2021: A Year in Review
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

NC Council of Churches

Strength in Unity, Peace through Justice

  • Voices
  • About
    • Overview
    • Staff
    • Members
    • Covenant Partners
    • Issue Statements
    • Governing Board
    • Careers
  • Programs
    • NC Interfaith Power & Light
      • NCIPL Overview
      • Faith in Action NCIPL
      • NCIPL Articles
      • NCIPL Resources
      • Upcoming Events for NCIPL
      • Contact NCIPL
    • Partners in Health & Wholeness
      • PHW Staff
      • Mini-Grants
      • PHW Collaborative Pledge
      • The Overdose Crisis: The Faith Community Responds
      • Mental Health Advocacy
      • BIPOC Mental Health Grant
      • Growing Communities of Inclusion: A Faithful Response to HIV
      • Healthy Aging
      • Citizen Science
      • PHW Articles
      • FAQs
  • Priorities
    • Racial Justice
    • The Overdose Crisis: The Faith Community Responds
    • Gun Violence Prevention
    • Criminal Justice
    • Immigrant Rights
    • Public Education
    • Farmworkers
    • Legislative Advocacy
    • Christian Unity
    • Peace
  • Events
  • Resources
    • COVID-19 Resources
    • Publications & Reports
    • Raleigh Report
    • Lectionary
    • Sermons
  • Donate
  • Council Store
  • Show Search

Search NC Council of Churches

Hide Search

Raleigh Report – February 7, 2011

George Reed, Former Executive Director · February 7, 2011 · Leave a Comment

Click here to sign up to receive the Raleigh Report in your inbox

  • Protect Health Care Freedom
  • Postsecondary Education/Illegal Aliens
  • Budget
  • Education
  • Gambling
  • Medical Liability Reforms
  • Immigration
  • Miscellaneous
  • Contacting State Legislators
  • Contacting the Governor

BILLS NEEDING IMMEDIATE ATTENTION

H 2 – Protect Health Care Freedom
Introducers: Reps. Stam, Barnhart, & Hollo
Status: Passed by House, now in Senate Judiciary II Comm.
(A similar bill, S 23, has been introduced by Sens. Clary, Rouzer, and Pate and is also in Senate J II.)

H 2 says its purpose is “to protect the freedom to choose health care and health insurance.” What it would do specifically is exempt North Carolinians from the provisions of federal health care reform that require most Americans to have health insurance, buying it for themselves (often with subsidies) if it is not provided by an employer. H 2 would also require the state Attorney General to join legal suits being brought against federal health care reform by several states.

This bill is a bad one on several fronts:
1) It is the requirement that everybody have health insurance which makes federal reform financially workable, which leads to . . .
2) Apparently the “freedom” mentioned in the bill’s title includes the “freedom” to be uninsured, the “freedom” not to be able to get medical care except at the emergency room, the “freedom” to be excluded from health insurance or have your child excluded because of a pre-existing condition, the “freedom” not to be able to keep a young-adult child on your insurance policy while s/he gets established as an adult, the “freedom” to have annual caps and lifetime caps on insurance claims, etc, etc.
3) The federal health care reform law is being tested in the federal courts. If it loses there, it doesn’t matter what the General Assembly has said. If it wins there, it doesn’t matter what the General Assembly has said.
4) North Carolina’s Attorney General has already determined that entering the existing suits is not worthwhile and would merely waste the resources of his office. The AG is a publicly elected member of the Executive Branch of the state’s government. For the state’s Legislative Branch to try to instruct him on how to run his office is probably itself a violation of the separation of powers and therefore unconstitutional. At the very least it creates a completely unnecessary constitutional confrontation.

