From the Desk of Representative Larry D. Hall
My colleagues and I concluded a very busy few weeks in the General Assembly by reviewing and debating dozens of bills over the past few days. We spent hours in committee meetings and on the floor considering these proposed laws in hopes of getting them approved (or rejected) before the "crossover" deadline. Bills that wouldn't require money to be spent or that wouldn't result in money being raised had to be approved in their originating chamber by the deadline. Bills we have approved in the past few weeks pave the way for great improvements in our state. We cleared the way for a constitutional amendment to preserve property rights, agreed to reform our death penalty and medical malpractice laws, reaffirmed our commitment to strong ethics, proposed tougher penalties for driver's license fraud, moved to prevent the bullying of children in school and made a step toward expanded insurance benefits for people who suffer from mental illness.
These proposals reflect the values of many of you whom I serve and I'm proud to have been your voice in Raleigh. We will now move on to consideration of bills sent to us by the Senate and to the consideration of bills with a financial impact. I hope to build on the strong body of work we have already built this session.
As always, thank you for the opportunity to share this information with you. Please let me know if I can be of any service.
Legislative Page Report
We have made a concerted effort to get your future leaders and citizens involved in understanding the legislative process. We have had several pages to date and have provided press releases announcing their service. However, some of you may not have seen announcements of their service. We want to take time recognize the both past and future pages for their service and the support of their families.
Jarrett Spence
Jarrett Spence, a student at Southern Durham High School, recently served as a Page for the North Carolina House of Representatives. He is the son of Shelia and Edward Burton of Durham and was sponsored by Representative Larry Hall.
Ronnie Williams Jr.
Ronnie Williams Jr. , a student at Southern High School, recently served as a Page for the North Carolina House of Representatives. He is the son of Ronnie Williams, Sr. and Robyn Tate of Durham and was sponsored by Representative Larry Hall.
Property Rights
The House set the stage for a possible constitutional amendment to appear on the ballot next year. The proposed amendment would prevent governments from using their power of eminent domain to take private property for commercial purposes. It would go before voters in November and change the state constitution to say, "private property shall not be taken except for public use. " The bill (H878) comes two years after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that eminent domain could be used for economic development purposes. Government could still buy property to use for industrial parks or other economic development projects, but could not force the owners to sell.
Ethics
Lawmakers approved a bill that requires that legislators who establish legal defense funds report donations to those accounts. A bill (H1737) approved by the House would also require reporting of expenses each quarter and make the reporting requirements similar to those for campaign accounts. Donations would be capped at $4,000 and corporations and unions, among others, would be barred from contributing. Existing law, approved last year, requires political candidates to report the name, address and profession of anyone who donates $50 or more to a campaign.
Elected officials convicted of job-related corruption would lose part of their government pensions under bill (SB659) which cleared the House Judiciary I committee on Tuesday and now heads to the Committee on Pensions and Retirement. The measure, approved in the Senate unanimously, requires elected officials to give up the state-funded portion of their retirement funds if they are convicted of felonies relating to public corruption or election laws fraud.
Justice
The House approved two measures that would reform the death penalty in North Carolina. One proposal would allow convicted killers sentenced to death to challenge the penalty if there was evidence of racial discrimination. The bill (H1291) would require the defendant to prove that race was a factor in the sentencing and could include evidence that people of some races are sentenced to death more often than people of other races. Another bill would require the state Supreme Court to review some life imprisonment sentences when conducting a "proportionality" review to determine whether a death sentence is warranted. If the justices determine the penalty was too severe when compared to cases with similar circumstances, they can reduce the penalty to life in prison. The review does not allow them to reverse the conviction.
A bill that would change the way medical malpractice lawsuits are handled in North Carolina passed the House on Monday and will go on to the Senate. The bill (H1671) would automatically send malpractice cases to an arbiter unless there is an objection by one of the parties. The arbiter would be able to award damages no higher than $1 million. The goal of the bill is to reduce insurance costs for physicians. Costs recently have risen to levels that some say discourage people from practicing medicine in the state. Insurers, knowing there is a limit to damages in many cases, may lower their insurance fees. The bill is based on one that passed in the state of Washington last year and is the result of a compromise between the N.C. Medical Society and the N.C. Academy of Trial Lawyers, two groups that have long fought over medical malpractice suits. Advocates of the bill hope it will help facilitate cooperation between the two groups.
Drivers from other states who come to North Carolina to get drivers licenses and lower insurance premiums will be committing a felony under a bill approved this week in the House. The House passed the measure unanimously Monday, and it will now go to the Senate for consideration. The bill (H729), supported by the state Department of Insurance, is designed to minimize fraudulent insurance filings with the state. Drivers from out of state often come to North Carolina, fraudulently claiming to be residents, and then securing automobile insurance here. When these people have accidents, it can raise rates for other people insured in North Carolina. North Carolina has one of the lowest auto insurance rates in the nation. The bill also requires insurers to try to verify if an applicant is being truthful about their residence.
The House passed a bill Monday that would allow authorities to take driver's licenses from adults who give underage children alcohol. The penalty would be in addition to the misdemeanor charge already in place. The charge is currently punishable by a fine and community service. The bill (H1277) passed 106-6, and it will now go to the Senate for consideration.
