Legislative update 10-5-07 from Susan Fisher
I returned to Raleigh last month along with many of my colleagues for a special session to reconsider an economic incentives bill that Governor Easley vetoed in August. We reached a compromise that encourages large businesses that pay well to stay in North Carolina
The compromise bill (House Bill 4 for the extra session) requires the companies to be in one of the state’s poorest counties, to invest $200 million at the site within a six-year period, to employ at least 2,000 full-time employees, to pay for all full-time employees’ health insurance and provide wages 40 percent higher than the county average. The incentives would help us keep jobs in these regions, and develop and stimulate the economy.
In a fast growing state, we must make decisions that improve the economic security of our citizens and promote continued prosperity for our children. Since we know that increased educational attainment leads to higher salaries and a thriving economy, this session we focused on preparing our young people for the workforce. To do this, we strengthened our higher education system by including more money for scholarships, adding programs to encourage high school students to attend college and building facilities that will make sure our institutions of higher learning continue to be among the best in the world.
Financial Aid
This session my colleagues and I helped create the Education Access Rewards North Carolina, or EARN, Scholars program by setting aside $127 million for it over the next two years. This program will give more North Carolinians access to higher education by providing $4,000 grants each year to the 25,000 community college and University of North Carolina system students with the greatest financial need. All North Carolinians with family incomes of less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level are eligible for the program. We are extremely proud of this program because it makes the dream of attending school, from pre-kindergarten all the way through college, a reality for all of our citizens. Students can now focus on their studies without worrying about finding money to pay for college and will be able to graduate with a bachelor’s degree without any debt.
We increased access to our world-class universities by increasing financial aid in the UNC system by nearly $28 million and setting aside another $8.6 million for state scholarships and grants. We also enhanced our “529” college savings fund by allowing more people to contribute more money each year to the tax-free accounts.
Learn & Earn
We set aside $24 million to expand the Learn & Earn program and increased funding for the online component of the program by $11.5 million. Learn & Earn allows high school students to earn college credits while they are still in high school. High school students can even earn an associate’s degree online, from their high school, or at a local community college. The program is free and allows students to prepare for college or work with no more than an extra year of high school – at no additional cost.
Salaries
We gave university and community college faculty and professional staff a 5 percent pay raise so that we can attract the best educators for our students.
Protect Children from Sex Offenders
We have improved sex offender registration requirements and prohibited sex offenders from living close to schools and education centers. This session we continued to protect our children from sex offenders by passing a law to further protect against child pornographers. The bill (HB 27) requires computer technicians who find images of minors engaging in sexual activity to report the name of the person who owns the computer to the proper authorities. The bill also requires photo developers to report child pornography to the proper authorities.
Our budget includes almost $330,000 for two agents who will work full-time investigating child exploitation and sexual predator cases. An additional $247,500 will help us operate a sex offender registry.
The General Assembly ratified and Gov. Easley signed a law that will provide better monitoring of violent sex offenders. The bill (HB 29) requires recidivist and violent sex offenders to enroll in a GPS monitoring system for life. If a sex offender does not fall into one of these categories, the Department of Correction will conduct a risk assessment to determine if he or she should enroll in the monitoring program.
Gang and Gang Violence Prevention
Gang violence is a serious issue in our country. Keeping kids in school is crucial to reducing the number of young people involved in gangs. Along with initiatives focusing on dropout prevention, we will reduce gangs and gang violence by increasing the criminal penalties for gang activity and promoting prevention, intervention, and rehabilitation programs in our schools and communities. We approved $4.8 million in grants that will be awarded to government agencies and community groups working on gang violence prevention, intervention, and suppression.
Domestic Violence
This session we expanded and strengthened domestic violence laws in our state. We implemented the recommendations of the newly created Joint Legislative Committee on Domestic Violence and provided safer environments for victims at court hearings. One bill (HB 46) provides secure areas in courthouses for victims waiting for their trials to be heard. Another bill (HB 47) makes it a felony to violate a protective order related to a domestic violence case while in possession of a deadly weapon. Our budget includes $147,000 to enforce the second law.
