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Several bills have already been introduced this session which show that more and more legislators are taking seriously the concerns of scientists and constituents about global warming. The following green bills have been introduced since the last issue of Raleigh Report. They include a new spelling of “green” and a word almost never seen in legislation: “clothesline.”

S 668, Energy Conservation in State Buildings, would require new and renovated buildings to meet high standards for energy conservation and to eliminate the use of drinking-quality water for irrigation (or, in the case of renovations, to reduce water use by 20%). The state would also be required to retrofit existing buildings to increase conservation of energy and water. In addition, the state would be required to do energy audits on a regular basis. Introduced by Sen. Cowell; referred to Senate Commerce Comm.

S 670, Energy Devices that Use Renewable Resources, would prevent local ordinances and deed restrictions from prohibiting energy devices “based on the use of renewable resources.” For example, such ordinances and restrictions could not prevent the installation of a solar collector on a home or a clothesline in the yard. Introduced by Sen. Cowell; referred to Senate Commerce Comm.

S 505/H 526, Income Tax Credit—Energy Efficient Homes, would provide income tax credits (for corporate or personal income taxes) for those who build or manufacture energy-efficient homes. The credit would be $1,000 or $2,000, depending on which energy-efficiency standards are followed. Introduced by Sen. Swindell and Rep. Tolson; referred to Senate Finance and House Energy & Energy Efficiency Comm.

S 539, Chapel Hill Energy Efficiency Incentives, would allow the Town of Chapel Hill to give development incentives to developers whose work helps reduce energy consumption. Introduced by Sen. Kinnaird; referred to Senate Finance Comm.

S 634/H 557, North Carolina GREEEN Act, would establish a Green Business Fund to “grow a renewable and energy-efficient economy in NC (GREEEN).” $15 million would be allocated to the fund in each year of the biennium. The money would be used to provide seed grants to small businesses, nonprofits, local governments, and state agencies to promote a “green economy.” Specifically, at least 40% would go to the development of a bio-fuels industry, at least 40% to the development of the green building industry, and any remainder for green entrepreneurship. Introduced by Sen. Albertson & Rep. Tolson; referred to Senate Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources Comm. and House Energy & Energy Efficiency Comm.

SECONDHAND SMOKE

Legislative efforts to restrict smoking in public places, where one person’s cigarette smoke can harm others who are exposed to it, continue. Here’s the latest:

H 24, Smoking in Government Buildings/Prohibition, has been amended so that it no longer repeals the state’s local pre-emption law, which prevents local governments from adopting smoking restrictions that are more protective of health than the state law. Instead it now permits local governments to adopt restrictions for buildings and grounds owned or leased by the local government, for public schools, and for public transportation. Local governments would still lack the authority to prohibit smoking in restaurants and other workplaces. As amended, H 24 has passed the House and is now in the Senate Commerce Comm.

S 635, Prohibit Smoking/Public Places, is similar to H 259 (Raleigh Report, March 2), but it is a stronger bill that would also prohibit smoking in private clubs and bars. Introduced by Sen. Cowell; referred to Senate Commerce Comm.

S 641/H 611, County Ordinances/Smoking, would enable counties with more than 695,000 people to enact ordinances regulating smoking in public places. For those of you who might be curious, Mecklenburg County is the only one that is this populous, and its 2000 census count was 695,454. And those of you who have followed these secondhand smoke issues in the past will remember that many in Charlotte want to have the right to make all restaurants smoke-free, something that can’t happen now because of the local pre-emption law. Introduced by Sen. Clodfelter and Rep. Alexander; referred to Senate Commerce Comm.

HUMAN RIGHTS, THEN AND NOW

Two bills present recommendations from the 1898 Wilmington Race Riot Commission. If you have not seen recent coverage of this terrible page in North Carolina history, one that has been ignored by many white North Carolinians for a century, go to http://www.ah.dcr.state.nc.us/1898-wrrc/. Or read Tim Tyson’s introduction to a special section published last November by the [Raleigh] News & Observer and the Charlotte Observer at www.newsobserver.com/1370/story/511450.html.

H 633, DPI/Curriculum on 1898 Wilmington Race Riot, would require the Department of Public Instruction to add curriculum material about this part of NC history. Introduced by Rep. Wright; referred to House Education Comm.

H 637, 1898 Wilmington Race Riot Suit Limitation, would set up a two-year period of time (July 2007 through June 2009) in which estates or descendants could bring legal action for death, injury or property damage resulting from the Wilmington race riot. Damage amounts would include inflation and loss of use since 1898 and interest compounded at 8% from 1898. Introduced by Rep. Wright; referred to House Judiciary II Comm.

