Raleigh Report – April 26, 2011

• Campaign and Election Laws
• Care of Creation
• Children and Families
• Criminal Justice
• Education
• Gambling
• Gun Violence
• Health and HealthCare
• Human Rights
• Immigration
• Poverty
• Tax Issues
• Work and Wages
• Miscellaneous

Senate Deadline Passes; Most Bills Now Introduced

H 689, Online Voter Registration
Introducers: Reps. K. Alexander and Faison
Status: House Transportation

H 689 sets up a procedure by which voter registration can be done online through a secure website. In order to register online, someone would have to have a valid NC driver’s license or the state-issued ID for non-drivers. The NC Division of Motor Vehicles would verify that the applicant’s identification provided is current and valid.

H 783, Independent Redistricting Commission
Introducers: Rep. Blust
Status: House Elections

H 783 proposes an amendment to the NC Constitution to create a new Independent Redistricting Commission that, beginning with the 2020 national census, will have the authority to adopt redistricting plans for state Senate, state House of Representatives, and US House of Representatives districts.  The commission will include nine members: two from different political parties to be appointed by the Chief Justice of the NC Supreme Court; three to be appointed by the Governor (no more than two can be from one political party), one from the Speaker of the NC House, one from the minority leader in the NC House, one from the President Pro Tempore of the NC Senate, and one from the minority leader of the NC Senate.  Appointees may not hold office four years before or after serving on the Commission.  Districts must be created to satisfy three goals as much as possible: compactness, to avoid irregularly shaped districts; one person, one vote; and minimizing the number of split counties, municipalities, and communities.  The Commission would be prohibited from considering the political affiliation of voters, past voting data, location of incumbents’ residences, or demographic data from sources other than the census.  Racial and ethnic data may be used only to comply with the US Constitution and federal election laws.

H 824, Nonpartisan Redistricting Process
Introducers: Reps. Glazier, Lewis, Current, and Rapp
Status: House Elections

H 824 would establish a redistricting process which greatly reduces the partisan nature of the current process. The core of the process is that the bill establishes guidelines for redistricting and directs the Legislative Services Office (LSO — an already existing office made up of paid legislative staff) to draw up redistricting plans for state Senate, state House, and US House in keeping with those guidelines. The plans would be presented to the General Assembly, which could only vote them up or down, and each house would have to approve by a majority vote. If the first set of plans is voted down, the LSO would prepare another set. If the second set is voted down, it would prepare a third. If the third were voted down, then – and only then – could the General Assembly amend those plans to put together something that would get majority votes in both houses.

In addition there would be a Temporary Redistricting Advisory Commission, four members of which would be named – one each – by the Speaker of the House, the minority leader of the House, the President Pro Tem of the Senate and the minority leader of the Senate (thus guaranteeing that they would be evenly split between the two political parties). They could not be holding public office or political party office. Those four would elect a fifth member, who would also be the Commission’s chair. The Commission’s primary role would be to give written answers to questions from the LSO if the LSO finds situations in which the guidelines are not determinative.

The guidelines include:

• For the General Assembly seats, no more than a 5% deviation from the “ideal population” (ideal being if each district had exactly the same number of people living in it, as recorded by the Census). For the US House seats, a district’s population would have to be within 0.1% of the ideal.
• The division of counties into different districts is to be minimized.
• Districts must include contiguous territory.
• Districts must be as compact as possible.
• Districts are not to be drawn to favor an incumbent or any particular individual, group, or political party, or to augment or diminish the voting strength of any racial or ethnic group. Nor are they to be divided using political affiliation, previous election results, or demographic information (such as race) unless required to do so by state or federal Constitution or the federal Voting Rights Act.

The new plan would not take effect until the 2020 census unless the current redistricting is not final, either because it has not received federal approval under the Voting Rights Act or because it has been overturned by a court, by October 1, 2011, in which case the new system would kick in. Note that this plan, under which the final vote is taken by the General Assembly itself, does not require a constitutional amendment. Plans which turn the final decision over to an independent commission would require a change to the state Constitution.

H 862, Election Integrity/Voter Access Act
Introducers: Reps. Hall, Owens, Spear & Hill
Status: House Elections

Under current law, if someone registers to vote by mail, that person must show identification the first time s/he goes to the polls to vote. That ID can be a photo ID or a copy of certain named items, including a utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document, as long as this document shows the name and address of the voter. H 862 would require all voters to produce this ID (photo or other named items) each time they vote. If they don’t have any of the required ID, they must complete an affidavit verifying that they are the person registered to vote. Filing a false affidavit would be a felony.

