Neighbors on Call’s NC Policy Update for 10/09/23

Governance

• On Monday Governor Cooper vetoed two environmental bills. HB 600, the annual regulatory reform bill, would allow farmers to compost dead chickens, stop efforts to support minority-owned businesses, and allow a new gas pipeline to move forward without scrutiny. SB 678 would change language in state laws from “renewable energy” to “clean energy,” incentivizing nuclear power over renewables. Republicans in the NCGA are expected to override Cooper’s vetoes of the bills this week, along with his recent vetoes of other bills.

Fair Representation

• On Thursday Republican leaders in the NCGA announced that they plan to approve new election district maps by the end of October. Republican lawmakers are drawing maps behind closed doors, and there are no options for public input after maps are drawn. Challenges to new districts are expected to be filed in federal court, given that the NC Supreme Court has made clear they will not strike down gerrymandered maps.

Voting Rights

• On Monday the North Carolina Alliance for Retired Americans filed suit in federal court challenging North Carolina’s 30-day residency requirement for voter eligibility. The group says that the requirement violates the U.S. Constitution and the Voting Rights Act, which allow for voter registration deadlines but do not allow for residency requirements beyond those deadlines. As of Tuesday morning, the State Board of Elections and Executive Director Karen Brinson Bell, named in the suit as defendants, had not been notified or served.

Education Policy

• On Wednesday the State Board of Education affirmed that it has no enforcement rights in parental hearings it is required to hold under the state’s new “Parents’ Bill of Rights.” The law, which requires teachers to report children’s name or gender changes to their parents, limits teaching about gender identity and sexuality, and allows parents to review curricula, allows parents to bring issues to the state board if their concerns are not addressed within 30 days by the local school district. The State Board of Education is expected to approve processes for these hearings next month.

Economic Policy

• The new state budget became law without Governor Cooper’s signature this week. In addition to many other provisions, the budget includes $3 billion in economic development, including $2 billion for water and sewer upgrades, $500 million for the private-public partnership NCInnovation, $350 million for an airfield and industrial site in Kinston, and $130 million for megasites to attract new factories.

Criminal Justice

• On Monday Governor Cooper signed HB 142 into law, increasing penalties for teachers who commit sex offenses against students and for school administrators who don’t report offenses. The law raises the felony level for both engaging in sexual activity with students and taking indecent liberties with students, and makes failure to report such an offense a Class I felony. Offending educators also risk losing their retirement benefits.

Neighbors on Call’s NC Policy Update for 10/02/23

Governance

• On Monday State Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey, a Republican, criticized fellow Republicans in the NCGA for including a provision in the budget that creates a separate fire marshal role, removing fire safety responsibilities from the role of insurance commissioner. The provision, which surprised Causey and was added without debate, specifies that the insurance commissioner would pick the new fire marshal, with the NCGA empowered to block an appointment. Per WRAL, this change is in keeping with a broader trend at the Republican-controlled NCGA of stripping power from the executive branch and giving it to the legislature instead.

Fair Representation

• The redistricting process is underway at the North Carolina General Assembly. The NCGA held three public hearings, with the last taking place on Wednesday in Raleigh. No draft maps were available for the public to comment on in these hearings, but many voters spoke up about their fears for democracy and opposition to gerrymandering and asked for maps that would keep communities together and give everyone an equal vote. Because of a provision in the new budget that exempts lawmakers from most public records requests, it is unclear how much access the public will have to draft maps or materials the NCGA uses to draw districts. On Monday a group of advocacy groups sent a letter to lawmakers pushing for a more transparent process and fair maps.

• Need a quick refresher about why maps are being redrawn and what can we expect next? Read Redistricting redux: North Carolina lawmakers to draw again new maps for Congress and themselves.

Voting Rights

• On Thursday Governor Cooper vetoed a Republican-backed elections bill that would change how state and local boards of elections are appointed in North Carolina. SB 479 would remove the governor’s appointment power to the state board and expand the board so that four members each are appointed by Republican and Democratic legislative leaders. Critics say this new structure will lead to gridlock and ultimately to greater Republican control over elections processes, as ties will be broken by leaders of the Republican-controlled legislature.

Education Policy

• The new budget includes $2 million in funding for each of the next two years for the Board of Trustees-mandated new School of Civic Life and Leadership at UNC-Chapel Hill, as well as directives about how the school should be developed. Faculty at UNC-Chapel Hill were alarmed early this year when the Board of Trustees announced plans to form this new school, given that it is unprecedented for a new school to be proposed by the NCGA and its political appointees rather than by the faculty or administration. In the ensuing months, faculty had made an effort to begin planning for the new school, but the budget sets a new timeline and hiring guidelines for the school that faculty leadership say is unreasonable. The budget states that a dean for the new school must be named by the end of this year, and that 10-20 outside faculty must be hired in tenured or tenure-track positions.

• Governor Cooper said Thursday that he plans to sue the state legislature over a budget provision that removes his appointment power to state and local boards that oversee the state’s community colleges. Cooper said the provision violates the state constitution, representing a power grab by the legislature.

