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April 5, 2013
Hundreds of New Bills Introduced; Tax Reform Discussed
Greetings!
Governor Proposes Medicaid Changes
Governor McCrory announced his proposal for overhauling Medicaid this week. His plan would combine physical and behavioral health into one system and replace the award-winning Community Care North Carolina (CCNC) system with several private managed care organizations. CCNC is a home-grown, award-winning managed care nonprofit that has been lauded as a model for other states. The proposed plan would give each managed care company a set amount of money for each person enrolled in their program. There are currently about 1.5 million people enrolled in Medicaid in N.C., and the state and federal government spend together about $13 billion on Medicaid each year, with the federal government picking up more than 60 percent of the cost. The administration's goal is to implement the new system by 2015.
Senate Considers Tax Reform Bill
The Senate Finance Committee continued to look at tax reform on Wednesday, hearing an explanation of a comprehensive plan that would lower income tax rates and expand the sales tax base to include some services not currently taxed. S.B. 394 is revenue-neutral and proposes a flat personal income tax rate of six percent and a corporate income tax rate of six percent for businesses. The top personal income tax rate is currently 7.75 percent and the corporate income tax rate is 6.9 percent. The plan proposes lowering the state sales tax from 4.75 percent to 4.5 percent and broadening the tax base to include some services not currently taxed. State and local privilege taxes would be eliminated and changes would be made to the state's franchise tax. Advocates at the committee hearing expressed concerns over moving from a progressive income tax to a flat tax and said the bill would result in lower income earners paying more tax than currently. No votes were taken on the bill.
Raise the Age Update
We expect to see a bill filed next week to raise the age of juvenile court jurisdiction from 16 to 18 for youth accused of misdemeanors. More soon.
Voter Identification Bill Introduced
H.B. 589: Voter Identification and Verification Act would require voters to show photo ID to vote. A public hearing on the bill will be held next Wednesday in the House Elections Committee, followed by a likely committee vote April 17 and floor votes as soon as April 22 or April 23. The bill sponsors said the photo ID requirement would be fully implemented in 2016, a presidential election year, and that the state would use the 2014 elections in part to identify voters who don't have an accepted form of ID. The legislation would allow voters to use various forms of government-issued identification, including driver's licenses, other state-issued ID cards, student IDs from N.C. public universities and community colleges, government employee IDs and tribal cards. Student IDs from private colleges and universities would not be acceptable forms of ID. Advocates are concerned that the bill would suppress turnout among some categories of voters, including minorities, the elderly, and students.
TAKE ACTION NOW on Consumer Finance Bill
Contact Senators on S.B. 489: Consumer Finance Act Amendments. This bill would increase interest rates and penalties on already very expensive consumer loans. These interest rate hikes are unnecessary and unsafe. Rather than increasing access to credit, they will make credit much more expensive for NC borrowers, costing $50 to $70 million every year in additional interest alone and making it harder to repay the loan. Call your Senator today and urge him/her to vote NO on S.B. 489.
Relevant Bills Acted on This Week and Last Week
Key bills affecting children that were acted on this week and last week at the General Assembly are listed below. The list is very long this week, since there was no update last week and hundreds of new bills were filed at the Legislature over the past couple weeks.
Health Regulates sale of tobacco products over the internet to minors. Filed and referred to the Senate Committee on Health Care. Would require employers to provide paid sick days to employees. Filed and referred to the Senate Rules Committee. Would help pregnant women with insurance premiums to increase pre-natal health. Filed and referred to the Senate Insurance Committee. Would prohibit physicians from treating minors for STDs, pregnancy, substance abuse or mental health issues without written parental consent. Filed and referred to the Senate Health Care Committee.
Child Safety
Increases the fine for passing a stopped school bus and makes it a criminal offense. Filed and referred to the House Transportation Committee.
Makes changes to the juvenile code as requested by the Court Improvement Project. Filed and referred to the Senate Judiciary I Committee.
