The interim session continues to be busy, with gatherings both in Raleigh at the General Assembly and here in our community. There have been several meetings in Raleigh recently to discuss education, health and transportation. Questionable proposals have surfaced during some of these meetings, but thus far my colleagues and I have been able to moderate these plans.
We have also received some news lately on the ongoing redistricting case and the attempt to ban video sweepstakes games. I will share more information about that below.
The regular session of the General Assembly is scheduled to begin May 16. I am working now to refine ideas about the specific legislation I will support during this session. If you have ideas or suggestions for legislation you would like me to consider, please contact me and share them. I want to represent you and your interests in the General Assembly.
Thank you for your time and your interest in state government. It is an honor to serve the people of this community.
Education
After a storm of criticism, Republican legislators backed off of a plan that would have privatized North Carolina’s pre-kindergarten program for at-risk 4-year-olds. The plan would have also kept funding at its current reduced level and lowered the income threshold for eligibility. This year’s budget cut of $16 million forced 6,200 children out of the program, about 20 percent of the total. The lower income threshold would have allowed only families in poverty – defined as an income of $22,000 a year for a family of four – access to the program. That is nearly $30,000 lower than the current threshold, and by some estimates would have resulted pushing 30,000 children off of the eligibility list.
The move to privatize pre-K would have shut down about 70 percent of the more than 1,100 state-run pre-kindergarten sites. More than 500 of these sites are in public schools. A study from the state Department of Public Instruction found that students in publicly run programs have better outcomes than those in private settings. Educators, elected officials and the media attacked the plan once it was made public. The legislators supporting it revised their proposal to eliminate the language about income eligibility and make clear they planned to keep the program in a variety of settings.
Redistricting
Republicans in charge of the redistricting process this year have already spent nearly $700,000 on outside attorneys who helped them draw the boundaries and defend them, according to public records. They are also using state-paid lawyers from the Attorney General’s office to defend the maps in a lawsuit challenging the legality of the plans. One of the outside firms is based in South Carolina and the other is in Washington, D.C. Democrats spent $131,475 for similar outside legal expenses for redistricting between 2001 and 2010. The cost to the state will continue to grow. The three-judge panel hearing the lawsuit has set out a schedule with an anticipated two-week trial in August at the earliest.
Video sweepstakes
The North Carolina Court of Appeals has ruled that the 2010 law that attempted to ban online sweepstakes games is unconstitutional. The case will now most likely go the state Supreme Court. Two of the three judges on the appellate panel ruled that banning the games violated First Amendment rights. A third judge disagreed. The Internet sweepstakes ban went into place in December 2010 and followed an earlier state ban on traditional video poker machines. Police and sheriff’s deputies have been enforcing only the parts of the law that were upheld by trial judges. Retailers have continued to operate with different games.
Thank you for your interest in state government. In the meantime, please contact me if I can be of help.
Keep in touch,
Michael H. Wray
NC House District 27
Please remember that you can listen to committee meetings and press conferences on the General Assembly’s website at www.ncleg.net. Once on the site, select “Audio,” and then make your selection – House Chamber, Senate Chamber, Appropriations Committee Room or Press Conference Room