Environmental Policy

• State budget provision stymies local plastic reduction efforts in North Carolina - Will Atwater, NC Health News

Health Care Policy

• Medicaid expansion for North Carolina will go into effect on Dec. 1 – Jaymie Baxley, NC Health News

Abortion Rights

• A federal judge has issued an injunction against two provisions of North Carolina’s 12-week abortion ban. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic and Dr. Beverly Gray (an OB-GYN at Duke) challenged two parts of the law: a provision banning the prescription of abortion pills before an embryo is visible via ultrasound and a provision that requires abortions after 12 weeks (which under the law would only be exceptions in the case of rape or incest) to be performed in a hospital. US District Court Judge Catherine Eagles declined to issue an injunction against most of the law in June, but on Saturday she issued a decision blocking the two provisions from going into effect the next day.

Neighbors on Call’s NC Policy Update for 9/25/23

Governance

• On Friday the Republican majority in the NCGA gave final approval to the state budget, which includes several provisions that Democrats find highly problematic. Governor Cooper said he would allow the budget to become law without his signature. The passage of the budget means Medicaid expansion in North Carolina will now be able to go into effect. See each section below for other notable budget provisions.

• Multiple governance provisions were included in the budget. A state oversight committee, called GovOps, was given sweeping powers to investigate state and local governments and private companies and charities, allowing them to charge “uncooperative” people with crimes. Critics decried the provision, noting that the broad powers assigned the committee would be ripe for abuse. The budget also includes provisions to allow lawmakers to refuse public records requests at will, changes appointment powers for the Judicial Standards Division, and allocates more power to the Chief Justice of the NC Supreme Court. Finally, the budget includes raises for state employees and raises for the governor and the Council of State.

• On Thursday Representative Terrence Everitt (D-Wake) received notice from NC House Speaker Tim Moore that his legislative office had been moved to a basement supply closet. While he was waiting to vote on the new budget, someone boxed up his things in his old office. Everitt said the sudden forced move was likely a retaliation from Moore for Everitt’s request to the Wake County District Attorney to investigate Moore over a salary increase given to a state employee with whom he was having an affair.

Fair Representation

• The state budget repeals the law requiring draft maps and other redistricting records to be made public after districts are approved. Along with a broader provision exempting lawmakers from public records requests, this change means all redistricting records can be hidden, something Democrats say there is no reason to do.

• Redistricting is about to start again in NC. Here's how the public can comment – Will Doran, WRAL

Voting Rights

• On Tuesday the NC House voted along party lines to approve a Republican bill to transfer election board appointment power from the governor to the state legislature. SB 749 would allow the legislature to select all members of state and local elections boards, with selection split evenly between Democrats and Republicans. In the case of an evenly split decision by the state board on picking a chairman or executive director, legislative leaders would have the power to break the tie. Governor Cooper is expected to veto the bill, but with the Republican supermajority, it is likely his veto will be overturned and the issue will end up in the courts. In 2017 a similar proposal was struck down as unconstitutional in a court case.

• The NC House passed another elections bill Tuesday that would make people’s ballots a public record. HB 770 would allow outside groups to request access to all of the state’s ballots to conduct their own audits. The bill was originally introduced by far-right representatives in response to false claims of election fraud in the 2020 presidential election, but the final version passed with bipartisan support after significant revisions.

Education Policy

• The new state budget includes many education provisions. These include an increase of $100 million each year for private school vouchers, an average raise of 7% over two years for teachers, a transfer of power over the community college system to the state legislature, an increase in free lunch eligibility for students, increased pay for school bus drivers, an extension of the deadline for schools to implement the so-called “Parents’ Bill of Rights,” and a ban on school or college COVID-19 vaccination requirements.

Economic Policy

• The budget speeds up planned personal income tax cuts, bringing rates down year by year to 3.99% in 2026. Notably, the final budget did not include multiple gambling provisions that had stalled negotiations in recent weeks, including the licensing of four new casinos and legalizing of video gambling.

Environmental Policy

• The budget includes several environmental provisions. These include limitations on emissions regulations, including preventing the state from requiring cap-and-trade offsets for utilities, an exemption for all counties except Mecklenburg for emissions tests in annual auto inspections, and a ban on emissions requirements for new vehicles. In addition, the budget bans municipalities from restricting plastic bag use, provides funding for PFAS cleanup, and increases licensing fees for electric vehicles to offset gas tax losses.

• On Friday the NCGA passed its near-annual regulatory reform bill, HB 600. Critics of the bill said it would harm water quality by allowing water quality permits to be issued without considering federal water quality regulations. In addition, the bill approves a pipeline to transport natural gas into Alamance County and allows poultry farmers to compost dead animals without Department of Environmental Quality oversight.

Health Care Policy

• In addition to Medicaid expansion, the new budget includes $320 million for a new children’s hospital and $210 million for rural health clinics. The budget also includes expanded eligibility for prison medical release, funding for digitization of birth records, and changes in classifications for UNC and ECU health care workers.

Criminal Justice

• Legal Aid lawyers carved out of tuition assistance program in latest budget – Kelan Lyons, NC Newsline

• NC lawmakers vote to require age verification on pornographic websites – Travis Fain, WRAL