The end of session should be approaching soon. The evidence? The large volume of bills that were gutted, amended, and flew through the legislature last week. The House and Senate are still divided on how large the Medicaid shortfall really might be – up to a $248 million difference between the two proposed budgets.
This was evidenced when the Senate nearly subpoenaed the State Budget Director, Art Pope to show up at their second budget meeting on Medicaid as he and his staff did not show up to one the previous week. Legislators grilled Mr. Pope on not being able to give definite numbers on the shortfall or how many adults and children are enrolled in Medicaid in the state. This tension continues to hold up the proposed budget for the House and the Senate.
Today, the House read the Suicide Prevention Resolution. The resolution called on NC to develop measures to help prevent suicide particularly for youth and veterans. Those in attendance were recognized by legislators in the House gallery during session. Many spent the day talking to legislators about how important the resolution is for young people and veterans in our state.
Last week, the Governor sent a directive to state departments to operate with the biggest cuts in the proposed budgets, but this does not include teacher assistants and massive cuts to the Aged, Blind, and Disabled on Medicaid. This would also mean no pay raises for state employees and teachers- a major goal outlined by legislators prior to the start of the short session.
Relevant bills with action:
- SB 3 2014 Budget Mods./Pay Raises/Other Changes: Deemed the “mini budget,” this bill is a smaller version of the budget bill Senate Bill 744 and adjustments to the current budget. Raises for state employees and teachers will be paid for with agreed upon cuts. The bill does not do much to Medicaid. The bill passed the House unanimously, 117 to 0, and was sent to the Senate for concurrence. It is unsure if the Senate will agree to this mini budget with all the controversy regarding the Medicaid shortfall calculations.
- SB 493 Health and Safety Regulatory Reform: Last Tuesday, legislators split the large Regulatory Reform Bill (Senate Bill 493) into two separate bills. SB 493 became Health and Safety Regulatory Reform that includes measures for autism insurance for anyone up to age 23 that was diagnosed before age 8, establishes a behavioral analyst licensing board, requires all health benefit plans cover prescribed, orally administered cancer drugs, and prohibits tanning bed use by anyone under age 18. The bill quickly passed committee and went to the floor. On Wednesday night, after much debate, legislators approved the bill with a vote of 78 to 32. Because of changes made to the bill, the bill has to return to the Senate for concurrence. It does not have to go through Senate committees. and if the Senate confers, the bill will go to the Governor to be signed into law.
- SJR 882 Honor Senator Martin Nesbitt: Both the House and Senate honored late Senator Martin Nesbitt who died suddenly on March 6th, a week after being diagnosed with stomach cancer. Senator Nesbitt, from Buncombe County, was a champion for the social work profession. He was a long standing legislator, serving in both the House and Senate during his time. He is greatly missed!
- HB 369 Criminal Law Changes/WC Illegal Aliens: The original bill was gutted and new language was inserted in the bill to address several criminal law changes. This bill does multiple things: it will expunge certain drug offenses with no age limitation and it directs the Human Trafficking Commission to study Erin’s Law (a bill NASW-NC has been working on to get a licensed clinical social worker involved). It will be heard on the Senate floor tonight. If approved, it will only need concurrence from the House before it goes to the Governor to be signed into law.
- HB 1220 Hope 4 Haley and Friends: After passing the House last week, a Senate committee debated the bill and it was sent to the Senate floor. The bill allows for hemp oil extract from the cannabis plant to be used for youth with certain seizure disorders when no other treatment has worked. The bill does allow for UNC Chapel Hill, East Carolina, Wake Forest and Duke Universities to develop, conduct research, and participate in clinical trials with the oil. Neurologists, patients and caregivers who prescribe or are prescribed the oil would have to register under the legislation with a registry established by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Once DHHS approves measures and establishes the registry, families can start using the oil. The bill passed the Senate, the House concurred with a few changes that were made, and the bill was sent to the Governor for signature. The Governor has stated he will sign the bill into law.
Related news:
While not a priority piece of legislation for NASW-NC, we wanted to address the comments made by Representative and Speaker Pro Tem Skip Stam regarding sexual orientation in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV- TR (DSM-IV-TR) when discussed during debate on Senate Bill 793 Charter School Modifications. During debate, Representative Fisher put forth an amendment to prohibit charter schools from discriminating based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
The debate spurred questions on the definition of sexual orientation and Representative Stam shared with House members a memo from the outdated 2000 DSM-IV-TR on sexual paraphilias that listed a number of sexual perversions and disorders as well as homosexuality. The DSM removed homosexuality as a disorder in 1974. The amendment did not pass. On the second day of debate, Representative Ramsey pushed an amendment that would prohibit charter schools from discriminating based on any category under federal law or the Constitution. This amendment was approved and the bill passed.
NASW-NC does not support any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. We are pleased that House members found common ground not to discriminate in charter schools to further protect North Carolinians.
Photo Courtesy of Southern Studies