What to do: You should contact your state Senator immediately. (Contact information is at the end of this RR.) Even if you know that your senator is going to support H 2, s/he needs to know that not all constituents agree with this bill. You might inquire about whether it is the freedom to be uninsured that your senator supports. Remind him/her that North Carolina now has well over 1.5 million uninsured people, and each of us who gets insurance through our employer is only one pink slip away from joining that 1.5+ million. Also contact Governor Perdue immediately, asking her to veto this bill if it comes to her desk. Her training and early work experience were in the field of health care, and she understands the impact of having more than 1.5 million uninsured North Carolinians.

H 11, No Postsecondary Education/Illegal Aliens (sic)
Introducer: Rep. Cleveland
Status: House Education Committee

H 11 would prevent undocumented immigrants from attending any of the state’s universities or community colleges. (Other than in quoting the bill’s title, we will not use its offensive term for undocumented immigrants. We do not believe than any of God’s children are “illegal,” nor are the connotations of “alien” appropriate for anyone created in God’s image.) Currently undocumented students are permitted to enroll in both the UNC system and the community college system, but they are required to pay out-of-state tuition (which, being greater than the cost of their education, subsidizes the tuition of in-state students). Not surprisingly, there are very few undocumented students enrolled. Estimates for the community college system are that they number about 200, out of hundreds of thousands enrolled in the system.

The NC Council of Churches supports educational opportunities for all of the state’s young people. These undocumented students were brought to this country by their parents, often at a very young age. We cannot see the benefit of excluding them from higher education, especially when the state’s government agencies, businesses, and nonprofits are seeking people who are bilingual for a variety of positions. Why would we say to these young people, “We want you to take your excellent academic record and obvious potential and use them to mow lawns or flip burgers for the rest of your life”? There’s nothing wrong with those jobs or the people who fill them, but if someone has the ability and the drive to be a school teacher or a priest or a neurosurgeon, shouldn’t they have that choice?

What to do: It’s not certain how quickly this bill will move, but it is certain to move. If you want to weigh in on it, you should go ahead now and contact both your representative and your senator. Again, do so even if you are sure they will support excluding students from higher education.

OTHER BILLS

BUDGET

S 13, Balanced Budget Act of 2011
Introducers: Sens. Stevens and Brunstetter
Status: Passed 2nd reading in the Senate

S 13 would give the Governor authorization to reduce state spending for the remainder of this fiscal year (which ends on June 30) by at least $400 million. The bill specifies transfers from the three funds established as part of the tobacco settlement: the Golden LEAF Foundation (which provides assistance to communities affected by the decline of tobacco), the Health and Wellness Trust Fund (which focuses on improving the health of North Carolinians, especially through reductions in the use of tobacco), and the Tobacco Trust Fund (which assists people hurt by the decline of tobacco).

EDUCATION

S 8, No Cap on Number of Charter Schools
Introducer: Sen. Stevens
Status: Senate Education Comm.

Current law limits the number of charter schools per school district to five and statewide to 100. S 8 would eliminate those caps.

H 41, Tax Fairness in Education
Introducers: Reps. Stam, Hager, and Collins
Status: not yet assigned to a committee

H 41 would create a tax credit of $1,250 per semester per child for the parents of children being educated in nonpublic schools (private or home schools). The credit is available to parents with taxable income of $100,000 or less (for married filing jointly, and comparable amounts for other filing statuses), and is available only for students who have been enrolled in public schools in the year before the one in which the credit is being claimed. The bill also allows county commissions to give up to $1,000 per child per year to parents with children in nonpublic schools.

GAMBLING

S 3, Broaden Sweepstakes Law
Introducer: Rep. Vaughan
Status: Senate Judiciary II

S 3 is the latest round in the state’s effort to prevent video poker, sweepstakes parlors, and other video-based gambling. The General Assembly has banned these practices, but the gambling industry has gone to court and had parts of the most recent law overturned. This bill is the state’s latest effort to keep video poker and sweepstakes parlors out of the state.

HEALTH CARE

S 33, Medical Liability Reforms
Introducers: Sens. Apodaca, Brown, and Rucho
Status: in Senate Judiciary I Comm.