Two bills continue the legislative assault on undocumented immigrants. The second bill seems an especially insidious, to say nothing of family-unfriendly, way to intercept and penalize those who come to this country for jobs and send money to support their families back home.

S 573, Restrict Contracts and Benefits/Illegal Aliens (sic), would prevent giving many economic development grants to companies unless they certify that they don’t employ any “unauthorized aliens,” a term now defined in federal law. It would also require verification that applicants for public benefits are in the country legally. Exceptions would include those under the age of 18, those applying for non-cash disaster emergency help, and those seeking public health assistance for immunizations. The bill would also prohibit state and local governments from contracting with businesses that employ undocumented immigrants. Businesses would have to verify the legal status of all their employees and certify to the state that they have done so. Introduced by Sen. Pittenger; referred to Senate Finance Comm.

H 598, Tax on Illegal Immigrant Wire Transfers, would place a 5% tax on money wired to others by anybody who can’t prove that s/he is not an “unauthorized alien.” Introduced by Rep. Cleveland; referred to House Judiciary II Comm.

LIMITING USE OF THE DEATH PENALTY

H 553, Prohibit Execution/Severe Mental Disability, would provide that someone convicted of first-degree murder who had a “severe mental disability” at the time the crime was committed could not be sentenced to death. Severe mental disability is defined as one that significantly impairs the person’s ability to 1) appreciate the nature, consequences, or wrongfulness of the crime, 2) exercise rational judgment in relation to conduct, or 3) conform personal conduct to the requirements of the law. The bill specifies that conduct related solely to the effects of alcohol or other drugs does not meet the definition. A defendant can ask a judge to determine the mental disability question before trial, or the question can be submitted to the jury during the sentencing phase of the trial. Introduced by Reps. Insko & Harrison; referred to House Judiciary I Comm.

OTHER BILLS AFFECTING PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

S 753/H 626, Disability History & Awareness Month, would so designate October and require local school boards to provide education on disability history and awareness and the disability rights movement. Introduced by Sen. Purcell and Rep. Insko; referred to Senate Education and House Rules Comms.

S 709, Offer Sign Language in Schools & Colleges, would direct community colleges and the UNC System to offer American Sign Language as a modern foreign language. Introduced by Sen. Purcell; referred to Senate Education Comm.

H 554, Assault Disabled Person/Institutional Setting, would increase from misdemeanor to felony the punishment for an assault on a patient in a health care facility or residential care facility if all three of the following were true:

· the conduct is part of a pattern of behavior,

· is intentional or culpably negligent, and

· causes any physical injury to the assaulted person.

Introduced by Rep. Insko; referred to House Judiciary I Comm.

CHANGES TO THE PUBLIC SCHOOL CURRICULUM

S 515/S 664, Social-Emotional Curriculum in Public Schools, would require the curriculum for grades K-3 to include personal safety (staying safe when lost, getting permission before going with someone, understanding and dealing with safe and unsafe touching, and reporting and refusal skills) and social and emotional learning (including violence prevention skills, behavior skills, and anger management). $1.7 million is allocated to begin this program in kindergarten in 2007-08, with $3.8 million to expand it to grades 1-3 in 2008-09. The intent is also to expand the program to grades 4-6. Introduced by Sen. Boseman; referred to Senate Education Comm.

H 485, Amend Health Education Curriculum, would require that health education for grades 9-12 include information about the law permitting a parent to lawfully abandon a newborn in certain ways that would protect the life of the baby. Introduced by Reps. Haire, Coleman, Justice, and Brubaker; referred to House Education Comm.

TAX INCREASES

S 563, One-Cent Local Option Sales Tax, would permit counties, with voter approval in a referendum, to add an additional penny to the local sales tax. The additional revenue could be used for public school construction, other infrastructure needs, road construction, or mental health programs. The tax would not apply to food. Introduced by Sen. Jenkins; referred to Senate Finance Comm.

S 610, Wake County Revenue Options, would permit Wake County to increase taxes, if approved by the county’s voters, as follows:

· Add an additional 1% local sales tax, but not on food. The money would be use for public school construction (50%) and transportation (50%).

· Assess a land transfer tax of 1%, charged on the value of the property or what is paid for it, whichever is larger.

· Create a county impact fee to be imposed on new construction to help pay for providing services to new development. The amount would be based on capital costs incurred by the county because of the new construction.

If the county puts these new revenues to a public vote, it would have to put all three on the ballot at one time. Introduced by Sen. Cowell; referred to Senate Finance Comm.

