Friends,

I hope that you and your loved ones are safe and healthy, and that you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. 

In October, the General Assembly wrapped up the long session for 2023. I am grateful for the honor and opportunity to represent Chapel Hill and Carrboro in the NC House, and I look forward to the work to come in 2024’s short session and beyond. 

Unfortunately, this session was a step backwards for North Carolina in many ways. The needs of working people in North Carolina, such as inflation and affordable housing went unaddressed. State agencies, such as the DMV, which give critical services to the people of our state continue to have unmet budget needs that result in unnecessary delays and hardships. Instead, culture wars and extremism took center stage.

This newsletter will be longer than most, as we cover a number of issue areas. This newsletter attempts to summarize bills that passed as well as bills which were introduced but did not receive a hearing. Some of our introduced bills will be highlighted in the specific issue areas below, while others will be covered closer to the end of this newsletter.

Here, I will highlight some of the larger profile bills which passed. These are organized by the area of policy that they impact. It is far from an exhaustive list. My staff and I are happy to answer questions about these bills or bills related to other issues that we were not able to cover.

For some topics, I will also highlight bills that Democratic colleagues and I supported, in contrast to the policies that passed the General Assembly under Republican leadership.

Abortion

SB 20: Care for Women, Children, and Families Act

SB 20 bans abortions after 12 weeks, in nearly all circumstances. It adds new restrictions on abortion access even before 12 weeks. The passage of SB 20 follows the overturn of Roe v. Wade last year. Republican legislative leadership introduced this piece of legislation and put it on the floor for a vote less than 48 hours later. Every State House and State Senate Democrat voted against this bill, which ultimately passed over Governor Cooper’s veto.

Numerous doctors spoke out against the ban. They are concerned it will limit their ability to provide life-saving care to pregnant women. 

Under SB 20, mailing abortion pills directly to women would also be illegal. Doctors are unclear as to whether this might lead to prosecution of someone who gets pills for another person. This would effectively criminalize abortion in some cases.

The vague statutory language of “life-threatening” to the mother and “life-limiting” to the fetus is proving difficult in other states that already have laws like this. There are instances where pregnant women have medical issues that would normally be considered life-threatening. However, doctors have been wary of breaking the law by neglecting to perform life-saving abortions. Forced to choose between potentially breaking the law and saving a woman’s life, doctors will be put in untenable situations.

The North Carolina Medical Society, North Carolina Obstetrical and Gynecological Society, and North Carolina Academy of Family Physicians all opposed SB 20.

Democratic Bills

In contrast, Democrats introduced HB 19: Codify Roe and Casey Protections, which would have enshrined the landmark Roe and Casey Supreme Court decisions regarding abortion access into law. I cosponsored this bill. Unfortunately, Republicans refused a hearing for this bill. 

Additionally, Democrats introduced HB 439: RBG Act, which would have further protected these rulings and rolled back onerous hurdles to accessing reproductive healthcare. Finally, Democratic House members filed HB 670: Preserve Access to Contraceptives, which would have proactively protected access to contraceptives and required UNC system schools to provide emergency contraceptives on campus. Like HB 19, these bills were not heard in committee.

LGBTQ+ Rights

This session saw North Carolina’s legislature participate in a nationally coordinated campaign to restrict the rights of LGBTQ North Carolinians. Infamous legislation out of Florida and Texas inspired some of the bills introduced in North Carolina. As a result, a number of bills passed that ban the discussion of LGBTQ issues, which will likely spur more discrimination and harm against LGBTQ North Carolinians.

SB 49: Parents’ Bill of Rights

The bill limits discussion of LGBTQ-related issues in elementary schools. It also requires school employees to report any students’ change in pronouns or names to parents. It allows parents to sue school systems for non-compliance. The bill creates dozens of new requirements for public schools to follow. Failure to follow these new administrative requirements could lead to the State Board of Education intervening in the school’s operation. 

The concerns surrounding this bill rest in the impact such a bill has had in other states like Florida. There are concerns this bill will put LGBTQ children at risk because it facilitates harassment and bullying of these children. It would also force teachers and school personnel into difficult choices between following the law and looking out for the best interests and safety of their students. 

HB 574: Fairness in Women’s Sports Act

This law prohibits trans student athletes from playing on the sports teams which match their gender identity.

This bill is a “solution” in search of a problem. Regulatory sports organizations which govern high school and college sports already have review procedures in place regarding the participation of trans athletes in sports. At the high school level, there are only a handful of trans athletes out of more than 180,000 athletes who are seeking to participate in sports. Only two of them are trans women. This law fosters misunderstanding and unfortunately, stigmatizes and discriminates against trans youth.

HB 808: Gender Transition/Minors

This law prohibits prescribing, providing, or dispensing puberty-blocking drugs or cross-sex hormones to minors, with very limited exceptions and regardless of parental consent. It also prohibits medical professionals from performing surgical gender transition procedures on minors. In June 2023, a federal judge struck down Arkansas’ ban on gender-affirming care for minors as unconstitutional.

