From the Desk of Representative Larry D. Hall

October 22,, 2007

We as lawmakers worked hard throughout the session to pass laws that would benefit all of North Carolina. Special thanks to those of you who helped by providing input and response during the process. Whether it was attendance at Judiciary I meetings by the Police Benevolent Association or Association of Educators at the Education Committee meetings, or the Mayor meeting with our delegation to get the Amtrak Station in Durham on track, or the Domestic Violence Center volunteers you all made a difference. Several of the laws we passed as a result went into effect this month and I haven't had a chance yet to share information about some of them with you. I am hopeful these changes will make North Carolina an even better place to live for all of us. We also made a commitment to the future of all citizens by strengthening our community college system and the programs offered there.

As always, thank you for allowing me to share this information with you. Please let me know if I can answer any questions or be of assistance.

 

Ethics

We continued our efforts in ethics reform with a law that makes some needed clarifying changes. The bill (H1110) also requires legislative employees to attend refresher ethics education classes every two years. Another new law that takes effect this month makes it a felony to instruct or coerce non-citizens to vote. The bill (H1743) also establishes misdemeanor penalties for breaching ballot secrecy or trying to convince people to select a party affiliation other than one of their own choosing. The new law includes civil penalties for officials who are late reporting campaign contributions and expenditures.

Justice and Safety

We passed several laws changing the ways we treat juveniles in the justice system. One bill (H1243) allows judges to physically restrain juveniles in the courtroom only if they find the restraint necessary to maintain order and safety or to prevent the juvenile from escaping. Another law requires the state to release identifying information for juvenile escapees. Under (H1148) the state can now release the first names and photos of escaped juvenile prisoners.

We also passed laws to help improve the handling of court cases. One new law (S1130) gives defendants access to law enforcement's complete files, including files from any public or private group that obtains information connected to the investigation streamlining the investigation process. Another bill (S1117) gives judges in civil cases authority to allow jurors take evidence into the jury room.

A new law (H1617) states that if a private citizen is killed by a law enforcement officer in the line of duty, the next of kin can request an investigation of the incident. Another law (S1211) requires officers to fingerprint anyone charged with a DWI or driving with a revoked license.

Family and Children

We created a law to protect the parental custody and visitation rights of deployed and active members of the military. The bill (H1634) permits expedited custody hearings for service members called into duty and hearings via telephone for service members deployed on short notice. It also prevents a parent from citing deployment of another parent as a reason to modify or change custody arrangements. Under the new law, any custody order issued because of deployment expires within 10 days of the soldier's return. Another bill involving custody cases (H1328) requires sex offenders filing for custody to disclose their convictions during the pleadings.

Consumer Protection

A new law (S1055) requires businesses to mail rebates to consumers within 60 days after the consumer sends in the rebate form. Another law (S514) prevents businesses that sell perishable goods from using deceptive advertising regarding the location of their businesses. This includes using a misleading name or forwarding phone calls to different locations outside of the area of the phone number listed.

A law that will help protect renters goes into effect this month. The bill (H947) states that tenants must receive 30 days notice of an application for foreclosure. Tenants can then give the landlord 10 days written notice to terminate the rental agreement.

Energy and Environment

It is now easier for homeowners to install solar panels. A new law (S670) prohibits cities, counties or county laws and neighborhood agreements from banning solar energy collectors.

North Carolina established a requirement that our power utilities get at least 12.5 percent of their power from renewable sources. The bill (S3) will help cut pollution and dependence on foreign oil while also creating more of a market for renewable energy. We are the first state in the Southeast to adopt such a standard after months of negotiations with lawmakers, utilities and environmentalists.

This session we passed a new law that requires stricter oversight of hazardous waste storage sites. The bill (H36) protects residents by requiring operators of hazardous waste sites to take financial responsibility and conduct preventative screenings for environmental contamination when hazardous materials are released. The bill was filed in response to an explosion and fire at a hazardous waste storage facility in Apex late last year that resulted in the evacuation of thousands of people. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board believes mislabeled oxygen generators in the plant probably fueled the fire.