Two bills that would change the death penalty in North Carolina were modified this week so that they can stay alive past last week's crossover deadline. One bill (HB1691) would suspend executions in North Carolina for two years to allow the state to re-examine the administration of the death penalty and to ensure the penalty does not violate constitutional provisions against cruel and unusual punishment. The other bill (HB1526) would reduce the number of aggravating factors that make defendants eligible for the death penalty. The bill is intended to allow prosecutors to focus their resources on the worst crimes.
Education
School children will be better protected from bullies under a bill approved in the state House. The bill (H1366) includes a list of students who are likely to be targets of bullies. In a separate vote, the House defeated a bill (H853) that would have banned corporal punishment in the school systems. Opponents of the coporal punishment ban argued that it stripped local school boards of their authority to set policy in their systems.
The University of North Carolina Board of Governors has long reserved a seat for a student, but never allowed the student to vote. A bill approved in the state House is trying to change that. The bill as approved would allow the student member to vote on matters that come before the board. Proponents of the bill argue the student member is generally well informed enough about the issues to vote. Opponents say students don't have enough time during their one-year tenure to become knowledgeable about the needs of the 16-campus public university system. The bill (H893) is now in the Senate.
Health
North Carolina took a step this week toward giving those who suffer from mental illness the same level of insurance coverage available for physical illnesses. The bill (H973) would bring North Carolina in line with many other states in the region. It exempts companies with 25 or fewer employees from the expanded requirement and many companies with 100 or more employees would be exempt because they are self-insured. That means the change will apply initially only to about one in six workers in the state. Thirty-four states already have mental-health parity. The bill now goes to the Senate. Senate leader Marc Basnight says members of his chamber support expanding private mental health coverage.
Finance
T he House agreed Thursday to establish the Joint Legislative Budget Oversight Committee as a way to continually examine and oversee the state budget. The committee would review agency expenditures and collections of receipts, agency compliance with state laws and compliance with legislative policies and intent, among other things. The committee would have 20 members-10 members of the House appointed by the Speaker of the House and 10 senators appointed by the Senate President Pro Tempore. At least two of the members from each chamber would have to be members of the minority party. Each member of the committee would serve two-year terms. The bill (H716) now goes to the Senate.
Notes
In anticipation of Memorial Day, lawmakers honored the state's veterans on Wednesday. Veterans around the General Assembly wore their service decorations on that day and others decorated their doors with flags or photos of loved ones in the military. Members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, Disabled American Veterans and the Marine Corps League met with lawmakers. I was the sponsor of the resolution honoring our service members and their families, especially those who have died in the line of duty. My military service in the U.S. Marine Corps has made me particularly sensitive to the plight of our many veterans, especially in this time of the Iraq War.
The Senate finished work on their version of the budget and next step will be for negotiators in the House and the Senate to reconcile the differences between the proposals and then send a compromise bill to the governor for his signature.
House Democratic Agenda Update
House Democrats laid out an ambitious agenda soon after the start of this session and have already met our goals. The agenda called for improving confidence in government, providing a quality education, creating jobs, improving health, supporting our military, ensuring safer communities and protecting the environment. Bills that have cleared the House have addressed those matters in several ways, and House Speaker Joe Hackney and Majority Leader Hugh Holliman pledged that for the remainder of the session the House will focus on further improvements in those areas. Speaker Hackney said that this session has gone smoothly largely because all members have been civil and cooperative, as he requested at the start of the year. Minority Leader Paul Stam agreed that the chamber has been more efficient and that House leaders have operated under rules that permit more open and thorough debate in committees and on the floor.
Budget
The state Senate's initial budget plan of $20 billion proposes cuts both the income tax on the highest wage-earners and the sales tax by a quarter percent and spends $263 million less than the House proposal. It would provide no money for Medicaid relief to the counties, while the House has suggested giving the counties $100 million in Medicaid. The Senate plan would also spend $82 million less than the House for health and human services and decrease the reserve fund allocation by $133 million. The University of North Carolina system would get $60 million more, but community colleges would get $8 million less than what the House proposed. Teachers, community college faculty and university employees would get 5 percent raises-the same as the House proposed-but state employees would get a 4 percent raise, a quarter-percent less than what was proposed in the House plan. The Senate proposes borrowing $1.2 billion to pay for about 30 construction projects. That's nearly three times more than the House proposed borrowing. Budget negotiators in the House and the Senate are meeting to work out the differences in the plans. The intention is to have the spending plan in place by July 1, the beginning of the next fiscal year.
Public Safety
Willfully killing a police animal or an assistance animal, such as a seeing-eye dog, could soon become a felony in North Carolina. House members unanimously approved a bill (SB34) Wednesday strengthening the penalty. The bill would also make killing a law enforcement animal or an assistance animal an aggravating circumstance for other criminal offenses. The proposal now goes to the governor to be signed into law.
Ronnie Williams Jr.
NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL TEAM- Repeat CIAA Champions for 2005 & 2006 were honored at the general assembly on Tuesday May 1, in the Legislative Building, House of Representatives Chamber. This was in recognition of the unique achievements of the Eagle Football Team repeating as CIAA conference champions, being undefeated during the regular season in 2006 and being voted Black College National Champions for 2006.
Operations
House members voted this week to create a commission that would review older laws to determine if they remain necessary. The group of 18 lawmakers would not conduct financial audits of programs. Sen. Daniel Clodfelter, the sponsor of the bill (SB1132), said the North Carolina is one of only four states without such an internal review. The bill now returns to the Senate so that they can consider changes made in the House.
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.