For decades, the medical community has overwhelmingly demonstrated puberty blocking drugs or cross-sex hormones can save lives. Unfortunately, due to misinformation and fear, this life-saving care has now been banned, regardless of the opinions of doctors, minors, or parents.

Democratic Bills 

Democrats introduced a number of bills to protect the LGBTQ North Carolinians and ensure dignity and respect for their rights.

I was a primary sponsor of HB 518: Equality for All, which would have prohibited discrimination against LGBTQ individuals in areas such as employment, housing and education. In this bill, sexual orientation and gender identity would each become a protected status. Democrats also introduced HB 356: Full Repeal of HB2, which would have completely rolled back the controversial HB 2 law, also known as the ‘Bathroom Bill.’ 

I was also a primary sponsor on HB 596: Hate Crimes Prevention Act. Hate crimes have been on the rise in recent years, and this bill would stiffen penalties, provide training to law enforcement and provide victims with additional resources to pursue justice. It would also create a database on the backend, so our state is able to properly track and analyze hate crimes across the state. 

Democrats addressed archaic and bigoted language in the criminal justice system as well. Democrats filed HB 520: Prohibit Defense Based on Sex or Gender, which would have prevented criminal defendants from basing their defense on the victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity. This is also known as the “gay panic” defense, which weaponizes homophobia and transphobia to justify violence. Additionally, HB 355: Ensure Same-Sex Domestic Violence Protection Order, was introduced, which ensures same-sex couples have the same domestic violence protections.

Gun Violence Prevention

During this session, our community was rocked by the devastation that gun violence carries. The UNC-Chapel Hill campus and surrounding community was forced into lockdown twice in a matter of weeks. Tragically, we lost a fine man and professor in Dr. Zijie Yan. 

The hard work and passion of student advocates was powerful. They protested in Raleigh at the legislature and in Chapel Hill and Carrboro. 

Despite the tragedy and calls for change, Republican leadership did not address the students’ concerns and safety. Steps were taken earlier in the legislative session that will likely make our communities less safe.

SB 41: Guarantee 2nd Amendment Freedom and Protections

In late March, the General Assembly, under Republican leadership, repealed the pistol purchase permit requirements via Senate Bill 41. Pistol purchase permits had long been an effective background check conducted by sheriffs in North Carolina. SB 41 also makes our schools and state less safe, by allowing firearms to be carried on private school property. SB 41 undermines and repeals common sense laws, and I joined my Democratic colleagues in voting against the bill. Unfortunately, the bill passed over Governor Cooper’s veto.

Democratic Bills

I am working for the day when our children and young people will be unafraid to go to school. A good, obvious first step is to reinstate the pistol purchase permit requirement and reverse what SB 41 has done. Earlier this year, I cosponsored the following bills, along with fellow Democratic colleagues: 

• HB 281: This would introduce a “red flag” law, which would temporarily restrict a person's access to firearms if there is evidence that they pose a danger of harm to themselves or others 
• HB 283: This would extend North Carolina's pistol permit requirement to include long guns. Closing this loophole would strengthen the state’s background check system and would help keep guns out of the hands of people whom local law enforcement officers know are dangerous 
• HB 284: This would allow law enforcement agencies to destroy firearms that are unclaimed, surrendered or confiscated, rather than store these indefinitely at taxpayer’s expense. This would save money and allow superfluous weapons to be destroyed.

Unfortunately, these bills did not have any Republican cosponsors, did not get a hearing and did not reach the House floor for a vote this session.

Public Education

This session saw an increase in Republican leadership’s commitment to undermining and underfunding public schools. At the same time, laws such as SB 49 (mentioned earlier) introduce divisive, “culture war”  issues into the classroom and censor teachers and students. 

Public schools continue to be underfunded, even without funneling money away from the system. The Leandro state supreme court case holds our state responsible for billions of dollars in funding to ensure students receive a “sound, basic education.” This is a constitutional obligation the state has failed to meet. Governor Roy Cooper even declared a state of emergency for public education over the summer.

Private School Vouchers

Private school vouchers, or ‘opportunity scholarships’, have been a priority for Republicans for years. These vouchers allow families to use taxpayer money to attend private schools. This is problematic for a number of reasons. First, these private schools are not held to the same accountability measures as public schools, both in terms of academic performance, as well as many non-discrimination laws. Second, these vouchers funnel taxpayer money away from public schools to private schools. While I have nothing against private schools, they should not be funded by taxpayer money, especially when they do not meet the same standards that our government and society have arrived at. 

This year’s budget massively expanded this voucher program. Previously, there was an income cutoff, so that wealthy families were not able to use these funds. That income cap is now gone, meaning that state funds will now subsidize wealthy families sending their children to elite private schools. 