S 591, Horton Independent Redistricting Commission
Introducers: Sens. Kinnaird and Pate
Status: Senate Judiciary I

S 591 is similar to H 783. The Commission would be named for former Sen. Ham Horton, a Republican from Winston-Salem who long championed an independent redistricting process.

S 595, Voter Identification at Polls
Introducer: Sen. Clary
Status: Senate Judiciary I

S 595 requires a photo ID in order to vote. It would require county boards of elections to issue voter ID cards without charge. It would also require the state’s DMV to issue at no charge its special ID cards to voters who have no other acceptable photo ID.

H 722, Omnibus Act Regarding Coal-based Energy
Introducers: Reps. Harrison, Keever, Luebke, and Fisher
Status: House Public Utilities

H 722 prohibits public utilities that generate electricity using coal-fired plants from purchasing or using coal that is extracted by mountaintop removal coal mining.  The bill provides for the possibility of increasing electricity rates if this prohibition proves more costly.  Also, the bill sets out methods for the safe disposal of residue from coal-fired plants.  Finally the bill prohibits the construction of new coal-fired electricity plants unless they are carbon neutral, defined as not discharging any carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

H 722 also contains good information about the disaster of mountaintop removal coal mining, including:

• As of 2009, mountaintop removal coal mining has permanently erased more than 470 peaks from the Appalachian skyline, buried or polluted more than 1,200 miles of pristine headwater streams, and swept away more than 800 square miles of one of America’s most diverse and valuable ecosystems.
• Sixty-one percent of the electricity used to provide power in North Carolina is generated by coal-fired generating units located in North Carolina.
• Fifty percent of the coal used to produce electricity in North Carolina is extracted by mountaintop removal coal mining in the Appalachian coalfields.

H 724, Omnibus Energy Bill
Introducers: Reps. Harrison, Luebke, and Fisher
Status: Committee on Commerce and Job Development

Power companies in NC are required to produce a specified (though small) amount of electricity from renewable sources. H 724 redefines “renewable energy resource” to include “plantation-grown wood,” i.e., from tree farms, but not from natural forests. The bill also removes a requirement that some of this electricity come from poultry waste.

H 787, NC Water Efficiency Act
Introducers: Reps. McGrady, Samuelson, Stam, and Harrison
Status: House Environment

H 787 dictates that local governments must form water efficiency plans and set goals to reduce per capita water use. Specific goals would be per capita residential use of no more than 100 gallons per day by 2016 and no more than 45 gallons per day by 2035. The bill does not address business or industrial water use.

H 789/ S 695, Energy Efficiency Required for REPS
Introducers: Reps. Glazier, Harrison, and Weiss; Sen. Stein
Status: House Public Utilities; Senate Commerce

Current law requires power companies to generate some electricity from renewable sources and permits, but does not require, them to get up to 25% of this renewable energy portfolio from energy efficiency savings through the year 2020 and 40% after 2020. H 789 would mandate these percentages from energy efficiency.

H 840, Healthier and Greener Schools Act
Introducer: Rep. Harrison, Cotham, Carney, Glazier
Status: House Education

H 840 contains several provisions designed to make the public schools into more environmentally healthy places and to have students who are physically healthier and more environmentally aware. Among the provisions:

• Breakfasts and lunches must meet not only federal nutritional standards but also standards for trans fat, saturated fat, and sodium.
• Free breakfasts would be offered to all students. Students qualifying for reduced price lunches would not have to pay at all.
• Standards are set for beverages and snack foods in vending machines, fund raisers, and after-school programs. (Exempted is “food provided at no cost by parents,” so classroom birthday parties can continue to be as unhealthy as ever!)
• Each school system must have a central kitchen for preparation of healthy meals for schools and to provide job training for students.
• Food services providers must give the nutritional content of their meals, along with the location where fruits and vegetables are grown.
• Schools are to serve locally grown, locally processed foods and unprocessed foods from growers engaged in sustainable agriculture whenever possible.
• Schools are to ramp up physical education so that, by 2015, students in K-5 will have 30 minutes per day and grades 6-8 will have 45 min/day.
• The state Department of Public Instruction will create an environmental programs office charged with developing recycling plans, establishing integrated pest management programs, testing drinking water for lead, and promoting indoor air quality.
• County and city school offices will move towards using environmentally friendly cleaning supplies and “sustainable products” in serving meals.
• Schools will be encouraged to have school gardens.
• A Healthy Schools fund would be established, funded by state appropriations, to assist in many of these programs. For example, the Fund would pay local schools for some of the added costs of serving healthier or locally produced food.