TAXES DECREASES

H 539, Homestead Exclusion Expansion. Current law gives the homestead exclusion (a reduction in property taxes for people of limited means who are also elderly or have disabilities) to those with annual incomes up to a little more than $18,000. H 539 would raise the limit to $49,000. Introduced by Rep. Grady; referred to House Finance Comm.

H 540, Residential Property Tax Reduction, would put a constitutional amendment before the voters. If the amendment were adopted, a county doing a general reappraisal of property could not increase the appraised value of permanent residences by more than the inflation rate for the period of time since the last appraisal (unless the property has been improved and/or it has been sold to a new owner). The effect would to be to limit property tax revenues in places where home values are appreciating quickly and, of course, to require counties to find other ways to balance their budgets. Introduced by Rep. Grady; referred to House Rules Comm.

H 558, Deduction for S Corporation Income, would enable S corporations (businesses that are usually small and family-owned) to avoid paying income tax on the first $25,000 of their otherwise taxable income. This break would be available regardless of how profitable the S corporation might be. Introduced by Rep. Holloway; referred to House Finance Comm.

H 559, Small Business Tax Exemption, would permit all corporations other than S corporations to avoid paying the corporate income tax on the first $50,000 of their otherwise taxable income. The current corporate income tax rate is only 6.9%, and many corporations take advantage of already existing federal and state tax laws so that what they actually pay is often substantially lower. And notwithstanding the bill’s title, this tax break would go to all corporations, other that S corporations, regardless of their size. So the bill might just as accurately be named the Wachovia Tax Exemption bill. Introduced by Rep. Holloway; referred to House Finance Comm.

PROMOTING PREMARITAL COUNSELING

S 485/H 613, Premarital Counseling Pilot Funds, would set up pilot programs in Gaston and Guilford counties to evaluate the need for requiring people being married by a magistrate to receive premarital counseling first. The bills allocate $100,000. Introduced by Sen. Hoyle and Rep. Current; referred to Senate and House Appropriations Comms.

H 518, Waive Marriage License Fee/Premarital Counseling, would eliminate the $50 marriage license fee for couples who get premarital counseling. This counseling could be from a clergyperson, licensed marriage and family therapist, or qualified mental health professional. The bill allocates $150,000 for each year of the biennium to make up for the lost fees. Introduced by Rep. Hilton; referred to House Appropriations Comm.

JUVENILES AND JUSTICE

S 677, Expunge Nonviolent Felony/Youthful Offender, provides a way to clear a nonviolent felony conviction from the record of an offender who was under 18 years of age and had no other felony or misdemeanor convictions (other than traffic violations) at the time the crime was committed. Introduced by Sen. Doug Berger; referred to Senate Judiciary II Comm.

H 492, Juvenile Jurisdiction to Age 18 Years, would extend the age at which a young person is considered to be a juvenile (and, therefore, kept in the juvenile justice system, not the adult criminal system) to age 18. The law would still permit offenders at least 13 years old to be transferred to adult court and mandate a transfer for capital crimes. Introduced by Reps. Bordsen, Bryant, Love, and Wainwright; referred to House Juvenile Justice Comm.

OTHER BILLS OF INTEREST

H 516, Minority Businesses/DOT Contracts, would establish goals to increase Department of Transportation contracts to minority-owned businesses (to 10%, based on the value of the contracts) and to women-owned businesses (to 5%). (Introduced by Rep. Parmon; referred to House Transportation Comm.)

H 483, Chapel Hill Campaign Finance Options, would permit the Town of Chapel Hill to set up a program for public financing of campaigns for local offices. Introduced by Rep. Insko; referred to House Local Govt. II Comm.

S 590, Raise Cap on Number of Charter Schools, would provide for an exemption from the cap on charter schools (currently 100 statewide) to authorize an additional 25 charter schools if at least 30% of the students in those schools qualify for free or reduced lunch (i.e., they are from relatively low-income families). The charter would be terminated if the percentage of those students drops below 30%. Introduced by Sen. Doug Berger; referred to Senate Education Comm.

S 495, Lottery Emergency School Repairs/ Renovations, would tinker with the allocation of lottery proceeds to public schools. Specifically, of the money to be used for public school construction, 3% would be used for emergency repairs and renovations in counties which are of below-average wealth. The 3% would come out of the part of lottery money allocated to school systems on the basis of their size, not the part based on whether their county has above-average property tax rates. Introduced by Sen. Jones; referred to Senate Appropriations Comm.

HOW MUCH SAFER WILL YOU FEEL?