Secondly, the amount of money is tripling, increasing to $500 million annually by 2032. These are funds that are desperately needed by public schools across the state. Many of these vouchers will go to families who can already afford to send their children to private schools, so these dollars are needlessly subsidizing private tuition at the expense of public schools. 

Finally, these vouchers continue to be accompanied by a shocking lack of oversight. Unfortunately, there have already been a number of high-profile cases of fraudsters creating fake schools to collect public funds via the Opportunity Scholarship program. This kind of fraud will likely increase as more money is added to the voucher program.

HB 219: Charter School Omnibus

This legislation diverts funds away from the public school system and into charter schools. It removes many of the growth restrictions for charter schools, and it allows counties to provide public funds to charter schools. As a result of this legislation, charter schools will receive more public funds and less oversight by the state. Traditional public schools will continue to operate with significant funding deficits. 

HB 618: Charter School Review Board

This legislation transfers oversight of charter schools from the State Board of Education to the Charter School Review Board. Under this legislation, the General Assembly would appoint 8 out of 11 of the Charter School Review Board members. Currently, the State Board of Education appoints all of the members of the Charter School Advisory Board. There is concern that due to the changes in the composition of the charter schools board, political appointees, rather than education experts, would oversee charter schools. As a result, there will likely be less accountability and less oversight of charter schools, which are already less regulated than traditional public schools.

Democratic Bills 

Public schools are essential institutions because they serve parents and ultimately, the children of our state. Ultimately, good schools can prepare our children today to move into the jobs of the future. That is why Democrats introduced a broad range of important bills to address the deficits faced by public schools.

• HB 336: Healthy Schools - A Nurse in Every School: This bill would allocate the funds to provide at least one nurse to every public school. 
• HB 478: Support Students with Disabilities Act: This bill would create a program for local schools to apply for state support to provide necessary care for students with disabilities. Coupled with annual reporting, this program would greatly increase the level of care that local schools are able to provide.
• HB 510: School Supplies Act of 2023: This bill would allocate funding for school supplies. All too often, teachers in underfunded schools are forced to purchase their own school supplies, even though they are underpaid themselves.    
• HB 667: Opportunity Scholarship Testing Requirements: This bill would require private schools receiving money from vouchers to have students take at least one nationally standardized test, and to report those results publicly. This would be a first step in ensuring that private schools receiving taxpayer money are held to a fair standard. 
• HB 705: Build Safer Communities and Schools Act: This bill would make a number of important changes to our public safety system in our schools, by making it easier for schools to hire psychologists. It would also provide school safety grants and would strengthen gun safety laws to make our communities safer.
• HB 729: Add Segregation Score to School Report Cards: I was a primary sponsor on this bill, which would add a metric to measure school segregation to the state’s ‘report cards’ on public schools.  
• HB 777: Universal No-Cost School Meals: This bill would provide all public school students with breakfast and lunch each school day at no cost to the student or their family.
• HB 849: Expand & Enhance the Teaching Fellows Program: This bill would further invest in the NC Teaching Fellows Program, which helps recruit and train high-performing students to become teachers in North Carolina. 
• HB 885: Sound Basic Education for Every Child: This omnibus bill would provide sweeping investments in our public schooling system, in order to get us closer to our constitutional mandate of a ‘sound, basic education for every child.’ This includes raises for school personnel, infrastructure investments, and more.

Environmental Protection

At a time when environmental protections are more necessary than ever, Republicans caved to special interests to prioritize profits over community wellbeing. Most of these environmental attacks came through technical regulations, so although they might be more difficult to parse, the damage is done all the same. 

HB 488: Code Council Reorg. & Var. Code Amendments

This legislation freezes our state’s residential building code. Consequently, the state will be restricted in its ability to implement important environmental measures into new buildings in North Carolina. 

Additionally, this law will likely restrict our access to important federal funding, including Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds for building resiliency. FEMA funding has been critical to North Carolina due to more frequent hurricanes and severe flooding in recent years. Homeowners and families will also face higher financial burdens, since they will not realize the cost savings under the environmental measures. I am also concerned that North Carolinians in areas vulnerable to extreme weather will have little to no relief under this legislation.

Republicans overrode the Governor’s veto and passed this into law.

HB 600: Regulatory Reform Act of 2023

HB 600 was this year’s regulatory reform bill. These are lengthy pieces of legislation that make a large number of changes to the state’s regulations in countless domains. Like the state budget, there are a number of good and bad things in this bill, with much of it consisting of technical changes to existing regulations.

I voted against this bill largely due to its impact on environmental protections. At a time when we need to do more for our environment and public health, this bill weakens existing water protections. Notably, this includes loosening requirements for the MVP Southgate natural gas pipeline project, which has previously been denied water quality certifications. Additionally, the bill blocks efforts to promote fairness for historically underutilized businesses, which include businesses owned by women, minorities and people with disabilities.

Republicans overrode the Governor’s veto and passed this into law.

