NC Policy Update | neighborsoncall

Neighbors on Call’s NC Policy Update for 8/28/23

Governance

On Thursday Governor Cooper vetoed a bill that would diminish the governor’s appointment powers and replace the entire Board of Transportation. SB 512 would shift appointment powers for eight governing boards, including transferring appointment power from the governor to the state legislature for several governing boards. Among the boards affected are campus-level boards of trustees at UNC-Chapel Hill and NC State. Governor Cooper cited two recent NC Supreme Court decisions that said administrative board appointment power should remain with the executive branch.

Voting Rights

Environmental Policy

The NC Attorney General’s Office has asked the US Supreme Court to hear an appeal of North Carolina’s ag-gag law after it was struck down twice by lower courts as an unconstitutional restriction of free speech. The law penalizes employees who document alleged wrongdoing in their place of work and pass along that documentation to someone other than their employer or law enforcement. Similar laws that have been struck down in other states would also be affected if the Supreme Court takes up this case.

Economic Policy

On Thursday Governor Cooper signed into law a bipartisan bill that would crack down on deceptive real estate deals. HB 422 was written in response to a real estate firm that had homeowners sign contracts that the firm would be their real estate agent if they sold it within 40 years. The law prohibits real estate agreements that extend past one year or extend to future owners of a residential property.
On August 16 the NCGA overrode Governor Cooper’s veto of a bill that freezes some residential building code updates. HB 488 exempts newly -built homes in much of the state from sheathing inspections showing that parts of the frame can withstand category 4 hurricane winds and puts a hold on the addition of energy efficiency upgrades to the building code.
On August 16 the NC House Regulatory Committee held a hearing on a bipartisan bill that would allow cities to punish bad landlords. HB 595 would require landlords to fix problems within 21 days, allow repeat inspections for properties with recent code violations, and require repeat offenders to register with the city and pay a fine up to 30% of their rental income. Industry groups that represent landlords, the NC Realtors Association and the Apartment Association of North Carolina, don’t support the current bill.

LGBTQ Rights

On August 16 the NCGA overrode Governor Cooper’s vetoes of a set of anti-trans bills, passing those bills into law. HB 808 bans gender-affirming medical care for minors, even if it is recommended by a doctor and parents consent to the treatment. HB 574 prohibits transgender girls and women from competing on girls’ or women’s teams in middle school, high school, and college sports. Two Democrats joined Republicans in voting for the bills.

Criminal Justice

This week the NCGA passed a bill that would require more juveniles to be tried as adults and allow the release of photos and information about certain juvenile suspects. HB 186 would allow 13- to 15-year-olds accused of first degree murder and 16- and 17-year-olds accused of violent crimes to be tried as adults, rolling back protections afforded to juvenile suspects in 2017’s “Raise the Age” law.

Governance/Health Care Policy

Republican leaders in the NC General Assembly now say that they expect to continue budget negotiations beyond September 1, later than they previously anticipated, with over 100 items left to address. With Medicaid expansion tied to the passage of the budget, the delay jeopardizes the planned October 1 launch of Medicaid expansion, potentially leaving many North Carolinians without health coverage until December and costing the state up to $60 million in federal funding. The NC Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) announced new plans that would “de-couple” Medicaid expansion from passage of the budget, but this would also be subject to legislative approval.

Voting Rights

On Sunday the NC State Board of Elections voted 4-1 to recognize the No Labels Party as an official party in the state. The board’s approval means voters in North Carolina will be able to register as members of the No Labels Party and that the party will be able to place candidates on statewide ballots. No Labels had petitioned for official party status in the state earlier this year, and over 14,000 registered voters in North Carolina submitted signatures backing the petition (13,865 are required).

Environmental Policy

In a settlement with three animal welfare organizations represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has agreed to protect the endangered red wolf population in Eastern North Carolina. The agreement includes a plan to continue coyote sterilization to preserve the red wolf’s genetic line and continued work to breed red wolves in captivity for release. While a breeding program had successfully brought red wolves back from extinction from the late 1980s through the early 2000s, the population declined again to critical numbers after USFWS began dismantling the program in 2015.

Governance

Budget negotiations continue at the NCGA, as Republican leaders of the two legislative chambers discuss legalizing additional casinos in the state, among other issues. The budget was due on July 1, and delays in negotiations have put on hold the implementation of Medicaid expansion in North Carolina. Republican leaders in the NCGA indicated they had agreed to additional personal income tax cuts conditional on sufficient future state revenues.

Voting Rights

On Wednesday the North Carolina State Board of Elections announced that all 100 county boards of elections in the state can now produce free photo voter ID for registered voters who do not have another acceptable form of ID. To obtain the free ID, voters need to provide their name, birthdate, and the last four digits of their social security number–and then pose for a picture. Photo ID is required for voting in the upcoming election, though voters without an acceptable ID can fill out an ID exception form. Seventeen counties in North Carolina do not have DMV offices, and the DMV offices in many other counties do not have available appointments, making access to a free photo ID through county boards of elections especially important.