However, if you have an analog television, you will need a digital-to-analog converter box to continue to watch broadcast television on that set. This converter box will also enable you to see any additional multicast programming that your local stations are offering.
To help consumers with the DTV transition, the Government established the Digital-to-Analog Converter Box Coupon Program. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), a part of the Department of Commerce, administers this program. Every U.S. household is eligible to receive up to two coupons worth $40 each toward the purchase of eligible digital-to-analog converter boxes. Since January 2008 NTIA has accepted applications for coupons. The coupons may only be used for eligible converter boxes sold at participating consumer electronics retailers, and the coupons must be used at the time of purchase. Manufacturers estimate that digital-to-analog converter boxes will sell from $40 to $70 each. This is a one time cost. For more information on the Digital-to-Analog Converter Box Coupon Program, visit www.dtv2009.gov, or call 1-888-388-2009 (voice) or 1-877-530-2634 (TTY).
Cable and satellite TV subscribers with analog TVs hooked up to their cable or satellite service should not be affected by the February 17, 2009 cut-off date for full-power analog broadcasting.
You may visit the DTV website, where more information is available.
Notes
I plan to attend the following meetings/events:
Please invite me to attend your county, city, community or civic, etc. meetings or events.
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.
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.
Please remember that you can listen to each day’s committee meetings and press conferences on the General Assembly’s website. Once on the site, select “audio,” and then make your selection — Appropriations Committee Room or Press Conference Room. You can also use the website to look up bills, view lawmaker biographies and access other information.