We tightened up domestic violence laws by ratifying a bill (HB 42) that adds stalking to the list of reasons a magistrate can hold a suspected abuser in jail. In addition, we increased funding for rape and crisis assault services by appropriating $894,000 to improve community-based programs for domestic violence victims.
A new law will help keep victims of domestic violence safe. The General Assembly ratified a bill (SB 30) that will make it easier for a victim of domestic violence, sexual offense, or stalking to change their name. The new law exempts these victims from the 10-day waiting period to legally change a name and states that these cases are not a matter of public record.
Safer Roads
We will protect people on roads by strengthening speeding laws. The General Assembly ratified and Gov. Easley signed a bill (SB 925) that will stop drivers speeding at more than 25 mph over the posted speed limit from claiming that their speedometer was broken. These speeders will also be ineligible for a disposition of prayer for judgment continued. A prayer for judgment continued means that the person is guilty of the offense, but no sentence is imposed.
The General Assembly ratified and Gov. Easley signed a law that will help decrease underage drinking and drunken driving. The bill (SB 999) gives the court the authority to secure custody of a juvenile if he or she is charged with underage drinking or driving while impaired and is considered to be a danger to others.
Convicted drunken drivers will be allowed to wear alcohol-monitoring ankle bracelets instead of serving jail time under a bill (SB 1290) we ratified this session. The bill has been signed into law. The bracelets would cost $12 a day, some of which would be paid by the convicted drivers. Some questioned whether it was fair to adopt use of the devices, since some people could not afford their use. However, supporters argued that counties may be willing to bear the cost since the bracelets would keep drunken drivers off the road and be less expensive than jail.
Mortgage Fraud
This session we ratified and Gov. Easley signed a bill that defines and punishes residential mortgage fraud in North Carolina The bill (HB 817) makes it a felony to knowingly misrepresent or exclude information in the mortgage lending process even if the victim is not harmed financially. Offenders can be sentenced to up to 16 months if they have no prior record and up to 31 months if they are linked to at least five cases of fraud with no prior record. Mortgage fraud was illegal under previous laws, but it was covered by general fraud law. That law required stolen property to be valued at a minimum of $100,000 before the offender would face substantial punishment. The changes make it easier to protect people who were cheated out of lesser amounts.
Safer Health Care Facilities
This session we passed a law that will increase penalties for harming patients in health care facilities. The bill (HB 554) makes it a felony to cause bodily injury to a patient or resident of a health care or residential care facility.
Fire-Safe Cigarettes
Cigarettes that burn out safely when left unattended are now required in North Carolina under a new law (HB 1785). Similar legislation has been approved in more than a dozen states and Canada. The Coalition for Fire-Safe Cigarettes says cigarettes are the leading reason for fire deaths in the United States, causing up to 900 deaths a year. The state Division of Public Health blames cigarettes and similar smoking material for 700,500 residential fires in the state in 2005. Those fires resulted in 100 deaths and 800 injuries.
Protect Animals
People who purposely kill a police animal or an assistance animal, such as a seeing-eye dog, will be committing a felony under a bill (SB 34) we ratified and Gov. Mike Easley signed this session. The bill makes it a felony to kill such animals and makes the death an aggravating factor when determining punishment for another crime.
On a Personal Note
Meredith Woodleif has retired and there is a new face in my Raleigh office. Lynn Tennant has come on board as legislative assistant. So you will see her name on these reports as she sends them out to you and you will hear her voice if you call the office. I invite you to call, write, or visit and welcome Lynn to the office. We are here for you.
Please remember that you can listen to each day’s session, committee meetings and press conferences on the General Assembly’s website at www.ncleg.net Once on the site, select “audio,” and then make your selection – House Chamber, Senate Chamber, Appropriations Committee Room or Press Conference Room. You can also use our site to look up bills, view lawmaker biographies and access other information.
