The Raleigh Report
From the Office of Cullie Tarleton
May 19, 2008
On Monday of last week, I returned to Raleigh for the opening of the “short session” on Tuesday. Typically during this session, legislators adjust the state budget approved in the previous session and take up some of the unresolved matters from the previous year. Most of those matters are contained in funding bills filed last year and still eligible for consideration this session. I will remind you about some of them this week.
Thank you for your continued interest in state government. Please let me know if I can be of assistance.
This Week in the House
This week House members welcomed Representative Sandra Spalding Hughes to her first session. Rep. Hughes was confirmed as the replacement for former Representative Thomas Wright and administered the oath on April 15. The House still has a vacancy resulting from the retirement of former Rep. Pete Cunningham.
House members passed a joint resolution (SJR 1580) to honor Korean War Veterans. North Carolina is home to more than 110,000 military personnel and almost 770,000 veterans. Of the 36,568 Americans killed in the Korean War, more than 800 were North Carolinians. In 2000, there were more than 100,000 Korean War veterans in North Carolina, three of whom were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Funding Bills Eligible for Consideration
Health Care
A bill (H97) to provide funds for the Workforce Improvement for Nursing Assistants: Supporting Training, Education, and Payment for Upgrading Performance (Win a Step Up) program passed its first reading in the House. The program’s curriculum features information and exercises involving appropriate care for individuals with dementia, anxiety, depression and other severe mental health problems. The bill is in the Committee on Appropriations.
House members passed a bill (HB 1522) to clarify local management entity (LME) board membership regulations. If the bill is signed into law, an individual who contracts with an LME for the delivery of mental health, developmental disabilities and substance abuse services may not serve on the board of the LME while the contract for services is in effect. It is currently in the Senate Committee on Health Care.
My colleagues and I in the House passed a bill (HB 1784) to improve the quality and accessibility of mental health, developmental disabilities and substance abuse services. The bill requires providers to document services provided and adequately train staff. This bill is also in the Senate Committee on Health Care.
Taxes
House members may consider a bill (HB 184) to deduct compensation paid by the armed forces to military personnel on active duty from state taxable income. The bill is currently in the Committee on Finance.
House members may consider a bill (HB 526) to provide an income tax credit for builders of energy efficient homes. If the bill becomes law, taxpayers who build a federally qualified energy efficient home will be eligible for a tax credit of $1,000. If the home is a state-certified energy-efficient home, the taxpayer could be eligible for a $2,000 tax credit. The bill passed its first reading in the House and is now in the Committee on Finance.
Justice
House members approved a bill (HB 1291) to provide for the fair and reliable imposition of capital sentences. The bill states that no one should be sentenced to death or executed because of race. The bill is in the Senate Committee on Judiciary II.
A bill (HB 341) to clarify proportionality review cleared the House. The bill requires the court to include cases where life imprisonment was imposed that are factually similar to capital cases where the death penalty was used in its proportionality review. It is currently in the Senate Committee on Judiciary II.
A bill (HB 43) to help victims of domestic violence is eligible for consideration this session. The bill provides funding and increases funding for several programs related to domestic violence including the Family Court Program and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds for domestic violence prevention. The North Carolina Council for Women and the Domestic Violence Commission may also receive funds to build shelters for victims. The bill also includes funding for the Governor’s Crime Commission to provide supervised visitation and exchange centers as well as funding to adjust the salary and benefits for the abuser treatment program coordinator. The bill passed its first reading and is now in the Committee on Appropriations.
Notes
We really hit the ground running last week. Wall to wall committee meetings as the short session got underway. We had several full Appropriations as well as a couple of Education Appropriation meetings. In Appropriations, it’s good news, bad news. The bad news is there was no “April surprise”. In other words, April revenue figures were not over expectations as has been the case in previous years. The good news is that North Carolina is in much better shape than most states. According to the Governor’s staff who told us during budget presentations, over ½ of the states are facing budget shortfalls. While there are a few dollars to cover some new expenditure like mental health, some salary increases, etc., the “extra” dollars are scarce. It’s also pretty safe to say that there is not any enthusiasm in the General Assemble to raise taxes of any type during these tough times. Frankly, I think it’s time to “tighten our belts” in the legislature just as we’re all having to do at home, especially our hard working families. I understand that for some, it’s simply tough to make ends meet. Revenue projections for fiscal 08-09 are being forecasted down.
I was very concerned that the Governor’s budget only called for a 1.5% for our state employees and 1.2% for our state retirees. When the Governor’s staff presented his budget to the full Appropriations Committee, I expressed my disappointment. Frankly, at this point I don’t know what we’ll be able to do but we’ll do the best we can with the very limited dollars we have to work with.
The conversation continues over some of the Research Stations oversight moving from Agriculture to the UNC System. My focus has been to make sure EVERYBODY understands the importance of the Upper Mountain station at Laurel Springs. IF the oversight is shifted, I have been assured by the UNC folks that they’ll give me a letter specifying that the Upper Mountain station would not be closed and the property sold.
I introduced several bills last week and signed on as co-sponsor of several more. Bills introduced include a Resolution Honoring ASU’s Football Team for their 3rd consecutive national championship. The team will visit the Legislature on June 10th. Another bill called for an appropriation for Horn in the West, a bill for planning money for ASU’s proposed new College of Nursing and Health Sciences building, an appropriation for the Hayes Performing Arts Center and special license plates recognizing Military Services. For a complete list, you can visit the House web site, go to my name and click on Bills Sponsored.
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