Report from Your Legislature - March 2023

Dear Residents and Voters of District 56,

I hope that everyone has been able to enjoy the extra sunlight after last weekend. Here is a monthly update from the State House as we continue our work.

Thank you to everyone who has reached out to our office with feedback and opinions on bills and issues - these are invaluable to the work that we do!

Session Updates

"Freedom to Vote" Act Filed by House and Senate Democrats

Last week, I was proud to file HB 293, the "Freedom to Vote" Act, along with the entire House and Senate Democratic caucuses.

You can see me explain the bill here.

The “Freedom to Vote” bill would make it easier for people to register to vote through an 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 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.

Republican legislators have filed bills to amend the state constitution to limit in-person Early Voting and to make it harder to cast a vote by mail-in absentee ballot.

Now, more than ever, we must do all we can to protect the integrity of our elections.

Governor Cooper Releases Proposed Budget

The first step in the State Budget process is for the Governor to make his recommendations to the General Assembly. This week Governor Roy Cooper released his recommended budget for FY 2023-2025. He make the case to seize a “once-in-a-generation” opportunity by investing in North Carolina families, businesses, and communities. You can read the Governor’s proposed budget here.

Below are some highlights of the proposed budget:

General

Implements tax breaks for middle class families
Maintains current tax rates for the wealthy and corporations
Keeps more than $7 billion in reserves in case of an economic downturn

Education

Raises teacher pay by an average of 18% over two years, which would make NC the highest-paying state in the Southeast
Allocates $1 billion for public school construction and repair

Healthcare

Supports Medicaid expansion
Provides $1 billion for mental health resources
Creates 1,000 new Innovation Waiver slots, with additional slots per year, to reduce the waitlist for care
Expands competitive integrated employment with investments in vocational rehabilitation services, day supports, and community services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities

Environment

Establishes a local government grant program to match federal funds for bicycle and pedestrian projects
Reinstates standalone funding for bicycle and pedestrian projects (in a corresponding NC DOT bill)
Increases the capacity within the Office for Civil Rights to provide advice, outreach, and support on environmental justice issues, both within the North Carolina Department of Transportation and with external partners.

Workers and Child care

Makes the largest investment in 50 years in state employees, increasing pay, improving benefits to hire and retain quality people. This includes but is not limited to the following:
5% cost of living increase in year 1 and 3% in year 2 of the budget,
$1,500 bonus for those making less than $75,000 per year,
$1,000 bonus for those making more than $75,000 per year.
2% recurring cost of living adjustment for retirees, along with a 2% NR supplement in Year 1 and 1% NR supplement in Year 2.
Continues funding child care stabilization grants to ensure child care centers can employ quality teachers and staff

House Democrats file Common Sense Gun Safety Bills; Republicans Send Dangerous Bill to the Governor

Last week, Democratic House members filed an array of measures to combat gun violence across North Carolina, including the following:

HB 281: Commonly known as a 'red flag law,' this bill 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 bill extends NC's pistol permit requirement to include long guns. Closing this loophole strengthens our background check system and helps keep guns out of the hands of people that local law enforcement knows are dangerous
HB 284: This allows law enforcement agencies to destroy firearms that are unclaimed, surrendered, or confiscated, rather than store these indefinitely at taxpayer expense. This would save money and allow superfluous weapons to be destroyed

Instead, House and Senate Republicans passed an extremist and dangerous gun law, SB 41, and sent it to the Governor's desk. Democrats stood up on the House floor with multiple amendments that would have addressed gun violence, but were not given the chance to speak on these amendments. These amendments included stronger background checks and red flag laws.

This new bill instead allows guns to be carried onto private school property in some cases, as well as repealing the requirement that an individual get a pistol purchase permit from their sheriff.

Other Session News

Gene Nichol in the News and Observer: NC Supreme Court: Villainous work in high places
WRAL: 'It will irreparably damage the legitimacy and reputation of NC's highest court'
WFAE: NC school meal debt reaches a record $3.1 million, prompting calls for permanent free lunch
White House Fact Sheet: The American Rescue Plan’s Impact on North Carolina on Two-Year Anniversary

Other Updates and Signing Off

COVID-19 Updates

NCDHHS COVID-19 Dashboard Summary Page:

https://covid19.ncdhhs.gov/ and https://covid19.ncdhhs.gov/dashboard

Orange County Data on COVID-19: https://www.orangecountync.gov/2643/COVID-19-Dashboards

NCDHHS vaccine webpage: https://covid19.ncdhhs.gov/vaccines

Spanish Version: https://covid19.ncdhhs.gov/vacuna

Orange County vaccine webpage: https://www.orangecountync.gov/2617/Vaccine

How to Stay in Touch

My office stands ready to work for our constituents with matters related to state agencies. We are also committed to listening, incorporating your thoughts and answering questions about our state’s laws and government.

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.

Rep. Buansi and Austin Hahn

Signing Off

Thank you for taking the time to read through these updates and please let me know if you have any further questions.

Thanks,

Rep. Allen Buansi