From the Office of Representative Larry D. Hall

June 30, 2008

The House and the Senate have approved their respective versions of the state budget clearing the way for negotiations on a final version to be concluded.  Both versions focus on education, health care and bolstering the state’s economy. Both plans offer pay raises of 3 percent for teachers and 2.75 percent or $1,100, whichever is greater, for state employees. Both proposals also set aside $50 million for tax credits, but differ in how the money would be used. Negotiators from each chamber are engaged in discussions to work out the differences soon. Each chamber will have to approve the compromise before sending it to Gov. Mike Easley for his approval.

Further, we continue to work on important changes in our laws that will make our communities and our children safer. The House passed several of those changes and I will share more information about them with you.

If you would like information about anything else or if I can be of help to you, please let me know. Thank you as always for your interest in state government.

Public Safety Prisoners who are disabled or terminally ill would be released from custody under legislation Gov. Easley signed into law. The new law (S1480) requires the inmates to have an appropriate health care plan in place before their release is granted. The change is expected to save the state thousands of dollars in health care costs and free up as many as 160 additional beds in the state prison system. The state spends an average of $87,000 a year to care for such patients, according to state correction officials. Inmates convicted of the most serious crimes, such as murder and rape, would not be eligible for release and those who regain their heath would have to return to prison.

Convicted sex offenders would be banned from using social networking Web sites such as MySpace and Facebook under legislation unanimously approved in the House. The bill (S132) would make it a felony for people convicted of sex crimes to the sites and also prohibit them from changing their names to avoid showing up on the state's registered sex offender list. Attorney General Roy Cooper says the plan will allow law enforcement officials to better protect children.

The House approved a measure (S1358) that would require county Juvenile Crime Prevention Councils to assess the needs of juveniles who are at risk of gang activity, to determine what services exist to address those needs and to develop strategies to intervene and respond to those needs. The bill also requires the state council to review the level of gang activity throughout the state and to assess the progress and accomplishments of the state and of local governments in preventing gangs and addressing the needs of at-risk juveniles.

Vandalism that causes more than $5,000 in damage would be a low-grade felony under a bill given final legislative approval this week. Existing law makes vandalism no matter what the dollar amount a misdemeanor. The revised law would make damage worth more than $5,000 punishable by up to 12 months in prison. First-time offenders would receive community service. The bill now awaits the signature of Gov. Mike Easley.

Local Government  The House Finance Committee approved a proposed one-year moratorium on annexations to allow for time to consider changes in state law. The moratorium would begin July 1. The measure (H2367) passed out of the Judiciary II committee to the floor for a final vote. Many people in the state are unhappy with North Carolina annexation laws, saying they don’t have enough control about what happens to their property and often don’t receive promised services quickly enough.

Health_ The House Health Committee approved three bills that would ban smoking around government buildings and in state cars.  Legislators agreed last year to a law that bans smoking in state buildings. One proposal (H2253) would create no-smoking zones within 50 feet of state government buildings. Public walkways and thoroughfares would be exempt.  Another measure would ban smoking in state vehicles (H2252). The third (H2254) would restore the authority for community colleges to ban smoking on their campuses.

 Transportation  A measure approved in the House that will give the Department of Transportation expanded authority to partner with governmental and private entities in the planning, design and development of road and rail projects. The bill (H2318) also extends that authority to counties. The bill is expected to help improve the state’s transportation infrastructure by making it easier for private companies to work with government.

North Carolina driver’s licenses would get turned on their side for young people under a bill approved by the House this week. The measure (H2487) is intended to make purchasing alcohol more difficult by formatting the licenses vertically rather than horizontally for people under 21. The change would require the license to be turned a different way to be read and make it easier for store clerks and bartenders to recognize when an underage person is attempting to purchase alcohol. The Senate has passed a similar bill.

Families The House has approved a bill that would require adoption agencies to report how many people are using a new program that helps birth parents and adoptees learn each other's identities. Lawmakers created a program last year that allows adoption agencies to act as confidential intermediaries. The individuals' names and medical information can be shared if both parties agree. Under the proposed law (H2185), state officials would have to track how many people use the system and how many individuals contacted agree to share information.

Education The House voted to continue the work of the Joint Legislative Commission on Dropout Prevention and High School graduation. The commission was formed last year to evaluate the programs that receive dropout grants and decide whether expanding or replicating them will improve graduation rates in the state. The commission is also reviewing research on student success, studying major middle and high school reform efforts and how they may influence the dropout rate, reviewing the courses required for graduation and determining whether changes should be made and determining which strategies best help students remain in school when they are at risk of being retained. The House has budgeted $15 million for dropout prevention grants in the coming year, while the Senate has set aside $8 million.

Justice Torture and forced disappearances would become felonies under a bill that received the approval of a House committee this week. Sponsors say the bill (HB2417) would make it easier for the state to investigate North Carolina-based contractors accused of helping the CIA transport suspected terrorists overseas, where they are tortured. The bill now goes to the House Appropriations Committee.

Notes The House honored a North Carolina National Guard unit that returned from an 11-month deployment. Five members of the 1132nd Military Police Company died in Iraq during the deployment, four of them from North Carolina. The unit is based in Rocky Mount, Tarboro, and Mount Olive.

The House voted this week to continue operating its climate change commission through April 2009. The commission was originally formed in 2005.

The House observed a moment of silence for Trooper David Shawn Blanton Jr. Trooper Blanton who was killed recently during a night traffic stop along Interstate 40 in Haywood County. Blanton, 24, of Cherokee, was a two-year veteran of the patrol. He was married and had a two-week-old child. The man accused in Trooper Blanton’s shooting death has been arrested.

Larry D. Hall

Please remember that you can listen to each day’s committee meetings and press conferences on the General Assembly’s website 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.