Budget negotiators continue to make progress on the state’s spending plan for this fiscal year, having agreed on pay increases of 5 percent for educators and 4 percent for other state employees.
This week, the Senate also moved closer to accepting the House version of a plan to free up money in the counties for school construction and other needs. The plan would relieve counties of their Medicaid costs — more than an estimated $500 million this year — within a few years. The plan would also give many of the state’s poorest workers an earned income tax credit that would relieve them of some of their tax costs. The plan now returns to the House, where I and my Democratic colleagues will continue to push for greater tax relief and more money for education.
In other business, the House approved legislation this week that would bring more money for school construction to most of the state’s counties. We also passed bills that would better protect our children from sexual predators and keep them safer on their school buses. And the House signed off on landmark legislation to make mental health care more affordable for thousands of people in North Carolina. It’s an important step forward for health care in this state and one many of our representatives have supported for years.
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Education
A change in the way lottery money is distributed could mean more money for school construction in more than half the state’s counties. Under existing law, 40 percent of the net lottery profits are set aside to help build schools. The formula awards a disproportionate amount to counties with property tax rates higher than the state average. The bill (HB9) would send change the formula so that 65 percent of the allocation was based on the number of students in each district. Half of the remaining 35 percent will go to districts where the student population has grown in the past five years and the other half will go to districts in poor counties. The change would result in more money for 60 of the state’s 100 counties, but many of the state’s urban counties would lose money. The bill now goes to the Senate.
Health
North Carolina is on the brink of taking a major step to improve care for people with mental illnesses. On Thursday, the House concurred with changes made by a Senate committee to a bill (HB973) that requires that insurance companies cover bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, anorexia nervosa and bulimia and three other mental illnesses the same way that they treat physical illnesses. All other mental health conditions will be covered for up to 30 inpatient/outpatient days and 30 office visits. Mental health parity has been debated in the North Carolina Legislature for 15 years and if Gov. Mike Easley signs this bill, the state will join 36 others that already offer some form of mental health parity.
Ethics
The full House is prepared to consider a bill that would require candidates for elected office to disclose any felony convictions they may have. The committee on Election Law and Campaign Finance Reform amended the bill (SB1218) to clarify that felony convictions don’t permanently disqualify a person from running for public office. The Senate approved the bill in May.
Public Safety
A bill to require photo developers to report the discovery of child pornography found while they were working is headed to Gov. Mike Easley for his signature. The House voted unanimously Wednesday to concur with changes made in the Senate. The bill (H27) also requires computer technicians who find apparent images of minors engaging in sexual activity to report the name of the person who possesses the computer.
The Senate passed a House bill this week that would ban school bus drivers from talking on cell phones while driving. This commonsense safety legislation passed the Senate unanimously. School bus drivers would face a misdemeanor and minimum $100 fine if convicted. The bill will now go to the governor to be signed into law.
Cigarettes that burn out safely when left unattended would be required in North Carolina under a bill approved by the House this week. Similar legislation has been approved in more than a dozen states and Canada, according to the Coalition for Fire-Safe Cigarettes. The group says cigarettes cause up to 900 deaths a year. The bill (HB1785) now goes to the Senate.
Family
Adult adoptees may have a better chance of contacting their birth parents because a bill (HB 445) received a favorable report this week from a Senate judiciary committee and passed the Senate. It would allow intermediaries such as licensed adoption agency staff, a child placing agency, or county department of social services could arrange contact and/or the exchange of family health information. The bill also allows the sharing of identifying information if both parties consent.
Voting
The House ratified a bill this week that will allow voters to register and vote on the same day. The bill (HB91) requires potential voters to bring proper identification and a completed voter registration form. Under the current law voter registration ends 25 days before an election.
Notes
A new report from the environmental group Environmental Defense predicts that new technologies to manage hog waste could generate 7,000 jobs and $10 billion over a 20-year period. The report says that hog farmers should replace lagoon systems with cleaner systems that create marketable byproducts such as compost.
Rep. David Almond resigned from the House on Thursday, saying it was in the best interests of his family after a personnel complaint had been filed against him with the speaker. Almond is a Republican from Stanly County who was in his second term.
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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.
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.