January 7, 2008

Happy New Year!

I hope you enjoyed a happy holiday. I'm looking forward to the new year and working with all of you to make our state stronger.

The last big group of laws passed last session went into place January 1. These laws affect many issues including: health, families, criminal law, business law and ethics. Hopefully these changes will make life better for all North Carolinians.

Please feel free to contact me if I can be of any service. Thank you for allowing me to share this information with you.

I wanted to give special thanks to Durham Companions Youth Mentorship Program for the great work they continue to do after twenty-five years. Further, I am humbled by their presentation to me of their "Distinguished Service to Youth Award" at their annual banquet on December 15, 2008. I hope that we all can continue to support their efforts and those of organizations like them to mentor our youth.

Finally, I have been appointed to the House Select Committee on Rising Home Foreclosures by Speaker Hackney. This will provide a unique opportunity to find solutions to this crisis which has disproportionately affected citizens of Durham. I look forward to information or recommendations you may have to address this issue. Our first meeting will be on January 22, '08 in Raleigh.

Health - Legislators are concerned about the dangers of secondhand smoke. We passed a bill (HB 24) that bans smoking in buildings owned, leased, or occupied by state government. Under the new law, local governments have the authority to regulate smoking in buildings and vehicles they use.

Another new law prohibits smoking in long-term care facilities. The law (HB 1294) prohibits smoking in adult care homes, nursing homes, and any other facilities that provide long-term care.

This session the General Assembly passed a bill (HB 1671) that encourages parties involved in malpractice cases to use an arbitrator. The person filing for personal injury or wrongful death due to negligence by a healthcare provider and the healthcare provider involved can file a joint stipulation to use arbitration before a trial. This bill is expected to cut the costs and time involved in resolving these disputes while ensuring that the decision made is fair and honest.

Families - After several detailed Judiciary I committee hearings where I participated addressing many concerns expressed by constituents and after careful drafting reflecting those concerns we created a new law that gives adult adoptees and their adult descendents easier access to adoption information. The bill (HB 445) allows adoption agencies licensed by the state Department of Health and Human Services' Division of Human Services and social services departments to obtain contact information and medical histories on behalf of adult adoptees. Adoptees and birth parents can also obtain identification information if both parties consent.

Criminal Law - Victims of sexual assault are not required to take a lie detector test in order for a law enforcement agency to conduct an investigation into the matter. Under a new law (HB 1810), if a lie detector test is administered, the agency must tell the participants that the test is voluntary and the results are not admissible in court. These changes bring North Carolina state law into compliance with the Federal Violence Against Women Act of 2005.

Business Law - The Financial Institutions Committee, where I serve as Vice Chair reviewed and recommended to the new bill to the full General Assembly. We passed this bill to protect North Carolinians from predatory mortgage lending and to improve the writing of loans. The bill (HB 1817) limits broker fees, protects borrowers from some of the dangers of adjustable rate mortgage loans and clarifies mortgage broker duties. Lenders are required to determine that the homeowner can repay the loan. The law also prohibits prepayment penalties and expressly gives the Commissioner of Banks the authority to create rules to protect the borrowing public.

We passed new laws to protect people who buy annuities and insurance. The bill (HB 731) lists new requirements for annuity insurance providers, addresses portability in accident, health, and life insurance, and lists definitions and other technical corrections to the insurance code.

It is now a Class 3 misdemeanor to provide false or misleading information showing that a person is eligible for auto insurance when they are not. Under the new law (HB 729), falsifying this information is punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 for each violation.

Another new insurance law (HB 773) helps protect members of the military from financial fraud such as life insurance policies with predatory annuity sales or that may not cover death in combat.

Ethics and Elections - My colleagues and I passed a bill (HB 1111) that allows the Legislative Ethics Committee to prepare advisory memos for legislators and legislative employees on ethical issues. It also makes ethics committee and State Ethics Commission meetings open to the public except for those involving minors, personnel records or other clearly private matters.

We passed another law (HB 1737) that requires legislators who establish legal defense funds to report donations to those accounts. Under the law, legislators with these accounts now have to report donations and expenses each quarter. In addition, they also have to abide by restrictions similar to those for campaign accounts. Donations from labor unions, insurance companies, corporations, business entities, or professional associations cannot exceed $4,000 each year. Cash donations cannot be more than $50 and the report must include detailed information about contributors.

Another new law requires candidates who have been convicted of a felony to disclose that information when running for office. Felony convictions do not permanently disqualify a person from running for public office. A person can run for public office once citizenship rights have been restored. Under the bill (SB 1218), candidates do not have to disclose a conviction if they were pardoned or if the conviction was dismissed on appeal or expunged from the candidate's record.

The General Assembly created a law that makes it a felony to instruct or coerce non-citizens to vote. The bill (HB 1743) establishes misdemeanor penalties for breaching ballot secrecy or trying to persuade someone to select a party affiliation other than one of their own choosing. The bill also allows combined ballots and provides civil penalties for officials who are late reporting campaign contributions and expenditures. Penalties can be up to three times the amount of funds concealed if the State Board of Elections finds that the officials deliberately concealed contributions or expenditures.

Immigration - Under a new law (SB 229), prison administrators must determine prisoners being held for felony charges or charges of driving while impaired are legal U.S. residents. If the prisoner is not a legal resident of the United States, the Department of Homeland Security will be notified that the person is being held at the facility.

Transportation -Legislators passed a bill (HB 563) to protect North Carolinians on the roadways. According to the new law, if a traffic signal is out due to a power outage, motorists should proceed as if it is a four-way stop. People on a motorcycle or moped are required to wear helmets with a retention strap that complies with the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard.

Energy - North Carolina legislators have passed a law that requires North Carolina power utilities to get at least 12.5 percent of their power from renewable sources -- such as wind, water and solar energy -- and energy efficiency by 2021. The new law (SB 3) will help cut pollution and our dependence on foreign oil while also creating more of a market for renewable energy. North Carolina is the first state in the Southeast to adopt such a standard after months of negotiations between lawmakers, utility company representatives and environmentalists.

Page Updates - John Lyons former Page Participant which represented House District 29 signed to play football at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA. John is a student at Hillside High School. He is the son of Desiree and John Lyon Jr. of Durham. Kenneth "Kyrell" McKoy, former Page Participant who also represented House District 29 was accepted to Morehouse College in Atlanta. He will be majoring in Biology/Pre-Med. Kenneth is a student at Wake Forest-Roseville High School. He is the son of Kenneth and Tywanna McKoy of Wake Forest.

Community Events: - Durham Martin Luther King Day Parade-12:00 noon-Saturday, January 19, 2008

I am honored to have been chosen as the Grand Marshall of this event and hopefully we can all celebrate the strength of our diversity and use the time to commit ourselves to the objectives and principles of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Durham & Raleigh MLK Celebration Committees will have the MLK Birthday Triangle Interfaith Prayer Breakfast on Monday, January 21, 2008 at 8:00 AM at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel, Research Triangle Park, N.C. Free Admission "First Come-First Served