Makes changes about placement of children, per request of DHHS. Filed and referred to the Senate Committee on Health Care.
Would make it a misdemeanor to trespass on school grounds. Filed and referred to the Senate Judiciary II Committee.
Would increase fine from $100 to $200. Filed and referred to the House Judiciary Committee.
Would increase the number of School Resource Officers, guidance counselors, school psychologists and social workers, and appropriates funds. Requires panic alarm systems in schools, regular lock-down drills, and more. Filed and referred to the Senate and House Education/Higher Education Committees.
Would allow a second expunction for a nonviolent charge that is either dismissed or of which the person is found not guilty. Filed and referred to the Senate Rules Committee.
Lays out 11 core principles for protecting foster care children's rights. Filed and referred to the House Judiciary Committee.
Requires that LEAs educate students about teen dating violence. Filed and referred to the House Education Committee.
Funds for expanding Teen Courts and re-funding Drug Treatment Courts. Filed and referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Regulates child custody and visitation during a parent's deployment. Passed the Senate.
Would prohibit employers, educational institutions or government units from requesting information from an applicant for employment or admission regarding an arrest, charge or conviction that has been expunged from the applicant's record. Passed the House Judiciary Subcommittee A and scheduled to be heard on the House floor.
Would raise the age to 21, over which adults can ride motorcycles without helmets. Passed the House Transportation Committee and referred to the House Judiciary Subcommittee B.
Increases the number of places people with concealed carry permits can carry a gun. Filed and referred to the Senate Rules Committee.
Would increase guns in school. Filed and referred to the Senate Rules Committee.
HB 217: Criminal Law/Procedure AmendmentsAmong other changes to criminal law, establishes that, upon motion by the prosecutor, juveniles alleged to have committed a Class B1 through Class E felony will be transferred to the superior court for trial, as in the case of adults. Currently, juveniles are transferred to Superior Court at the discretion of the judges; this bill would move that discretion to the prosecutors. The bill is currently in the House Judiciary B Subcommittee and a serial referral to the House Appropriations Committee was added this week. A vote is expected as early as next Wednesday.SB 45: Incapacity to Proceed Amendments (H.B. 88) Makes changes in law regarding juveniles' capacity to proceed with a case. The Senate concurred with the House-passed bill, and the Governor signed it. HB 17: Gun Permits/Confidentiality
HB 17, which was originally titled Gun Permits/Restaurants & Confidentiality, has been stripped of the section that would have allowed gun owners with concealed carry permits to carry guns in restaurants and bars. The bill now just calls for confidentiality of information about concealed handgun permits and pistol purchase permits. Passed the House and referred to the Senate Judiciary I Committee.HB 385: Youth Accountability Task ForceEstablishes a task force to determine options for transitional housing for delinquent juveniles exiting youth development centers, among other issues. Passed the House Judiciary Subcommittee C and referred to the House Appropriations Committee.
Education
Eliminates requirements on max class sizes and max teaching load, reduces reporting requirements and eliminates Personal Education Plans for students at-risk of academic failure. Filed and referred to the Senate Committee on Education/Higher Education.
Would strip lottery funds from NC Pre-K and give it to local school districts instead. Filed and referred to the Senate Education/Higher Education Committee.
Would eliminate "unnecessary" reporting by teachers. Filed and referred to the House Education Committee.
Would require grading of schools, based on student test scores. Filed and passed the House.
Would start a pilot program, including some charter schools, in New Hanover, Charlotte/Mecklenburg and two other (unnamed) school systems. Filed and referred to the Senate Education/Higher Education Committee.
Omnibus bill that would address teacher quality, ensure that student growth be considered in grading schools, and more. Filed and referred to the Senate Rules Committee.
Allows counties to fund capital needs of charter schools, up to $250,000 per school. Filed and referred to the Senate Education/Higher Education Committee.
Gives the Governor more control over the State Board of Education and shortens terms. Filed and referred to the House Education Committee.
