The Raleigh Report
From the Office of Cullie Tarleton
April 13, 2009
Our work in Raleigh last week touched on a great many issues, from education to campaign reform and emergency planning. Our daily floor sessions are stretching out to several hours on some days and the pace of our committee work continues to increase.
This week will be a pivotal one in the General Assembly. We are due to receive the latest tax revenue projections and that information will shape the budget that is now in our hands. Our colleagues in the Senate approved their spending plan this week, but additional cuts or increased revenue may be needed to balance the plan depending on what we hear about tax collections. The Senate budget is based on a revenue short fall of approximately $3b. Don’t be surprised when the numbers come in after April 15 if the short fall number isn’t closer to $4b which will require additional cuts.
I am also including some information below about bills of interest that are moving through the House.
As always, I welcome any thoughts or ideas you may have to share with me and I hope you will let me know if I can be of any service.
Education
A bill that would give parents more say about the kind of sex education they want for their children has been approved in committee and is heading to the House floor. The Healthy Youth Act (HB 88 which I co-sponsored) gives parents the ability to choose an abstinence-only program, a comprehensive sex education curriculum (which is also abstinence based) or to opt out of sexual education entirely. The bill passed in both the Health Committee and the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Education.
Six-year olds would have to attend school under a bill that made it through the House Committee on Education on Thursday (HB 161, I co-sponsored). Under existing law, children are not required to attend school until the age of 7. The bill now goes to the Appropriations Committee.
An act that would set a minimum filing fee for candidates for local boards of education passed its second reading in the House on Thursday (HB 76). If enacted, the legislation would set the filing fee as 1 percent of the annual salary of the office sought or a minimum of $25. The bill is intended to add uniformity to the filing fees across the state. It must now receive approval on third reading.
Emergency Management
Legislation that would expand the ability of counties and municipalities to form joint emergency management agencies is now headed to the Senate. Currently, counties can only form joint agencies with municipalities within its borders. This proposal (HB 380) would allow counties to also work with other counties, as well as municipalities within the partnering county.
The Division of Emergency Management is a step closer to establishing a Voluntary Emergency Management Certification Program. The proposal (HB 377) is intended to strengthen and enhance the professional abilities of emergency management personnel by setting up educational and training standards for both state and local emergency management agencies. The bill now goes to the Senate.
An act to statutorily establish the Division of Emergency Management within the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety passed the House on Thursday (HB 378). Previously the department only had authority primarily granted through executive orders issued by the governor. The legislation was recommended by the Joint Select Committee on Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Management Recovery.
Health and Safety
The Nicolas Adkins School Bus Safety Act unanimously passed the House on Wednesday and is now in the Senate (HB 440, I co-sponsored). The proposal would allow evidence from automated camera and video recording systems to be used to detect and prosecute drivers who pass stopped school buses. The bill is named for a 16-year-old student killed in Rockingham County earlier this year after a driver who passed his stopped school bus struck him with her car.
Legislation that would appropriate money for the State Health Plan for Teachers and State Employees and make other changes related to the plan has been approved in two House committees and appears headed to the full chamber. The House Insurance and Appropriations committees both approved the bill (SB 287). Supporters of the bill argue that they need the proposal to pass so that they can immediately restore solvency to the plan. Some opponents argue that the plan doesn’t address long-term concerns about the health plan. I voted No in the Appropriations Committee. I hope we can change the bill sufficiently enough so that I can support on the floor. The Plan is in serious financial shape and requires immediate attention.
Miscellaneous
Establishment of a Joint Legislative Study Committee on Grandparents’ Visitation Rights would be authorized under a bill approved by a House judiciary committee this week. (HB 590). If established, the committee would consider the state's existing custody and visitation laws; existing laws about grandparents' visitation rights and legislation adopted by other states addressing grandparents' visitation rights.
A bill that would improve North Carolina’s absentee voting laws, especially the ability of military and overseas voters to cast timely ballots, received a favorable report this week from the House Committee on Election Law and Campaign Finance Reform (HB 614, I co-sponsored). If enacted, the legislation would provide that absentee ballots and envelopes be available for use not later than 60 days before the statewide general election in even-numbered years and not later than 50 days before the primary or any other election. The bill will now be taken up in the House Committee on Homeland Security, Military, and Veterans Affairs.
Notes
Members of the Scottish Parliament were the guests of honor at the legislative session in the House on Wednesday. Alex Ferguson MSP, the presiding officer of the Scottish Parliament, spoke during both the House and Senate sessions.
Members of the House honored Seventy-Fifth anniversary of the Great Smoky Mountains with a House Joint Resolution last Thursday (HJR 637).
Congratulations to the following Ashe and Watauga students who have been awarded North Carolina Teaching Fellows scholarships for 2009: Charles Brandon Bower and Morgan Leigh Johnson of Ashe and Celeste Elizabeth Caton, Brandon Mast Combs, Devon Nichole Haas, Zachary Daniel Hall and Savannah Leigh Parris of Watauga. These students have made a commitment to teaching and education. We should all be very proud of them and thank then for their dedication.
|
