July 8, 2008

George Reed, Editor

 

Budget Adopted; Adjournment on the Horizon

 

The House and Senate are taking final votes today on the conference committee report on the budget for 2008-09. Assuming that the budget is passed and signed by the Governor (and only eight days into the new fiscal year!), adjournment won’t be far behind. Estimates are that this session of the General Assembly will close down by the end of next week, perhaps earlier. A summary of the budget will be included with the next Raleigh Report.

 

Status Update on Other Bills

 

H 44, DV Orders/Repeat Violators, awaits the Governor’s signature.

 

H 93, Transport of Individual in Wheelchair Study, awaits the Governor’s signature.

 

H 1366, School Violence Prevention Act. The House has failed to concur in changes made by the Senate, so it now goes to a conference committee. The primary point of contention between the House and Senate is whether this anti-bullying bill should include a list of categories of students most likely to need protection from bullying. Included in the list is sexual orientation. Opponents of the list claim that including sexual orientation would make that a protected class of people, in spite of the fact that the language of the bill says specifically, “Nothing in this act shall be construed to create any classification or preference beyond those existing in present statute or case law.” Do these opponents think that it is OK for gay and lesbian students to be bullied or harassed because of their sexual orientation?

 

H 2105, Compensation for Erroneously Convicted, has been passed by the House and is now in the Senate Judiciary II Comm. It was amended in the House to increase the amount awarded for each year of imprisonment to $50,000 (from $40,000 in the original bill), but also to include the value of job training and educational expenses when determining whether compensation has reached a cap of $750,000.

 

H 2288, Continue the Dropout Prevention Commission, has been passed by the House and is now in the Senate Rules Comm.

 

H 2340, Transporting Children in Open Bed of Vehicle, has been amended to add back the provision in current law which allows children to ride in the back of pickups as long as an adult is there with them. Earlier versions of the bill would have removed that exemption. The bill is on the calendar for House action.

 

H 2404, Increase Long-Term Care Insurance Tax Credit, has been re-referred to House Finance. It has been amended so that the maximum income levels of those who can claim the credit have been virtually doubled.

 

H 2487, Change Format of Drivers Licenses/Under 21, awaits the Governor’s signature.

 

H 2529, Extend Climate Change Commission 2008, awaits the Governor’s signature.

 

H 2592, Study K-12 Physical Education (formerly “DPI to Collect Childhood Obesity Statistics”), has been re-referred to the House Rules Comm. All references to “childhood obesity” were deleted, though the bill still requires the collection of basically the same information, including body mass index numbers and information about nutrition knowledge and behaviors. Perhaps “obesity” is a four-letter word.

 

H 2720, Energy-Efficient State Motor Vehicle Fleets, has been passed by the House and is now in the Senate Commerce Committee.

 

H 2794, School Integration 50^th Anniversary, has been passed by the House and Senate. Since it is a resolution, it does not require the Governor’s signature.

 

H 2803, Defense of Marriage. A new bill has been introduced to amend the state constitution to prohibit marriage or civil unions for gay and lesbian couples. The proposed constitutional amendment is identical to those found in H 493, S 13, and S 1608, all of which, because they pertain to a constitutional amendment, remain live bills. H 2803 has been referred to the House Rules Committee.

 

S 847, Prevent Agricultural Pesticide Exposure. This bill, originally about technical corrections to environmental laws, has now been amended in the House so that it contains some of the provisions of H 2460. Specifically, it still includes protecting agricultural workers from workplace retaliation and requiring pesticide applicators to record the time of day when pesticide is sprayed. It was been passed by the House and returned to the Senate for concurrence.

 

S 1669, Community Colleges/Tobacco Free, awaits the Governor’s signature.

 

S 1681, Smoke-Free Motor Fleet, has been passed by the House and returned to the Senate for concurrence.

 

S 1860, Amend Child Abuse/Child Fatality Task Force, has been passed by the House and returned to the Senate for concurrence. It is in Senate Judiciary II, which will make a recommendation to the full Senate regarding concurrence.

 

S 1924, Require Carbon Monoxide Detectors, has been passed by the Senate and sent to the House, where it is calendared for a floor vote.

 

S 1946, Codify Energy Efficiency in Public Buildings, has been passed by the Senate and is on the House calendar for action.

 

S 1988, Unlawful to Burn Cross/Hang Noose, has been passed by the Senate and is now in House Judiciary II.