Not just coronavirus: What else the NC legislature will take on this session
When the North Carolina General Assembly started its 2020 session in late April, state lawmakers passed a $1.57 billion coronavirus relief package within a week to spend federal funds. But after a two-week break, the House and Senate returned Monday for a more typical legislative session.
Yes, there will be more bills about COVID-19. The legislature still has about $2 billion in federal funding to figure out how to spend, on top of the $1.57 billion they divvied up in April.
Lawmakers have other coronavirus-related issues they could address, too, like a GOP-backed proposal that would let businesses reopen in violation of Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s executive orders, citing the economic toll of remaining closed. There’s also a Democrat-backed proposal to expand Medicaid, whose sponsors said coronavirus-related business closures have caused many people to lose their work-sponsored health insurance.
But there are dozens of other bills that could be up for consideration that don’t have anything to do with the coronavirus.
Some have been floating around for months, like the various proposals from 2019 for redistricting reform. The Republican-led legislature ended 2019 by redrawing the state’s political maps for both their own districts and the state’s seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, following lawsuits from Democrats that said the maps were unconstitutional.
One bill, the FAIR Act, would let voters decide during this fall’s elections on amending the state constitution to make redistricting less political. Despite a majority of the N.C. House of Representatives having signed on as co-sponsors, the bill hasn’t been allowed to come up for a vote since it was filed more than a year ago. Reform supporters, however, have long anticipated a last-minute push this year.
Other bills that were filed more recently, and could come up for discussion, include proposals on everything from teacher pay raises to environmental protections. Ideas include making the rhododendron the official state shrub, giving tax credits to dairy farmers, and — back to the coronavirus fallout — taking away the governor’s power to use executive orders to limit church services or protests.
NC surgeon general
A Senate bill filed by Sen. Wiley Nickel, a Wake County Democrat, would create the position of a North Carolina surgeon general. SB 757 would create the position to serve as the state’s chief public health advocate, according to the bill. The salary would be determined by the governor, the bill proposes.
Unemployment aid
Nickel also sponsored a bill, SB 792, that would drastically increase North Carolina’s unemployment benefits. The coronavirus shutdown and subsequent job losses have highlighted the fact that North Carolina has among the country’s lowest-paying unemployment benefits.
North Carolina cuts off benefits at anywhere from 12 to 20 weeks, depending on the state’s unemployment rate. Most states in the U.S. allow up to 26 weeks, and Nickel’s bill would have North Carolina match that. His bill would also raise the maximum possible payout from $350 to $450 per week.
Education and employees bills
Several bills have been filed in both chambers that deal with worker protections and pay during coronavirus and beyond. A bill also calls for restoring the state’s annual sales tax holiday for back-to-school shoppers. Here are some of the bills proposed:
▪ HB 1178 would restore extra pay for teachers with master’s degrees. It has been one of the issues pushed at the statewide teachers’ marches held in 2018 and 2019 in downtown Raleigh.
▪ SB 765 is a comprehensive education bill that includes raising noncertified school employee pay and budget flexibility for local school districts for the rest of this school year and the next.
▪ SB 771 would restore the state’s annual sales tax holiday for school supplies.
▪ SB 786 raises the wages of tipped employees and includes several workplace harassment protections.
▪ HB 1085 and SB 740, which are matching bills, would provide hazard pay for mandatory state employees working during the COVID-19 pandemic. The hazard pay rate would be time and a half of the employees’ regular pay.
▪ HB 1140 would establish a Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights.
▪ SB 747 calls for a $15 minimum wage for non-certified school employees.
▪ SB 763, Pay Equity for Essential Employees, would give income tax deductions for essential employees.
▪ HB 1122 would provide North Carolinians with affordable access to broadband, according to the bill. It includes a measure that would provide internet access to students and teachers who don’t have internet service or can’t afford it.
Environmental protections
Several Democratic lawmakers filed bills related to GenX and other PFAS chemicals that secretly polluted large swaths of North Carolina for decades.
Over the last few years, there has been a general agreement at the legislature to do something about the pollution, although the details of how exactly to respond have become contentious.
Some of the newly filed bills include:
▪ HB 1108, HB 1109 and HB 1110 would clamp down on the production and disposal of PFAS chemicals, and fund wide-ranging studies into their health and environmental effects.
▪ SB 735 would fund a more limited study of GenX and public health, specifically in southeastern North Carolina.
▪ SB 744 would require companies responsible for pollution to pay for clean water for people who live nearby. It also would ban electric utilities from charging their customers for costs related to coal pollution. That appears aimed at Duke Energy, which wants to raise its rates in part to pay for its coal ash cleanup costs. A similar bill in the House went nowhere last year.
All those environmental bills have only Democratic sponsors, so it will be an uphill battle for any to pass into law in the Republican-controlled legislature.
However, there is also a new bipartisan bill that isn’t directly related to pollution, but could address such issues. SB 746, sponsored by several Republicans and Democrats alike, would revamp the state’s efforts to look into cancer clusters.
Cancer clusters can raise flags about a number of problems, including pollution. For instance, a GenX class action lawsuit filed on behalf of southeastern North Carolina residents claimed the area has above-average rates of numerous types of cancers, plus one of the highest rates of liver disease in the country.
New task force
SB 775 would establish the North Carolina Black Women and Girls Task Force. Its members would examine a variety of issues, including health and wealth disparities among black women and the impact of the criminal and juvenile justice system on black women and girls. The task force would be required to submit reports to the General Assembly every two years.
Access to records, meetings
At least two bills related to open government and records have been filed.
▪ HB 1121 would spend $15,000 to update the General Assembly’s online bill tracking system and develop closed-captioning for broadcasts and recordings of sessions and committee meetings. House sessions are currently available to the public via video broadcast, but they are not accessible to the hard-of-hearing or deaf, according to the bill.
▪ HB 1111, if passed, would ask voters to approve an amendment to the state Constitution regarding public access to government-related meetings and records.
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This story was originally published May 18, 2020 at 8:26 AM.
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