SB 582: North Carolina Farm Act of 2023

This year’s farm bill includes language that essentially removes wetlands protections for up to half of the state’s currently designated wetlands areas. This language was a highly controversial addition to the bill, which otherwise includes many good, non-controversial provisions to help state farmers. Republicans overrode the Governor’s veto and passed this into law.

Democratic Bills 

While Republicans sought to weaken environmental protections, and our ability to set them, Democrats fought to protect our communities from pollution and lessen our dependence on fossil fuels. 

• HB 659: Hog Lagoon Phaseout: This bill would sunset hog lagoons, which have been a large driver of pollution and environmental racism. It would also increase the living standards for farm animals and fund studies on the dangers of antibiotics on industrial farms. 
• HB 676: Hydraulic Fracturing/Statewide Ban: This bill would ban the practice known as “fracking,” which increases North Carolinians’ reliance on fossil fuels and has been shown to have negative health outcomes for surrounding communities.
• HB 689: Environmental Justice in North Carolina: I was honored to be a primary sponsor for this bill, which would require environmental justice to be formally considered by state agencies prior to regulatory decisions. It would create and support advisory bodies to guide agencies and the state legislature on matters of environmental justice. Historically, low-income communities and communities of color have faced disproportionate environmental and health burdens, at the state and local levels. This bill would be part of starting a comprehensive approach to addressing this injustice.
• HB 720: State Clean Energy Goal for 2050: This bill would establish a state goal to have 100% of our electricity generated by renewables by 2050.
• HB 801: Reenact Solar Energy Tax Credit: I introduced this bill to bring back the solar energy tax credit in order to encourage and enable North Carolinians to use solar energy systems. When the tax credit expired, North Carolina had the second largest solar market in the country, behind only California. The credit itself was the largest tax incentive used in the state - more than double the next largest. Although the solar energy market has continued to grow without the tax credit, that growth has slowed greatly. The state has also lost its position as a leader in the industry. By reinstating this tax credit, North Carolina could once again become a leader in a sustainable industry that continues to grow.

Government and Separation of Powers

With the following bills, Republican leadership took steps to decrease transparency and to insulate legislative power from the other branches of government. When these steps are coupled with the extreme gerrymandering (covered in the next section), government becomes less accountable to the the media and voters.

Removal of Appointment Authority from Governor Cooper 

One of the most significant actions to undercut the separation of powers and the Governor’s authority was SB 512: Greater Accountability for Boards and Commissions. This bill became law after a veto override by Republicans.

SB 512 removes a number of the governor’s appointments and reassigns them to the General Assembly and to other members of the Council of State. In previous years, voters rejected this bill at the ballot box in 2018, and a similar legislative measure was rejected by the state supreme court in recent years. With a now friendly state supreme court, Republican leaders sought once more to take power away from the executive branch and consolidate that power in the legislative branch. 

Some of the worst policy provisions included in this year’s budget transfer even more power away from the other branches of government and into the General Assembly, particularly from the Governor. The state budget would make more judges subject to the appointment of legislative leaders, rather than to elections by the voters. The Judicial Standards Commission is a body that reviews the conduct of judges. Currently, it is engaged in a questionable investigation of Democratic Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls. The state budget now allows Republican legislative leaders to pack that commission with their allies.

Extreme Partisan Oversight

The state budget also gives unprecedented powers to some partisan legislative staff. They will now have the power to enter any premises and seize records from businesses or entities that receive any state funding. Under the state budget, a new committee has been established to punish and harass the opponents of legislative leaders. This will only make it harder for state employees to do their jobs and for people carrying out the state’s business.

Voting Rights and Gerrymandering

This session saw Republicans continue their decade-long assault on the foundations of our state’s democracy. After the state supreme court made an unprecedented reversal of their previous decision, Republican legislative leadership drew hyperpartisan State House, State Senate and congressional district maps. It is an attempt to further entrench Republican legislators from the will of the voters. 

Additionally, two major bills passed in the wake of the “Stop the Steal” efforts to deny and attack election results. All of this adds up to create a voting system that either favors Republicans or becomes discredited when Republicans lose in elections.

This legislature attempted to reduce citizen access to voting, and these bills are the latest acts in that fight. The supporters of these bills did not offer evidence to justify these changes. No funding was allocated to educate voters on these new changes and help elections staff meet new requirements. 



New Maps

Some of the last substantial votes that the NCGA took before recessing were to pass an extreme new set of maps. I covered these maps in more depth in a recent newsletter.

I firmly believe voters should be able to choose their representatives, not the other way around. Extreme gerrymandering has led to many non-competitive elections. This ultimately means that representatives can face no accountability for their actions in office. The only accountability they face tends to come from their party’s primary voters, who tend to be farther from the center in their views. This leads to a dynamic where our elected officials continue to move towards political extremes and away from being a body where consensus can be reached.  