S 587, Study ElectriCities Relief
Introducer: Sen. Newton
Status: Senate Commerce

Thirty-two municipalities in eastern NC bought into nuclear power plants near Raleigh and Southport. They still have $2.2 billion in debt, and this debt forces them to charge high rates to their customers. S 587 would create a study committee to look for ways to alleviate this debt.

H 657, Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights
Introducers: Reps. McGrady, Holloway, Fisher, and Hurley
Status: House Rules

H 657 expresses support for healthy and active children in NC and encourages children to participate in outdoor activities.  Unfortunately, it provides no funding to back this wonderful concept.

H 699, Study Children of Incarcerated Parents
Introducer: Rep. Bordsen
Status: House Rules

H 699 directs the NC Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission to study issues surrounding children of incarcerated parents.  Specifically, the Commission must examine the effects on care, education, health, and life outcomes of children.  Also, the Commission must study the current efforts to assist these children and parents and see if the State needs to do more.

H 659, Capital Procedure / Severe Mental Disability
Introducers: Reps. Stevens, Glazier, McGrady, and Harrison
Status: House Judiciary Subcommittee B

H 659 prohibits defendants determined to have a severe mental disability at the time they committed a crime from being sentenced to death.  Defendants can attempt to prove their severe mental disability either before trial or during the sentencing phase.  However, mental disability which manifested itself primarily by repeated criminal conduct or was caused by alcohol or other drugs is not enough by itself to prevent the death penalty.  Also, H 659 prohibits a defendant from using the insanity defense if prior or current alcohol or drug use is the only basis for the defense.

H 675, Amend Expunction Law
Introducers: Reps. Haire and Harrison
Status: House Judiciary Subcommittee B

For certain nonviolent criminal offenses, H 675 allows persons who were convicted of certain nonviolent criminal offenses to have a conviction expunged from their record if they have never been convicted of any other felony or misdemeanor, have no such charges pending, have no outstanding restitution or civil judgments against them, have not previously expunged something from their record, and have had their citizenship rights restored for at least seven years.  The expunged offense would be considered for sentencing purposes if the person is convicted of a crime in the future.

S 596, Statewide Public Defender Offices
Introducers: Sens. Clary and Brock
Status: Senate Judiciary I

S 596 would call for the establishment of public defender offices throughout the state, but using “available funds”.

H 823, Governance of the Dept of Public Instruction
Introducer: Rep. Holloway
Status: House Education

Governance of the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) has been complicated. Currently, the State Board of Education (SBE) is the head of DPI. The SBE has 11 members appointed by the Governor, plus the Lieutenant Governor and the Treasurer. The Superintendent of Public Instruction, who is elected by voters in a general election, is the secretary and chief administrative officer of the SBE. H 823 proposes constitutional amendments under which the Superintendent would become the head of DPI, with the SBE becoming an advisory body. Its members would be three appointees of the Governor, four appointees of the Speaker of the House, and four of the President Pro Tem of the Senate, plus the Lieutenant Governor, Treasurer, and Superintendent.

H 817, Lottery Admin Expenses / Unclaimed Prizes
Introducers: Reps. McElraft, Justice, Hurley, and Jones
Status: House Rules

H 817 dictates that unclaimed lottery prize money will be held separate from other lottery revenues and then distributed quarterly to local school administrative units on an average daily membership basis for school supplies and textbooks, with charter schools sharing the funds. Currently, unclaimed prizes are divided 50-50, half to increase lottery prizes and half to the Lottery Education Fund. H 817 also states that operating and administrative expenses for the Lottery Commission shall not exceed 4% of total revenue.

S 523, North Carolina Casino Gaming Act
Introducer: Sen. Jenkins
Status: Senate Rules

S 523 would establish, under the State Lottery Commission, casino gambling in low-wealth counties which 1) are located on the border with another state and 2) have an interstate highway. Gambling would be limited (at least at the outset) to “slot machines,” but that term is defined more broadly than the one-armed bandits of Las Vegas fame. They would include any gambling machine enabling someone to play a game of chance and/or skill, using spinning reels or video displays.

