The Raleigh Report
From the Office of Cullie Tarleton
March 16, 2009
Governor Beverly E. Perdue delivered her historic first “State of the State” address last week to a joint session of the General Assembly, and I was honored to be among those in the audience. I thought the Governor gave a great “feel good” speech but would have liked more budget specifics.
In her speech, the governor made it clear that, despite the economic slowdown, education will remain the state’s top priority. I was glad to hear her say that. As I’ve said many times in this report, nothing we do is more important than the education we provide our young people. It’s an investment in our state’s future. Providing every child in North Carolina with a world class education will be imperative to our state’s economic survival in the long term. In this ailing economy, it will also be vital to break down the financial barriers that restrict access to higher education for many young people.
Most House members share the Governor’s priorities. We realize we need to continue to help build new, burgeoning industries such as biotechnology and biofuels. We need to support small businesses and we need to provide resources for our students.
As always, I welcome your thoughts and ideas about my work in Raleigh and I have included below information about some of the legislation we are considering. I look forward to hearing from you.
Education
North Carolina’s high school dropout rate would be clarified under legislation filed in the House this week (HB 470). The bill would amend the powers of the State Board of Education, to specify that calculations of the dropout rate must not include students who transfer to a community college, college, or university and enroll in a degree program, but that students who voluntarily withdraw or are expelled from school and do not finish at another school shall be considered to have dropped out.
Community colleges would be authorized to teach developmental courses and college success skills courses at any time during the year, including the summer term if a new bill (HB 491, I co-sponsored) is approved. A separate proposal would allow community colleges to include certain occupational extension courses in the headcounts they use to qualify for state money based on enrollment.
An act to repeal the sunset on the law authorizing teachers to take personal leave without penalty under certain circumstances was filed in the House this week (HB 441, I co-sponsored). The bill would give teachers some additional freedom to take paid days off.
A proposed law would require parents to give written permission to the schools before corporal punishment is administered to their children. The legislation (HB 442) would also require each local school board to annually report to the State Board of Education the number of times that corporal punishment is administered each year according to the student’s grade, age, gender, race, and whether the student was receiving special education services.
The Nicolas Adkins School Bus Safety Act (HB 440, I co-sponsored) was filed in the House this week and would provide for the use of automated camera and video systems to detect and prosecute those who pass stopped school buses. The legislation would also allow admission of photos and videos recorded by these systems in any proceedings. Nicolas Adkins was a 16-year-old student from Rockingham County who was hit and killed by a driver who ignored the activated school bus sign and passed his school bus in January.
Energy Efficiency
North Carolina would create a Solar Energy Incentive Grant program to encourage the production of solar panels in the state according to a bill filed in the House this week (HB 462). The bill is modeled after a similar program in Virginia.
Builders of energy-efficient homes would receive a tax credit if legislation filed in the House this week (HB 504, I co-sponsored) is approved.
New incentives for high-performance homes for North Carolina residents and new incentives for renewable energy for commercial property have been proposed in a bill filed this week. The legislation (HB 512, I co-sponsored) would also require public schools and state institutions of higher learning to report on energy usage.
Equality
The North Carolina Racial Justice Act (HB 472) was filed in the House this week to provide for the fair and reliable imposition of capital sentences. The legislation provides that no person shall be subject to or given a sentence of death or shall be executed based on race. The act would also establish a procedure for hearing such claims.
Crime/Justice
Legislation that would prohibit cell phones in prison (HB 8) was unanimously approved in the House this week. The bill also makes it unlawful for a prison guard to provide a phone to an inmate. Some prison officials had reported that more prisoners were smuggling in phones.
Notes
After the inventory of red-lettered license plates has been depleted, North Carolina will return to the blue-lettered license plates of the past. Both motor vehicle customers and law enforcement personnel requested the change back to blue lettering because it is easier to see at a distance.
The North Carolina Technology Association visited the General Assembly on Tuesday to emphasize the importance of the technology industry to the state economy as a whole. A dozen companies, including AT&T, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Lenovo and SAS set up tables in the Legislative Building where they shared information. I am a strong advocate of increasing the technology in our schools, community colleges and universities. As the Governor said in her speech to us, often time’s students come to school with more technology in their backpacks than we have in the classroom.
Sylvia and I attend the kickoff luncheon of the Governor’s Conference on Travel and Tourism recently. John and Faye Cooper, owners of The Mast General Store, received one of the Winner Circle Awards for their contribution to tourism. John and Faye are wonderful citizens who do so much for our area and the state.
I continue to get lots of emails and letters concerning the state health plan. Please know that as a plan participant myself (and so is Sylvia as a retired teacher) I share your concern. As I’ve said in the pass in this report, the plan is in serious financial trouble. Changes will have to be made in order to keep it viable. I’ll do the best I can to see that plan participants are treated fairly.
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