H 573, Authorize Judge/Concealed Weapon in Court, would permit a state judge with a concealed handgun permit to have that gun in the courthouse. This seems like a scary bill (judges packing heat) addressing a problem for which there is no demonstrated need in this state (judges having to defend themselves in their courtrooms) but for which there is already a solution (armed bailiffs). Introduced by Reps. Williams, Blue, Howard, and Brubaker; referred to House Judiciary II Comm.

AND ANOTHER ONE THAT YOU WOULD’VE THOUGHT DIDN’T HAVE TO BE LEGISLATED, BUT APPARENTLY DOES

S 699, Labor/Mandatory Lunch Break, would require all employers to provide at least one work break for a meal to all employees during every workday. Introduced by Sen. Clodfelter; referred to Senate Commerce Comm.

FUNDING BILLS

The following bills suggest the range of state programs and the importance of adequate funding for them.

S 486/H 533, Funds for Traumatic Brain Injury Services, would allocate $750,000 for each year of the biennium to assist people who have suffered traumatic brain injury as an adult and who live in small group homes. Introduced by Sen. Hoyle and Rep. Wilkins; referred to Senate Appropriations and House Health Comm.

S 504/H 521, Communities in Schools Funds, would allocate about $6 million in each year of the biennium to support the Communities in Schools program and specifically to leverage money to place at least 100 graduation coaches in middle and high schools. The bills also allocate about $750,000 to open at least five Performance Learning Centers, a project receiving matching funds from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Introduced by Sen. Swindell and Reps. Yongue, Carney, Glazier, and Dickson; referred to Senate & House Appropriations Comms.

S 520, Funds/Birth Defects Monitoring, would allocate $200,000 in each year of the biennium. Introduced by Sen. Purcell; referred to Senate Appropriations Comm.

S 522, Statewide Poison Control Center Funds, would allocate $500,000 in each year of the biennium. Introduced by Sen. Purcell; referred to Senate Appropriations Comm.

S 523, School-based Health Centers/Funds, would allocate $375,000 in each year of the biennium for comprehensive adolescent health care centers, both to continue existing programs and to provide start-up grants for new programs in areas of critical needs. Introduced by Sen. Purcell; referred to Senate Appropriations Comm.

S 534, Additional Funds for School Nurses, would allocate $2.5 million for each year of the biennium to hire an additional 50 school nurses. Introduced by Sen. Dannelly; referred to Senate Appropriations Comm.

S 585, Funds for Community Health Centers, would allocate $15 million in each year of the biennium for grants to help provide primary and preventive medical services to uninsured or medically indigent patients. Introduced by Sen. Purcell; referred to Senate Appropriations Comm.

S 587/H 569, Funds/Wake County Hospice Facility, would allocate $2 million. Introduced by Sen. Stevens and Reps. Ross. Blue, Allen, & Weiss; referred to Senate and House Appropriations.

S 594, Housing Fund/Needy Persons, would allocate $25 million to the Housing Trust Fund to provide housing for people with substance abuse problems, physical or mental disabilities, or mental illness. Introduced by Sen. Shaw; referred to Senate Appropriations Comm.

S 682, Child Nutrition Program Funds, would allocate $15 million in each year of the biennium to enable child nutrition programs to implement nutrition standards in elementary schools. Introduced by Sen. Swindell; referred to Senate Appropriations Comm.

S 687, Funds for TASC, would allocate $2.7 million for each year of the biennium for the Treatment Alternatives to Street Crimes (TASC) program, which meets substance abuse and mental health needs of offenders. Introduced by Sen. Kinnaird; referred to Senate Appropriations Comm.

S 688, Funds for Juvenile Crime Prevention Councils, would allocate $5 million to Juvenile Crime Prevention Councils, to implement juvenile justice reform and to provide early intervention and prevention of juvenile crime and delinquency. Introduced by Sen. Kinnaird; referred to Senate Appropriations Comm.

S 663, Increase Home Care Rates, Quality & Retention, would allocate $12 million in FY ’07-’08 and $24 million in FY ’08-’09 to provide a rate increase for home care services to allow adequate salary increases for direct care workers. Introduced by Sen. Purcell; referred to Appropriations Comm.

S 697, Drug Treatment Court Funds, would allocate $4 million in each year of the biennium for substance abuse treatment services and case management for several drug treatment courts. Introduced by Sen. Clodfelter; referred to Senate Appropriations Comm.

S 706, Funds/Rural Health Recruitment, would allocate $2.5 million for each year of the biennium to help obstetricians in rural areas deal with their high cost of malpractice insurance. It would also allocate $1.4 million to be used for recruiting incentives to get doctors to practice in areas where there is a shortage of health care. Introduced by Sen. Purcell; referred to Senate Appropriations Comm.