Casino operators would have to pay a one-time licensing fee of $50 million. For this, they would be entitled to have 1,500 to 3,000 slot machines in one facility. In addition, suppliers and manufacturers would pay $25,000 initial fees, with $10,000 annual renewal fees. Operators would pay into the Lottery Fund a tax of 34% on their revenues minus pay-outs for winnings. They would also pay 5% into an Economic Development and Tourism Fund.

Of course, all the state’s laws against gambling, already amended to add an exception for the state lottery, would now also be amended to exempt casino gambling. And, in something you rarely see in legislation, the bill includes a definition of “cheat”!

S 594, Firearms/State of Emergency
Introducers: Sens. D. Berger & Brock
Status: Senate Rules

S 594 would prohibit any restrictions on the possession, transportation, or use of guns during a state of emergency declared by state or local officials.

H 670, Sodium Resolution
Introducers: Reps. Carney, Owens, Rapp, and Justice
Status: House Rules

H 670 is a resolution supporting efforts aimed at reducing heart disease and stroke in NC and encouraging citizens to reduce the sodium in their diets. No funding is provided for the implementation of this resolution.

H 681, Study of American Indian Mascots at Schools
Introducers: Reps. Graham, Pierce, and Brandon
Status: House Rules

H 681 creates a twelve-member commission to study the impact of American Indian mascots and logos at public schools and review the current policies and procedures on their use.  In addition to six legislators, members of the commission will include the chair of the State Board of Education or a designee, two members of the NC Commission of Indian Affairs, two tribal members appointed by the NC Commission of Indian Affairs, and the CEO of the NC Indian Economic Development Initiative, Inc.

S 547, NC Human Trafficking Commission
Introducer: Sen. Kinnaird
Status: Senate Rules

S 547 creates the eighteen-member NC Human Trafficking Commission within the Department of Administration.  The Commission is tasked with researching trafficking in NC and using that research to inform law enforcement, social services, and the general public.  Also, the Commission will suggest new policies, procedures, or legislation.  The Commission will assist in regional responses and identify gaps in law enforcement or social services and help identify responses to those gaps.

H 744, Safe Students Act
Introducers: Reps. Folwell, Brown, Hastings, Torbett
Status: House Education

H 744 dictates that the parent of any student enrolling in a public school for the first time (at that school) must provide a copy of the child’s birth certificate, or if that is not possible, then a medical or religious record of the date of birth.  H 744 also requires parents to state the citizenship or immigration status of the child.  The bill states that this is simply for “fiscal analysis” and shall not be used to prohibit enrollment, a pointless statement since states are required to admit students to the public schools regardless of immigration status. The bill also fails to point out how this would make students safer.

H 734, Require Photo ID / Food Stamps Program
Introducers: Reps. Warren, Brown, Lewis, and Moore
Status: House Judiciary Subcommittee C

H 734 requires the state to add a photo ID to electronic benefits transaction (EBT) cards used by SNAP (formerly food stamps) recipients. The bill provides for one additional individual to use the card on behalf of a primary recipient.

H 784, Three-Fifths Vote to Levy Taxes
Introducer: Rep. Blust
Status: House Judiciary

H 784 proposes an amendment to the NC Constitution that would require all votes concerned with raising taxes to pass by a three-fifths vote in the NC House and Senate.  It would not apply to laws that repeal taxes or to laws that permit local tax authorities to levy specific taxes.

H 663/S 557, Harvest of Dignity / Labor Reforms
Introducers: Rep. M. Alexander; Sen. McKissick
Status: House Commerce and Job Development; Senate Agriculture

H 663/S 557 address several facets of regulating agricultural labor.  First, the bills direct the Department of Labor to include federal data in identifying employers requiring higher levels of oversight.  They also dictate that migrant workers will not be charged more than a reasonable cost for housing (burden of proof on the employer), and that migrants will not be charged for heating their places of residence.  H 663/S 557 also add migrant housing standards for kitchen and food preparation facilities, telephones (at least one phone and one line per ten residents), toilets/urinals (one per 10/15 residents, with privacy dividers), washing machines and dryers (one per 10 residents), locks on doors and windows, sleeping quarters (separate from cooking facilities), showers (one per five resident), and the right to receive visitors.  The bills dictate that the Department of Labor must maintain records of how many migrant housing units each employer has, as well as how many complaints are received about that employer.  The Department of Labor must make every effort to use bilingual employees where feasible, and they must implement procedures to identify and prosecute the most serious violators of the Migrant Housing Act.  Migrant workers are protected from retaliation by employers if they seek out the rights and protections they are due.  H 663/S 557 add provisions to protect workers from overexposure to pesticides and from heat illness and guarantee workers access to toilets and the right to take toilet breaks.