SB 747: Elections Law Changes

SB 747 is a wide-ranging bill with a number of significant changes. Notably, it removes the three-day “grace period” for absentee, mail-in ballots. This means completed absentee ballots must arrive by Election Night in order to be counted. There is a significant  likelihood that citizens who vote absentee will have their votes discounted through no fault of their own, due to mailing delays. In 2009, Republicans and Democrats unanimously passed the law that created this three-day grace period in the first place. SB 747 also makes same-day registration more difficult, requires those helping elderly and disabled voters to be kept in a log and makes other changes that restrict voters’ access to the ballot.

SB 749: No Partisan Advantage in Elections

SB 749 reorganizes the state and county boards of elections to have an equal partisan split. It also removed appointment authority from the governor and gave it to the General Assembly. Though the bill's supporters claim the bill will create fairness, it will inevitably lead to partisan gridlock at all levels of our elections system due to tied votes between Republican and Democratic members of these boards. In the case of a tied vote, the tie breaking power is left to the Republican legislative leadership. This is a fundamental change to how elections work, which have been tried and true for many decades in North Carolina, prior to these changes.

Democratic Bills

At the same time that Republicans were taking steps to make voting more burdensome, Democrats were working to protect access to the ballot and strengthen voting rights protections. 

In March, I filed HB 293: Freedom to Vote Act, which included a number of measures to make our elections free and fair. The bill would make it easier for people to register to vote through a secure, online process, give people more time to cast their ballot during early voting, prevent voter roll purges that unfairly remove voters without notice, and require that, by the next census, our state adopt a new, independent redistricting process This bill would also make our elections safer, more secure, and more transparent, by clearly defining and prohibiting voter and election worker intimidation and harassment, and by providing our Board of Elections with the funding it needs to safely and securely administer elections

Back in January, I cosponsored HB 9: Fair Maps Act, which would have turned over authority for the maps to an independent redistricting process. This was one of the first major bills that Democrats filed - the ninth bill in a session that saw almost a thousand bills - and it is because we know that true representation is the foundation for moving North Carolina forward.

Other Democratic bills include:

• HB 68: Reenact Nonpartisan Judicial Elections/Fund.: This bill would revert judicial elections to being nonpartisan, as well as providing public funding for those elections. These reforms would help ensure an independent and less partisan judicial system. 
• HB 708: Clarify Felony/Voting Without Rights Restored: This bill requires a knowing violation of the law when somebody votes without their rights of citizenship restored in order to qualify as a felony. This prevents those who unintentionally vote without being eligible from being punished for that mistake. 
• HB 713: Make Election Day A State Holiday: This bill would make Election Day a state holiday, which would make it easier for working folks to get to the polls that day.

State Budget

This year’s state budget process was much longer than expected and created uncertainty for many state workers and citizens. Republican infighting over casinos and gambling set the budget process back months. This delay was significant. The budget was the final step for Medicaid expansion,, increases in teacher and state employees raises and investments in the state’s infrastructure. 

At the end of that process, the presented state budget fell far short of the needs of the people. The public and Democrats were given less than 24 hours to review the budget, which included the continued, severe underfunding of public institutions and a number of troubling policy provisions.

Last month, I summarized the budget in much greater depth. 

Democratic Alternatives 

Although Democrats were locked out of the state budget process, we worked hard to present budget alternatives that invest in the people and infrastructure of North Carolina. In addition to Governor Cooper’s budget (which is summarized in this newsletter), we introduced two budget bills in the State House, which are summarized below:

• HB 569: Working Families Act: This bill would raise the minimum wage to $15/hour, ensure access to paid parental and medical leave, create a child tax credit, expand child care subsidies, and invest in affordable housing. These priorities would ensure that North Carolinians are able to support and provide for their families.
• HB 581: Investing in North Carolina Act: This bill would make significant investments in childcare, provide substantial salary increases to teachers and state employees, increase the cost of living adjustment for state retirees and provide grants to small businesses for implementing paid sick and family medical leave.

Healthcare

Overall, healthcare is likely the policy area with the most significant positive progress this session, namely due to Medicaid expansion.

After more than a decade of delays and obstinacy, Republicans finally agreed to expand Medicaid in North Carolina. This has been a major Democratic priority for years, and this legislation will be life-changing for over 600,000 North Carolinians, who will finally be able to access better care in December. We cleared the final legislative hurdle when the state budget passed. Republicans decided to tie the funding of Medicaid expansion to the state budget. 

Another important win in this year’s budget is the funding going towards expanding mental health programs. This is another critical priority that is finally coming to fruition. Throughout the pandemic, it became increasingly clear the extent to which the people of our state and our country have been coping with mental health crises. I am grateful to see the legislature put funding towards providing care for folks.

Democratic Bills 

Medicaid expansion has been a Democratic priority for over a decade, and it was humbling to see it finally passed this year. However, Medicaid expansion is not a cure-all for the healthcare system, and there is more work to be done. 