Health

It is now against the law to smoke in long-term care facilities. House Bill 1294 makes it illegal to smoke in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Another bill (H726) requires laser hair removal practitioners to get a license from the state Board of Electrolysis Examiners. The heart on the driver's license that indicates the holder is an organ donor is now legally binding. The bill (H1372) changing the law will help simplify organ and tissue donations, honor the wishes of donors and save lives. Previously the next-of-kin made decisions regarding organ donation.

Enrollment Growth

Enrollment at our community colleges increased 1.2 percent during the past year, bringing the total number of students to more than 195,300. We appropriated a recurring sum of $3.3 million to help deal with this enrollment growth.

An additional $2 million was set aside for the Enrollment Growth Reserve to help those community colleges that have high growth in the fall semester. The reserve is intended for community colleges that have an enrollment increase of more than 5 percent over the previous fall semester.

Financial Aid

This session my colleagues and I helped create the Education Access Rewards North Carolina, or EARN, Scholars program by setting aside $127 million for it over the next two years. This program will give more North Carolinians access to higher education by providing $4,000 grants each year to the 25,000 community college and University of North Carolina system students with the greatest financial need. All North Carolinians with family incomes of less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level are eligible for the program. We are extremely proud of this program because if makes the dream of attending school, from pre-kindergarten all the way through college, a reality for all of our citizens. Students can now focus on their studies without worrying about finding money to pay for college and will be able to graduate with a bachelor's degree without any debt.

Salaries

We budgeted university and community college faculty and professional staff a 5 percent pay raise so that we can attract the best educators for our students.

Allied Health

The General Assembly appropriated $5.6 million to support the allied health programs at our community colleges. This funding can be used for equipment, supplies or faculty salaries and will recur each year.

COMMUNITY COLLEGES

Distance Learning

Our community colleges strive to accommodate all students who desire a college education. The distance learning programs facilitate students who cannot physically attend classes on campus. We appropriated a recurring sum of $3.8 million to increase community college bandwidth. This will greatly improve connectivity and expand the distance learning initiatives. We also appropriated $261,700 for three staffers who will help our community colleges with distance learning and technical support.

My colleagues and I set aside $595,000 for Virtual Learning Centers. These centers help develop and improve online courses. They can revolutionize the way our students learn.

NC State University's Virtual Computing lab will soon have 100 seats dedicated for community college students. This year we appropriated $631,000 for state-of-the-art computing services.

Equipment and Facilities

The General Assembly set aside $10 million to provide instructional equipment at all 58 community colleges.

A $100,000 fund will be used to support multi-campus centers. Multi-campus centers are satellite campuses for four-year universities that provide a low-cost way for students to earn degrees in their communities. The State Board of Community Colleges has approved the 24th multi-campus center to be housed in Ashe County at Wilkes Community College.

Programs

Fayetteville Tech, Craven Community College, Coastal Community College and Wayne Community College work together to operate the NC Military Business Center. NCMBC helps develop businesses spawned by the state's military bases. We appropriated $1.25 million to operate the center and the state website, www.matchforce.org. The website matches state businesses with federal contracts.

The General Assembly has set aside $475,000 to expand the Male Minority Mentoring program. The program strives to increase the graduation and retention rates of minority males at our community colleges through mentoring, retreats, community service and counseling and other personal growth opportunities. It will now be implemented at 15 additional community colleges.

The NC Center for Viticulture and Enology at Surry Community College will receive an additional $500,000. Viticulture is the study and production of grapes. Enology is the study of wine and winemaking. Surry Community College is located in Dobson in the Yadkin Valley wine region. North Carolina is the nation's ninth-largest wine producing state.

The Rowan-Cabarrus Community College Biotechnology Training Center and Greenhouse at the NC Research Campus in Kannapolis will receive $1.4 million this year.

Facilities

The North Carolina Community College System will receive $8 million to plan capital projects and develop facility master plans.

The General Assembly appropriated $15 million for the Facilities and Equipment Grant Fund. These funds will be awarded to community college projects that support the college's strategic plan and show potential to promote economic growth.

Larry D. Hall

Please remember that you can listen to each day's committee meetings and press conferences on the General Assembly's Web site at http://www.ncleg.net. Once on the site, select "audio," and then make your selection - Appropriations Committee Room or Press Conference Room. You can also use the website to look up bills, view lawmaker biographies and access other information.