HEADLINES:
- Top NC House committee leaders unchanged compared to last session
- Five House members named majority whips
- Legislators told $90M needed next year for university, community college enrollment
THE BRIEF:
HOUSE COMMITTEES: Leaders on the two most powerful committees in the North Carolina House are the same compared to two years ago. Speaker Joe Hackney rolled out committee assignments for the chamber Wednesday. The eight chief budget-writers and four Finance Committee leaders are identical to those in the 2007-08 session. So are the chairs for the chamber’s three judiciary panels.
HOUSE WHIPS: House Democrats have named five lawmakers to serve as majority whips for the next two years. Reps. Larry Hall of Durham County and Bruce Goforth of Buncombe County have received the titles in addition to whips from the 2007-08 session – Reps. Larry Bell of Sampson County, Jean Farmer-Butterfield of Wilson County and Deborah Ross of Wake County. Whips ensure party members
are present for important votes and are aware of House Democratic leadership positions on bills.
HIGHER EDUCATION: The General Assembly will need to find more than $90 million to pay for expected enrollment increases next fall on University of North Carolina and community college campuses next fall. The amount was released at another budget briefing, this time on higher education. Legislative fiscal analysts told lawmakers that enrollment at UNC system campuses are expected to grow by more than 12,000 students over the next two years. Community colleges are projected to see enrollment rise by 13,000 students next year alone.
UNC CAMPAIGNING: A campaign finance reform group says two political action committee linked to the state’s leading public research universities have given $1 million to state political candidates since 2005. Democracy North Carolina says the Citizens for Higher Education PAC – associated with boosters of the University of North Carolina – has given more than $900,000 of that amount. The University Development Coalition PAC, which is linked to N.C. State University supporters, gave $100,000 during the latest two-year election cycle. Democracy North Carolina put out the information after a bill was filed to attempt to repeal a law that allows university athletic booster clubs to pay the scholarships of out-of-state athletes at the in-state tuition rate.
Introduced in the House:
- H123, to direct the state Supreme Court, when it is reviewing whether a death sentence is fair an proportionate in a capital murder case, to compare each case with cases that share similar facts, including cases where juries recommended life imprisonment and death. Sponsor: Rep. Rick Glazier, D-Cumberland.
- H124, would allow a judge to decide whether extraordinary circumstances justified paying more than the standard rate to defense attorneys representing indigent defendants. Sponsor: Rep. Tim Moore, R-Cleveland
- H126, to eliminate the statewide limit of 100 charter schools. Sponsors: Reps. Jim Gulley, R-Mecklenberg, and Marilyn Avilla, R-Wake.
- H129, would create the crime of habitual misdemeanor larceny and classify the offense as a low-level felony. Sponsor: Rep. Tim Moore, R-Cleveland.
- H134, would make it a felony to assault any state or local officer or employee on the job. Sponsor: Rep. Russell Tucker, D-Duplin.
- H135, would allow broadband service providers to offer voice-grade telephone service outside its defined territory if the telephone service is an add-on to its broadband package. Several sponsors.
- H136, to expand the state Transportation Deparment’s authority to acquire rights-of-way to extend fiber-optic cable. Several sponsors.
- H137, would rule out execution for murderers who were found during a pre-trial hearing to suffer from severe mental illness. Sponsor: Rep. Verla Insko, D-Orange.
Introduced in the Senate:
- S130, would require that identification numbers be prominently displayed inside each elevator so passengers who may become trapped inside can report the number to rescuers. Sen. Don Vaughan, D-Guilford.
- S131, to add an additional 24-hour jail sentence to DWI convictions if the driver’s blood alcohol content was 0.20 percent or higher. Sponsor: Sen. Don Vaughan, D-Guilford.
- S135, would require mopeds to be registered with DMV and operators to be insured. Sponsor: Sen. Tony Rand, D-Cumberland.
- S137, would allow in-state tuition rates to universities or community colleages to persist for dependents of a member of the armed services killed while on active duty. Sponsor: Sen. Neal Hunt, R-Wake.
- S138, would classify Salvia Divinorum, a type of Mexican sage plant that can produce psychodelic effects, a Schedule I controlled substance alongside heroin and codeine. Sponsor: Sen. Bill Purcell, D-Scotland.
- S140, to make it a felony for a person named in a domestic violence court order to trespass at a safe house or shelter. Sponsor: Sen. John Snow, D-Cherokee.
- S150, to advance the date of the next presidential primary election from May to February 2012. Sponsor: Sen. Andrew Brock, R-Davie.
- S155, to prohibit illegal aliens from attending community colleges. Sponsor: Sen. Phil Berger, R-Rockingham.
- S161, to block the North Carolina Medical Board or other medical regulatory board from disciplining physicians taking part in state executions. Sponsor: Sen. Phil Berger, R-Rockingham.
AROUND THE STATEHOUSE:
- The North Carolina Biotechnology Center, which received $15.4 million in state funding this year, touted its achievements to legislators during a presentation. The center was created 25 years ago to promote a cluster of industries that includes drug-development and production companies, agricultural chemicals and plant advances, medical devices, and research and testing labs. The center also has been giving grants or loans to seed 118 growing companies over the past decade.
ON THE AGENDA:
- The Legislature plans to honor the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People on its 100th anniversary with a joint resolution of congratulations. The country’s oldest civil rights organization was founded in New York City on Feb. 12, 1909.
OVERHEARD:
“We have a dummy in the Senate today.” – Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton said jokingly in noting there was a CPR dummy on the Senate floor as part of a demonstration for the Legislature’s “Heart Health Day.”