H 702, Education Assistance for Minimum Wage Workers
Introducers: Reps. Wilkins, Horn, Pierce, and Johnson
Status: House Education

H 702 creates a scholarship for persons who have worked in a minimum wage job for at least eighteen consecutive months out of the past two years.  These persons must be legal residents of NC for tuition purposes, and they must be admitted to either a community college or undergraduate program.  The student must maintain certain academic standards, and the scholarship allows for maximum payments between $11,000 and $12,500, depending upon eligibility and amount of Pell Grant funds.

H 838, Protect Youth/Farm Family Employment
Introducers: Reps. Jordan, Parfitt, Howard & M. Alexander
Status: House Agriculture

Current law exempts those working in agriculture from laws regarding minimum wage, overtime, youth employment, and recordkeeping. H 838 would amend that exemption so that it applies only to members of the family which owns or operates the farm. It would also amend the youth labor laws to allow 14- and 15-year-olds to be employed in agriculture under the same work regulations (regarding number of hours, time of day, impact on school, etc.) as youth working in other settings.

S 558, Healthy Families & Workplaces/Paid Sick Days
Introducer: Sen. McKissick
Status: Senate Rules

Identical to H 223. See RR, March 7.

H 732, Tort Reform Act of 2011
Introducers: Reps. Blust and Daughtry
Status: House Judiciary

H 732 would establish contributory fault in North Carolina. Under current tort law, if an injured person sues someone and seeks damages claiming that the defendant’s negligence caused the injury, the defendant, even if negligent, can avoid all financial liability by showing that the injured person’s negligence contributed to the injury. This is true even if the defendant’s conduct was much more serious than that of the injured person. Under H 732, the judge or jury would allocate fault between the two parties (or among various parties, if there are more than two). Then the total damages would be determined, and the defendant(s) would have to pay a percentage of those damages equal to the part of the fault that it theirs.

H 752, Revolving Door
Introducers: Reps. Weiss, Justice, Martin, and Jackson
Status: House Rules

Current law prohibits legislators, heads of state government departments, and other employees of the state from becoming lobbyists until they have been out of that position for at least six months. H 752 would extend the period to one year. It would also prohibit specified leaders of the Executive Branch (elected or appointed) from being employed during the first year of leaving office by anyone doing business with the state that involves matters those leaders were directly involved in during the last 36 months of their term of office.

H 768, APA Rules: Federal Rule Restriction Ceiling
Introducers: Reps. West and McElraft
Status: House Environment

H 768 returns to a continuing idea of this current General Assembly by prohibiting any state agency from adopting a rule that imposes a more restrictive standard or limitation than that provided by federal law or rule.  The only way that more stringent standards can be adopted is if at least one of the following circumstances is present: serious, unforeseen threat to public health, safety, or welfare; state or federal act expressly requiring adoption of rules; change in budgeting policy; federal regulation; or a court order.

H 777, Defense of Marriage
Introducers: Reps. Lewis, Brown, Crawford, and Hill
Status: House Rules

H 777 proposes a constitutional amendment to be placed on the ballot in 2012 with the text, “Marriage is a union of one man and one woman at one time.  No other relationship shall be recognized as a valid marriage by the State.” The bill is similar to S 106, though the latter has the seemingly more restrictive wording that “marriage between a man and a woman is the only domestic legal union” in the state (emphasis added).

H 810, Consumer Finance Act Amendments
Introducers: Reps. Steen, Brubaker, Owens, and K. Alexander
Status: House Banking was scheduled to discuss H 810 this Thursday, April 2, but has just cancelled that meeting

H 810 would increase the amount of payments which will be charged by consumer finance companies, which typically make loans to people who don’t qualify for other lending. In addition to interest, H 810 would add an “installment account handling charge” of $3 per month for each $100 of the loan (or 36% per year), a “processing fee” of 10%, and increases in other already existing fees.  Our colleagues at the Center for Responsible Lending estimate that H 810 would legalize loans with total annual interest rates up to 100% and would take an additional $90 million from NC families in order to give it to large finance companies (including everybody’s favorite corporate citizen, AIG). Opposition to H 810 is coming from the NC NAACP, the Justice Center, AARP, Credit Counseling Agencies of NC, and military groups, including the national Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society.