• HB 543: Youth END Act: This bill would allocate funds to address the resurgent crisis of nicotine dependency among youth in North Carolina.
• HB 745: Mandate Fentanyl Testing/Hospital ER Patients: This bill would require hospitals to test for fentanyl when conducting urine tests in an emergency department.
• HB 751: Accessing Midwives Act: This bill would create a licensing process for midwives in North Carolina, in order to expand care options for pregnant women. 
• H552: 2023 MOMnibus Act: This bill aims to address maternal mortality in North Carolina, particularly among Black women and other vulnerable populations. It would create grant programs, require implicit bias training programs for healthcare providers, and create a list of rights for patients receiving perinatal care.

Other Bills

Below are some important bills which passed this session, but they do not fit in with any of the previous categories.

• HB 10: Require Sheriffs to Cooperate with ICE: This bill would require local sheriffs to reach out to ICE if they are unable to confirm citizenship for someone taken into custody. Across the country, bills like this one have contributed to undue discrimination and suspicion towards people of color. Last year, Gov. Cooper vetoed a similar bill. This bill passed the House, but did not advance in the Senate.
• HB 40: Prevent Rioting and Civil Disorder: This bill increases current criminal penalties on certain acts of property damage committed during a protest. It also allows anyone suspected of such wrongdoing to be detained for 24 hours, even if innocent. The vagueness in this bill’s language will likely dissuade some people from exercising their constitutional right to peacefully protest. This bill passed the House and became law without the Governor’s signature. 
• HB 347: Sports Wagering: This bill makes sports wagering legal in North Carolina. The Lottery Commission will be responsible for issuing licenses to involved parties and for regulating sports wagering. It also creates some consumer protections to try to guard against the exploitation of bettors. There was an additional measure to fund historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). There is uncertainty around projected revenues. In other states which legalized this gambling, both illegal and problem gambling have actually seen increases. This bill passed the North Carolina Geneal Assembly on divided votes. There was a split in support and opposition within both the Democratic and Republican caucuses. The Governor signed the bill into law.
• HB 750: Address ESG Factors: This bill prevents state entities from using environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in personnel decisions. It also limits the state treasurer from considering these factors in investments. This bill hamstrings state government agencies from considering all of the information available before making personnel decisions and investments. This bill passed in the General Assembly over Governor Cooper’s veto. 
• SB 364: Nondiscrimination and Dignity in State Work: This bill purportedly seeks to prevent state agencies and universities from discriminating against or compelling speech in personnel decisions. In practice, this bill will likely chill and discourage important conversations on equity and inclusion in the workplace.

It is easy to just criticize the bad legislation from this past session. But we have to make sure to highlight positive, proposed legislation that speaks to a vision of what North Carolina can be for the people. 

Democrats introduced a number of bills this session that Republican legislative leadership did not allow hearings for. Below, I highlight two issue priority issues and some bills that I either introduced or co-sponsored.

Families and Children

Much of the legislation that passed this session ignored families and children. Democrats introduced a number of bills to provide funding and support to working families and their children. 

• H321: Reduce Maternal Mortality/Morbidity: This bill aims to reduce maternal mortality by increasing the accessibility of prenatal and obstetric care, by raising the rates at which Medicaid will cover these types of care. 
• H398: Child Care Act: This bill would reinstate the child care tax credit, expand the Pre-K program, provide free school meals, and increase child care subsidies. 
• HB 479: Recovery Rebate for Working Families: I was a proud primary sponsor on this bill to reenact the earned income tax credit. In past years, this program was a great help for working families and unfortunately, was allowed to expire. 
• H514: Reenact Child Tax Credit: This bill would re-establish the child tax credit, in order to help working families.
• H622: Menstrual Equity for All: This bill would exempt feminine hygiene products from sales taxes, as well as providing grants for public schools to provide menstrual care products to students.
• HB 730: Funds for the Expansion of NC Pre-K: This bill would expand access to the NC Pre-K program, which is a step towards providing adequate childcare for families across the state.

Transportation

Transportation is critical in our district. The state legislature has needlessly restricted the development of better infrastructure that could lessen people’s dependence on driving. Democrats are committed to investing in multi-modal infrastructure, which would lead to stronger, connected communities. 

• HB 582: Transportation for the Future Act: I was a primary sponsor on this bill, which would begin to move us away from sole dependence on automobile infrastructure. It would increase the proportion of North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) funds that must go to bicycle lanes, sidewalks and other modes of transportation, besides only roads. Under current law, there is a prohibition on the use of these funds for standalone pedestrian and bicycle projects. This bill would change that law to allow the NCDOT to fund pedestrian and bicycle projects, which are not tied to road projects. The bill would also change the criteria used to evaluate transportation projects.
• HB 360: STI Funding/Bike/Pedestrian Improvements: HB 360 would repeal limitations on state transportation funding to allow NCDOT to assist in funding projects that are simply bike or pedestrian improvements. Currently, NCDOT is prohibited from giving this assistance, unless the project also includes roads for cars.

