NC Democrat explains no vote on anti-gang bill + lawmakers adjourn after budget votes
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- House Bill 1173, Jaleeyah’s Law, would lower gang-member criteria from three to two.
- The bill increases felony classes and penalties for gang acts, including gun transfers.
- Senators Applewhite, Chitlik, Garson, Murdock and Smith voted against the bill.
Whew. It’s been a busy week.
Lawmakers in the GOP-led legislature passed a budget and sent it to Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat, who can sign it, veto it or let it become law without his signature.
It’s over 600 pages and there’s still a lot to digest, but we’ve covered it extensively. So be sure to check out our coverage.
After the budget votes on Thursday, the Senate added a last-minute hemp regulation bill to its calendar, having reached an agreement with the House.
Senators passed the bill, but the House adjourned without taking action. Lawmakers won’t be back until the end of July, per the adjournment resolution they approved.
Well, that’s my very quick rundown. I’m typing this a bit before 5 p.m. and I’m ready to get a start on the long July 4 weekend. Perhaps with a swim on this hot day.
Before you head out, don’t miss politics reporter Esther Frances’ look at anti-gang legislation that now sits on the governor’s desk, and why one Democrat voted against it.
Anti-gang legislation on track to become law
House Bill 1173, also known as Jaleeyah’s Law, would update several definitions of criminal gang-related terms and require stricter punishments for related crimes, such as providing guns to minors.
After it passed the state Senate on Tuesday with a vote of 44-5, the bill hit the House floor on Wednesday, where representatives voted to accept the Senate’s version. The bill will now go to Gov. Josh Stein’s desk, where he has 10 days to decide what to do.
The bill is named after Jaleeyah “Lee Lee” Tune, a 13-year-old who was killed in Goldsboro last December. Three teenagers were arrested and charged in connection to her death, ABC 11 reported.
Rep. John Bell, a Goldsboro Republican, has said that “no family should ever endure what has happened and the pain of losing a child to gang violence.” Bell has said Jaleeyah was walking home with her family when she was struck by a bullet “intended for a different person.”
The bill would reduce the number of criteria it takes to be labeled as a gang member from three to two. Some of the criteria include using symbols or hand signs associated with a criminal gang, wearing colors or a style associated with a gang and appearing on social media “to promote a criminal gang.”
It would also bump up the felony class of crimes already enshrined in state law, including soliciting or coercing a minor to participate in criminal gang activity, and a criminal gang member giving or selling a firearm to someone under the age of 18.
Supporters of the bill, including Jaleeyah’s family, who spoke in front of lawmakers, believe the harsher punishments and updated definitions could deter individuals from participating in gang-related crimes. Those opposed say the new definitions in the bill could be too broad and criminalize people who are associated with gangs but have not committed a crime. Others criticize the bill for violating freedom of expression.
Sens. Val Applewhite, Sophia Chitlik, Jonah Garson, Natalie Murdock and Kandie Smith — all Democrats — on Tuesday voted against the bill.
Chitlik told The News & Observer after the vote that she understands “the spirit of the law, but the fiscal note on that and the carceral note on that just shows us how fundamentally unserious the bill is.”
The increased sentencing enhancements proposed in the bill could “add anywhere from $14.6 to $48.7 million in costs to the State correctional system per conviction cohort,” according to the bill’s legislative incarceration fiscal summary.
Chitlik said the bill is “not an investment in the things that we know will actually prevent gun violence, which is very serious in our community and extremely serious in Durham.”
“I’m happy to vote for a bill that does that, but until then, I’m not gonna just put more and more people into the carceral system for longer, particularly as children,” she said.
Jaleeyah’s mother, Whitney Brown-Tune, previously told lawmakers in committee that “our lives are forever changed.”
“We’re hoping to make change, save lives with prevention, intervention and being aware,” she has said. “And bringing spaces for these kids so that we can try to make a difference within our community.”
Bell has said that Jaleeyah’s family met with him to work on this bill because they “wanted to do something in a big way to help make sure that hopefully, this will never happen to another family in this state again.”
Headlines you won’t want to miss
- NC lawmakers take final vote on budget with overdue raises, sending it to Gov. Stein
- NC Republicans strike hemp deal and Senate passes it. Will the House act?
- Was Confederate symbol ever part of NC’s flag? How it came to ‘State Fair’ booth
- Tillis warns of midterm impact of ‘unforced errors,’ shifting some blame to Trump
- NC budget targets legal fund that could strip low-income residents of attorney help
- Ferry tolls in Eastern NC draw rare Republican dissent on state budget
- The NC Zoo’s Asia exhibit inches towards opening, with budget set to become law
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Until next time, thanks for reading. I’m politics reporter Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi, and this has been your Under the Dome newsletter.
