Up for debate

So far in a wide-ranging session, North Carolina legislators have forwarded some good bills and bad for final action

The bills were flying left and right over on Jones Street last week as the General Assembly wrapped up the first portion -- optimistically, past the half-way mark -- of its every-other-year "long" session.

In coming weeks legislators will concentrate on the budget and on bills that have already passed either the House or the Senate. A few measures have already been approved by both chambers. As a helpful roundup in Friday's N&O noted, these include "repealing a controversial measure for chiropractors that former House Speaker Jim Black helped get into law and adopting the Ayden Collard Festival as the official state collard festival."

There's not much more to say about any of Jim Black's special-interest specials, and this editorial page is pleased to defer to the solons' wisdom when it comes to competing collard fests. But lots of legislation awaits final action or inaction -- and some of the particulars deserve brief comment:

HOUSE BILL 573 -- This bill, approved by the House, gives District and Superior Court judges the right to carry a concealed handgun in court. Judges' safety is vital but there are better ways than another step toward a gun-totin' society. The Senate should disarm the measure.

HB 878 -- House members have authorized a public vote this fall on a constitutional amendment to limit eminent domain powers. The amendment would bar governments from taking property for economic development purposes. Any abuses in North Carolina have been minimal, and officials would find ways to work around a ban, but as popular-sounding amendments go this one seems relatively harmless.

HB 889 -- The House favors a statewide contest for a new design for state license plates. It's a winner.

HB 973 -- This bill requires group health insurance plans to cover treatment for mental illness services at the same level that they cover physical illnesses. That's an overdue step for North Carolina, and the Senate should make the measure as comprehensive as is realistically possible.

HB 1277 -- After recent teenage tragedies in the Raleigh area, this move to revoke the driver's license of anyone who helps minors obtain alcohol would be a welcome plus for safety.

HB 958 -- Going way out on a lily pad, House members controversially chose the bullfrog as official state amphibian. There are, however, more representative native species. Senators should let this one croak.

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SENATE BILL 659 -- The Senate, reacting to the Jim Black scandals, would take away pension benefits from elected officials convicted of public corruption or election law felonies. That's one powerful penalty, but the mess in the House under former speaker Black justifies a major-league deterrent to future wrongdoing.

SB 925 -- This bill responds to The N&O's Speed Unlimited series, in part by limiting how many breaks speeders can get on tickets. Not perfect, but progress.

SB 954 -- Senate Democrats exercised their majority muscle in powering through a bill to have the state's Electoral College delegates vote for the presidential candidate with the most votes nationwide, provided enough other states do the same. That means a direct popular election for the president, a profound change that should require an adoption process more in keeping with the U.S. Constitution.

SB 1465 -- The bill prohibits new lagoons and sprayfields at hog farms, sets permanent standards for treating hog waste and creates a program to help farmers convert to innovative waste systems. This is another case in which legislative action is long overdue, and the House should speed the measure along, without amendments that would make it less effective in fighting pollution.

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Two House bills that are apparently dead for the session merit brief eulogies:

HB 259 -- Even a watered-down effort to ban smoking in restaurants proved too strong for tobacco state representatives who put more stock in "property rights" than people's health. This was as disappointing a result as the legislative session has furnished so far. A uniform prohibition on restaurant smoking would harm no one.

HB 853 -- Although the House did accept anti-bullying legislation, a move to bar corporal punishment of public school students (it's optional now, depending on the district) fell short. Arguments like this, from Democratic Rep. Ronnie Sutton of Pembroke, won the day: "I had one teacher... I thought he whipped me like a rented mule. But I truly believe that I would have served time in prison, had I not had the discipline that I had in school." In-school smackdowns may have done wonders for young Sutton's behavior. But a mentality that favors force over nonviolent discipline is not an impressive educational achievement. North Carolina is letting its retrograde side show.

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It's the legislators' task, in the session's remaining weeks, to fashion a budget and a legislative program that respond thoughtfully to rapid growth and obvious needs, while not breaking the bank. In education, environment and public services, North Carolina has been at its best when it has pressed ahead.