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Neighbors on Call’s NC Policy Update for 04/22/24
- Neighbors on Call
- Apr 22, 2024
- 2 min read
Governance
In advance of the start of the legislative session on April 24, multiple committees in the NCGA have held hearings with various state agencies. Personnel shortages were a common theme: the health care system and courts system have both struggled to fill positions, and while enough teachers are being hired, the Department for Public Instruction points out that public teaching jobs in North Carolina have an 11.5% attrition rate. Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the State Board of Elections, mentioned in a hearing that more funding is needed to modernize the State Election Information Management System.
Education Policy
On Wednesday a committee of the UNC System Board of Governors (BOG) voted to approve a policy that would replace the UNC system’s current Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policy. The new policy would remove language about diversity, equity, and inclusion, instead emphasizing “equality” and “commitment to institutional neutrality and nondiscrimination.” UNC-Chapel Hill students who tried to attend the meeting were not allowed in the building, in potential violation of open meetings law. If the policy is approved by the full BOG in its May 23 meeting, many DEI initiatives and job roles across the system may be changed or eliminated by September 1. All current members of the BOG were appointed by Republicans in the state legislature.
Health Care Policy
On Tuesday the NC House Substance Abuse Committee unanimously voted to add the drug tianeptine to the list of controlled substances. The highly addictive drug, known as “gas station heroin,” is currently available in convenience stores and vape shops but would be removed from shelves if the NCGA votes to reclassify it. The FDA recently issued warnings about the drug, leading to voluntary manufacturer recalls, but because it isn’t illegal some stores have chosen to continue selling it.
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