Introduced Bills

This session, I worked hard to hit the ground running. Although freshman members are often limited in the types of bills they can introduce, I did my best to lead on issues important to our district and state.

Below I have highlighted my introduced bills that do not fit cleanly into the categories already covered in this newsletter. 

• HB 345: Student Tax Reduction (STAR) Act: Currently, student loan forgiveness is taxed as income for purposes of state income taxes. This bill would remove this tax burden of student loan debt forgiveness. This bill did not receive a hearing.
• HB 596: Hate Crimes Prevention Act: This is the second straight Long Session this bill has been introduced. This bill would address hate crimes in a number of important ways. It would expand the definition of hate crimes to track more with federal laws to include ethnicity, gender, disability and sexual orientation. It would increase punishment for hate crimes. It would also require the North Carolina State Board of Investigation to maintain a database on hate crimes in the state. Additionally, it would provide prosecutors and law enforcement officers with training on identifying, responding to and prosecuting hate crimes. With the rise in hate crimes over recent years, North Carolina’s laws sorely need updating to help effectively combat hate. This bill did not receive a hearing.
• HB 636: Enact Criminal Justice Debt Reform: In the summer of 2019, then-Chief Justice Cheri Beasley gave her State of the Judiciary address, in which she called on state and local governments to address the crisis of criminal justice debt. Thousands of working North Carolinians have been saddled with excessive court costs and fees. This bill would make important reforms to the state’s criminal justice court costs and fees system. These reforms include requiring considerations of a defendant’s income when assessing court fees, removal of the prohibition on waiving some or all of a defendant’s fees and preventing the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles from revoking a driver’s license solely because of a failure to pay fees. This bill did not receive a hearing.
• HB 734: Venus Flytrap Special Registration Plate: This was a bipartisan bill that I introduced, with two Republicans and a fellow Democrat. This bill would create a special license plate featuring the Venus Flytrap, a plant native to North Carolina. Funds raised from the sale of this license plate would go to the Chapel Hill-based North Carolina Botanical Gardens. Ultimately, the proceeds would  support conservation efforts. This bill is also a personal milestone. This was my first introduced bill to pass the House. Unfortunately, this bill has not yet advanced on the Senate side.
• HB 806: Protect Student Journalists: A number of student journalists in high schools and colleges have reported death threats and harassment. This bill would clarify and protect the rights to free speech and press for student journalists at K-12 schools, UNC institutions and community colleges. It would also prevent students from facing disciplinary actions for their reporting. This bill did not receive a hearing.
• HB 820: Update Strategic State Plan for Alzheimer’s: This bill would require the Division of Aging and Adult Services to update and submit the strategic State plan on Alzheimer’s disease by January 1, 2025, and quadrennially thereafter. This plan will include the state’s addressing of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. 
• HB 822: Constitutional Amendment - Involuntary Servitude: This bill would have presented a state constitutional amendment for a vote on the 2024 primary ballot. This bill would have proposed an amendment to the state constitution to make the ban on slavery and involuntary servitude a complete ban. Right now, there is an exception to the abolition of slavery and involuntary servitude for people convicted of a crime. This state constitutional amendment has passed in other states in recent years, including Tennessee, Alabama, Utah, Vermont and Oregon. This bill did not receive a hearing.

Cosponsored Bills

One of the greatest parts of being in the State House is supporting the great work done by my colleagues. Below are some of the bills I cosponsored that do not fit in with any of the previously covered categories. 

• HB 44: Repealing the Literacy Test: Our state’s constitution still contains Jim Crow-era language in support of literacy tests, which were used to disenfranchise Black voters. The bill was bipartisan, and Senate Republicans expressed an interest in passing it. However, House Republican leadership did not move it past the Rules committee.
• HB 140: Civilian Traffic Crash Investigators/Pilot: This begins a pilot program to allow cities to hire civilian traffic crash investigators. This would allow law enforcement to not have to respond to traffic crash incidents. This bill passed in the House and Senate and became law.
• HB 143: CROWN Act: This bill would prohibit denying, refusing, or terminating employment due to natural hair, hair styles, and other traits historically associated with race.
• HB 287: Educate Patients about Opioid Antagonists: This bipartisan bill would require healthcare providers to educate patients who receive opioid prescriptions about the dangers of opioids, overdose prevention, and drugs like Narcan, which can help prevent overdose deaths. This bill passed the House, but did not advance in the Senate.
• HB 302: NC Adopt ERA: This bill would have North Carolina ratify the Equal Rights Amendment in North Carolina. The ERA is a long overdue move to enshrine women’s rights in the US Constitution.  
• HB 626: Cannabis Legalization & Regulation: This bill would legalize and regulate cannabis for recreational usage and expunge convictions for those with past convictions. 
• HB 632: Rural Broadband Transformation Act: There continues to be a digital divide and lack of internet access in rural areas, as compared to urban and suburban parts of the state. This bill would enable local governments to facilitate broadband access throughout their communities to better support individuals, families and businesses.