S 707, TANF Funds/Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention, would use $1.75 million from the federal TANF block grant for local pregnancy prevention programs. Introduced by Sen. Purcell; referred to Senate Appropriations Comm.

S 755/H 854, Child Care Subsidy Funds, would allocate $23 million to serve 6,000 children currently on the waiting list for childcare subsidies and to adjust provider rates for 3-, 4-, and 5-star centers. Introduced by Sen. Purcell and Reps. Alexander, Weiss, Carney, and Farmer-Butterfield; referred to Senate Appropriations Comm., not yet referred in House.

S 804/H 577, Contractual Drug/Alcohol Treatment Funds, would allocate almost $3 million in FY ’07-’08 and almost $9 million in FY ’08-’09 to provide intensive drug and alcohol rehabilitation treatment to inmates. The services would be provided by contracting with for-profit or nonprofit entities to set up three treatment centers across the state, each one housing 75 to 125 inmates. Introduced by Sen. Dorsett and Reps. Adams and Bell; not yet referred in the Senate, referred to House Appropriations Comm.

UPDATES, COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS, AND IDENTICAL BILLS

S 164, Study Housing/Training Mentally Ill in ACH, has been passed by the Senate.

S 459, Housing Trust Fund Appropriation, is in Senate Appropriations.

S 469, Additional Resources/Low-Performing Schools, is in Senate Appropriations.

S 488, Carrboro Campaign Regulations, is identical to H 465. See Raleigh Report, March 2. Introduced by Sen. Kinnaird; referred to Senate State & Local Govt. Comm.

S 516, Sudan (Darfur) Divestment, is identical to H 291. See Raleigh Report, March 2. Introduced by Sen. Shaw; referred to Senate Commerce Comm.

S 538, Additional DSSF Funding for Schools, is identical to H 225. See Raleigh Report, February 19. Introduced by Sen. Dannelly; referred to Senate Appropriations Comm.

S 702, Tax Credit—Nonpublic School Students, is identical to H 430. See Raleigh Report, March 2. Introduced by Sen. Goodell; referred to Senate Finance Comm.

S 703, Tax Fairness in Education, is identical to H 421. See Raleigh Report, March 2. Introduced by Sen. Goodell; referred to Senate Finance Comm.

S 751, Every Child Ready to Learn, is identical to H 150. See Raleigh Report, Feb. 19. Introduced by Sen. Dannelly; referred to Senate Education Comm.

S 752, ACH Star Rating Authorization/Funds, is identical to H 248. See Raleigh Report, February 19. Introduced by Sen. Dannelly; referred to Senate Appropriations Comm.

H 42, Amend DV Laws/Homicide Reporting, has been passed by the House.

H 46, DV Victims/Security, has been passed by the House and is in Senate Judiciary I.

H 92, Medicaid Income Limits Level Study, has been passed by the House.

H 93, Transportation of Individuals in Wheelchair Study, has been passed by the House.

H 442, Execution/Physician Assistance Authorized, is in House Health.

H 451, Joint Study Complementary/Alternative Medicine, is in House Health.

H 452, Dropout Study, is in House Education.

H 461, Lottery Advertising Compliance Act, is in House Finance.

H 465, Carrboro Campaign Regulation, is in House Judiciary I.

H 468, Expansion of Drug/Alcohol Treatment/Funds, is in House Appropriations.

H 493, Defense of Marriage, is similar to S 13. See Raleigh Report, Feb. 5. Introduced by Reps. Moore, Crawford, Hill, and Johnson; referred to House Rules Comm.

H 502, Repeal Chiropractic Special Provision, is similar to S 321. See Raleigh Report, March 2. (Introduced by Reps. Holliman and Stam; referred to House Insurance Comm.) To catch the full significance of this bill, remember that it was the insertion of this benefit to chiropractors that led former Speaker Black to plead guilty to federal charges. Then note that the co-sponsors of H 502 are not only the minority (Republican) leader in the House, but also the majority (Democratic) leader.

H 524, Food Bank Funds, is identical to S 306. See Raleigh Report, March 2. Introduced by Rep. Earle; referred to House Appropriations Comm.

THE LEGISLATIVE PACE

The House deadline for the introduction of bills from study commissions and state agencies passed this week, and the Senate deadline for all bills is coming up next week. So it should come as no surprise that there has been a flood of introduced bills, including more than 200 in the House yesterday. Bills of interest to Raleigh Report readers from yesterday’s introductions will be summarized in the next issue.