There was a lot of important legislation that passed through the House this week that is likely to impact your lives. We spent several hours discussing a bill that would give parents more say in what their children learn about sex in schools and we passed our version of a bill that would shore up the State Health Plan. We also worked to make our streets and highways safer by endorsing a proposal that would outlaw texting while driving.
We also remain hard at work on our budget proposal and continue looking for ways to preserve the programs that are most vital to our state.
The following information highlights a few bills of interest that the House has taken up this week.
As always, I welcome any thoughts or ideas you may have to share with me, and I hope you will let me know if I can be of any service.
Health
_Legislation that would appropriate money for the State Health Plan for Teachers and State Employees and make other changes related to the plan passed the House on Tuesday (SB 287). The House version of the plan would require a Blue Ribbon Task Force to study the plan and to undergo an independent financial audit. The intention of the General Assembly is that savings and overpayments identified by the audit be used to help support the plan and keep premiums low. The bill now goes to a conference committee that will negotiate a final proposal.
_ Parents would have more say about what their children are taught in sex education classes under a bill approved in the House this week. The Healthy Youth Act (HB 88) allows parents to choose an abstinence-only program, a comprehensive sex education curriculum or to opt out of sexual education entirely. The bill was approved after a lengthy floor debate with supporters saying the bill will give parents more choices. Opponents argued that the existing curriculum provides students with all the information they need. The bill will now go to the Senate.
Safety/Consumer Protection
_Legislation that would make text messaging while driving illegal is headed to the Senate. Before passing the House, the bill (HB 9) was amended to direct the Joint Legislative Transportation Oversight Committee to identify and study the leading causes of driver inattention or distraction, the risks posed by driver inattention or distraction, and any methods that might be used to manage those distractions and promote highway safety. Law officers, firefighters and ambulance drivers would be exempted if they are texting as part of their official duties. A violation of this law would be punishable by a fine of $100 plus court costs. The bill now goes to the Senate.
_Telephone companies could use email or direct mail to notify subscribers who want to stop unwanted solicitations by using the “Do Not Call” registry. The bill (HB 686) allows the Attorney General, in consultation with the Public Staff of the Public Utilities Commission, to create a message that local companies would send to consumers. The bill has now gone to the Senate.
Education
_ Schools would be required to provide specific information to parents when recommending that students receive a long-term suspension or expulsion under the bill that passed the House this week (HB 218). If enacted, local school boards would have to give written notice to the student's parent, guardian, caregiver, or other person legally responsible for the child. The notice would have to describe the incident leading to the recommendation and the specific provisions of the student conduct policy or rule alleged to have been violated. The bill now goes to the Senate.
Transportation
_The House Finance Committee has approved a bill that would establish a Congestion Relief and Intermodal Transportation 21st Century Fund (HB 148). The proposal would allow residents of Forsyth, Guilford, Wake, Durham and Orange counties to vote on levying up to a half-cent sales tax exclusively for mass transit. The bill is based on legislation Mecklenburg County used to finance its downtown light rail system and to supplement the operation of its buses. It now goes to the full House for a vote.
Miscellaneous
_The General Assembly’s Program Evaluation Division may be asked to study programs that directly or indirectly benefit children and youth in this state. A bill that passed the House on Wednesday (HB 659) would require the division to identify such programs and their sources of funding and to determine whether the programs have clear goals, indicators, or benchmarks by which to measure the programs' success. The bill now goes to the Senate.
Notes
_Members of the House officially honored late North Carolina State women’s basketball coach Kay Yow during session Monday night (HJR 303). During her 34 years at NCSU, Kay Yow developed an outstanding basketball program that brought great distinction to the university, the state and women's athletics. Yow had the distinction of becoming the first women's basketball coach in the ACC to reach 650 career wins and one of six coaches in women's collegiate basketball with more than 700 wins. She was selected National Coach of the Year eight times and received numerous honors and awards for her outstanding contributions to athletics. She died on January 24 after fighting breast cancer for many years.
Please remember that you can listen to each day’s session, committee meetings and press conferences on the General Assembly’s website at www.ncleg.net. Once on the site, select "audio," and then make your selection – House Chamber, Senate Chamber, Appropriations Committee Room or Press Conference Room.
Prepared with the assistance of the Speaker's Office of Communications
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Regular Reports On What Is Happening In the NC General Assembly of Interest to citizens in District 51 by Representative Jimmy Love