In 2024, the NC General Assembly will have a short session, which typically lasts from late spring into early summer. This short session will begin on April 24, 2024. Until then, there will be no official movement on bills or legislation, and any bills from the 2023 session will have to be refiled in order to be considered. 

My staff and I are busy planning and researching possible legislation for the upcoming new session. Please reach out with any feedback, questions, or information as we form our legislative agenda for the next year. Hearing from constituents is one of the most important ways that our office learns about critical issues, as well as the issues that matter most to our district and our state.

Medicaid Expansion Resources

Courtesy of our state’s Department of Health and Human Services, I have provided some resources below for sharing information related to NC’s Medicaid expansion on December 1st. If you are interested in being trained to make Medicaid Expansion Presentations or share information within your networks, please email austin.hahn@ncleg.gov.

Beginning December 1, 2023, more North Carolinians will be able to get health coverage through NC Medicaid. This will be a game changer for the more than 600,000 people who will be able to access health care and is the most significant investment in the health of our state in decades. Thank you to the many partners that have helped make this a reality.   

Now we need your help to be sure that North Carolinians know who is eligible and how to apply. We have a new website, bilingual toolkit and a sign-up form to stay updated on the most current information about how more North Carolinians will be able to get health coverage through NC Medicaid. Please use these tools with your networks and communities. 

The bilingual toolkit includes:

• Day 1 Flyer: An overview of who is eligible and how to enroll.
• Newsletter Template: Content to include in your newsletters and emails.
• Social Media: Graphics and posts to share on your channels. 
• Family Planning Flyer: Information for the approximately 300,000 people who receive limited benefits through Family Planning Medicaid who will be automatically enrolled in full Medicaid.
• Medicaid Essentials Deck: A presentation to share with your community on who is eligible and how to enroll.
• FAQ: Answers to common questions.
• ePass Video: An overview of how to apply online through ePass. 

To stay updated with the latest information, be notified when the application process goes live, and receive the newest resources, complete this sign-up form.

DHHS will host the next round of Medicaid Essentials Trainings on the following dates. If you or others you know are interested in joining these trainings, please fill out this form. 

• English-language training: Dec. 4, 2023, 2 p.m. to 3 p.m
• Spanish-language training: Dec. 13, 2023, 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. 

Thank you for helping more people in your communities get health coverage through NC Medicaid. Together we will ensure more than 600,000 people gain access to health care across North Carolina.

C-SPAN’s 2024 StudentCam Competition

C-SPAN recently launched their 2024 StudentCam competition, marking the 20th anniversary of this annual student documentary contest. This year, C-SPAN is asking students to create a five- to six-minute long video around the theme, "Looking Forward while Considering the Past." Students are given the opportunity to explore an issue or event looking 20 years into the future or 20 years into the past.

In previous years, students from Chapel Hill and Carrboro have won prizes in this national competition. I look forward to seeing more excellent contributions from our community!  

For the 2024 competition, C-SPAN will once again award $100,000 in cash prizes to the top 150 student-produced films, as well as an additional $50,000 in cash prizes for teachers who encourage and support their students' participation in StudentCam.

More information, including competition rules and requirements can be found at StudentCam.org or by emailing educate@c-span.org.

USGLC’s Next Gen Global Leaders Network

USGLC - a group dedicated to strengthening our nation’s diplomacy and development tools - is currently accepting applications for their Next Gen Global Leaders Network Class of 2024. This is their annual investment in a powerful network of the next generation of leaders who can inspire their communities and their peers on the importance of America’s global leadership. It is a great way to advance a shared belief in building a better, safer world.

This opportunity is open to those between the ages 25 to 45, and it includes:

• Learning from foreign policy experts in a virtual training program, taking on leadership skills needed to make real change into the future.
• Attending USGLC’s Annual Global Impact Forum and State Leaders Capitol Hill Day in Washington, D.C. – networking with other young professionals from across the country, joining advocacy meetings with their Senators and Representatives, and engaging on why America’s role in the world matters.
• Media and messaging training – both traditional and social media - leveraging their networks and their voices to reach a new, younger audience.
• A seat on their local State Advisory Committee – pending program completion –deepening the bench of next generation voices who support strategic investments in America’s development and diplomacy programs.

There is no cost to participate. Click here to learn more. Applications close December 15. 

Thank you for taking the time to read through this update. As always, please feel free to reach out with any questions related to legislative events, or if we can assist in working with state agencies. 

You can always email me at allen.buansi@ncleg.gov or call my office at (919) 733-7208. If you’d prefer to contact my legislative assistant, Austin Hahn, you may do so at austin.hahn@ncleg.gov.

Finally, if you are not subscribed to this newsletter, or if you know someone who would like to be, you can sign up here.

Thank you,

Rep. Allen Buansi