Creates a separate school board for charter schools. Passed the Senate Education/Higher Education Committee and referred to the Senate Finance Committee.
Changes the reporting date for a pilot on funding the NC Pre-K program from January 2013 to January 2014. Filed and referred to the Senate Health Care Committee.
Would require that the State Board of Education mandates instruction in cursive writing and memorization of multiplication tables as part of the standard course of study. Passed the House.
Declares that the Legislature intends to move NC teachers' salaries to the national average by 2019-20. Filed and referred to the House Appropriations Committee.
Gives LEAs more flexibility in their use of state funds. Filed and referred to the House Education Committee.
Would allow charter schools to prioritize admission for siblings and children of staff. Passed the House and referred to the Senate Rules Committee.
Requires the State Board of Education to take certain steps to improve education for children who are deaf or hard of hearing. H.B. 317 is scheduled to be heard on the House floor on Monday.
Would end the requirement for certain education reports, including the disadvantaged student supplemental funding report, the state board report on personal education plans, and the child nutrition standards report, among others. Referred to the House Education Committee.
Education reform overhaul that would add funding to the system, increase teachers' salaries, focus on reading, provide incentives for the lowest performing schools and much more. Currently in the House Appropriations Committee. Identical bill S.B. 656 was filed this week.
Economic Security
Would require drug screening for every applicant for public benefits. Would be very expensive for counties and is currently being reconsidered. S.B. 594 was referred to Senate Judiciary II Committee, S.B. 650 was referred to Senate Rules and S.B. 447 was referred to Senate Committee on Health Care.
Would require local DSS offices to do a search for outstanding arrest warrants for all applicants applying for public benefits. Advocates are particularly concerned about the repercussions for children. Will be heard on the House floor next week.
Would divert money from TANF funds to be dedicated to Boys and Girls Clubs. Would pull money from child care subsidies and other programs. Filed and referred to the House Appropriations Committee.
Requires child support payments to continue until age 21 if the child is attending an institution of higher learning. Filed and referred to the Judiciary Subcommittee C.
Increases the interest rates and fees and size of consumer finance loans in NC. Could put more North Carolinians in insecure financial situations. Filed and referred to the Senate Commerce Committee. See Action Alert, above.
Friday Conference Calls
Action for Children and the Covenant with North Carolina's Children hold Friday morning conference calls to update you on the week's happenings at the General Assembly. Updates include bills and budget actions. To join:
- Fridays, 11 a.m.
- Dial 1-800-582-3014 and enter passcode 882011141#
Click here to add this call to your calendar.
Calendar and Events
The tour will feature a giant Chutes & Ladders board highlighting the public investments that are essential to ensuring all of NC's children get the strong start they need to succeed. At each stop, there will be a giant game of Chutes & Ladders in a local park or community center. Children from local early learning programs, parents, business and civic leaders will be invited along with lawmakers to come and play the game for themselves. Along with the game, there will be snacks, crafts, and music.
- April 6 - Southport in Brunswick County, Kids Day in the Park, 11-2
- April 12 - Goldsboro, Goldsboro Cornerstone Commons, 10-1
- April 13 - Asheville, Healthy Kids Day, Pack Square Park, 11-5
- April 17 - General Assembly in Raleigh, Child & Family Day, Halifax Mall (located behind the General Assembly at 16 W. Jones St., 10-12
- April 22 - Durham: Details coming soon!
- April 26 - Wilmington, Smart Start of New Hanover County, 3534 S. College Rd., 10-12
- May 6 - Greenville: Details coming soon!
- May 13 - Charlotte: Details coming soon!
Join us as we convene on behalf of N.C.'s children. The day will include an issues briefing, rally and opportunity to visit legislators. Click here to register.
Hands of Protection Second Annual 5K Walk, April 20th, Smithfield.
Walk to prevent child abuse.
Second Chance Lobby Day, April 23rd from 9-5 at the N.C. Legislative Building
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