S 33 would change medical malpractice suits in the following ways:
• The standard to prove malpractice in emergency services would be higher. To win such a suit, someone who had been injured would have to show that the health care provider’s conduct was gross negligence, wanton conduct or intentional wrongdoing, not simple negligence.
• Malpractice suits could have separate trials on the issues of liability and damages, but with the same trier of fact (i.e., judge or jury).
• There would be a limit of $250,000 for noneconomic damages. Future economic damages (defined as future medical expenses, loss of future earnings, etc.) could be made on a periodic basis, rather than a lump sum payment.
• A verdict awarding damages would have to specify the amounts for noneconomic damages, for present economic damages, and for future economic damages.

IMMIGRATION

H 33, State Law to Provide for Acceptable IDs
Introducer: Rep. Cleveland
Status: not yet assigned to a committee

H 33 would require certain specified forms of identification to be used for governmental and law enforcement purposes. They include: a driver’s license, the state’s photo ID card for non-drivers, a military ID, a passport, or an official document issued by the US government to show the person is legally present in the US. Clearly missing is the Matricula Consular issued by Mexican consulates and recently recognized by Durham as valid ID. And, in case Durham missed the point, the bill also prohibits local governments from accepting any other form of ID and repeals any “contradicting” local government decision.

H 36, Public Contracts/Illegal Immigrants
Introducers: Reps. H. Warren and Cleveland
Status: not yet assigned to a committee

H 36 would prohibit any entity contracting with state or local governments from employing undocumented immigrants, would require contractors to use the federal E-Verify program to be sure none of their employees is undocumented, and would make them sign a statement certifying the verification. It would be a felony to submit a false certification, and contractors would be prohibited from doing business with the state or local government for a year if they knowingly used undocumented immigrants.

MISCELLANEOUS

H 28, DHHS to Provide Law Enforcement Information
Introducers: Reps. Burr, Guice, and Ingle
Status: Referred to House Judiciary Subcommittee B

H 28 would require the state’s Department of Health and Human Services to give law enforcement agencies and officers certain personal information on those receiving services from DSS and for whom there is an active investigation or outstanding criminal process. Information to be disclosed would include: full name, date of birth, Social Security number, addresses and phone numbers (past and present), names of family members, and addresses and phone numbers for immediate family members.

H 31, Unlawful to Use Mobile Phones While Driving
Introducer: Rep. Pierce
Status: In House Rules Comm.
(A similar bill, S 36, has been introduced by Sen. Dannelly.)

H 31 would prohibit the use of cell phones and “additional technology associated with” cell phones while driving. The prohibition does not apply if the vehicle is stationary or if the call is being made to report an emergency to the appropriate agency. (While the NC Council of Churches doesn’t have a position on this bill, it would probably have an impact on the behavior of a lot of our pastors and church members!)

Contacting your State Legislators

By telephone: All legislative offices can be reached through the legislative switchboard – (919) 733-4111.

By e-mail: Legislative e-mail addresses follow the pattern of . (Example: Speaker Thom Tillis’ address is Thom.Tillis@ncleg.net.) If you have any question about the spelling of your legislator’s name or whether your legislator’s e-mail address uses a nickname, you can confirm addresses at the General Assembly’s web site: www.ncleg.net. Click on “House” or “Senate” and look for Member Lists.

By postal service mail: All legislators can be addressed at: North Carolina General Assembly, Raleigh, NC 27601-1096.

To find out who your legislators are, go to the General Assembly’s web site: www.ncleg.net. Look for “Who Represents Me?” near the top of the homepage. You will find a variety of ways to search, including through your nine-digit ZIP Code. (And there’s a link to the Postal Service if you don’t know yours.) For those without Internet access, local Boards of Elections can be asked for assistance.

For legislative information:
• A wealth of information is available at the General Assembly’s web site: www.ncleg.net. Look for bill information, texts of all bills, current status and legislative history for bills, information on all members (including e-mail addresses, office telephone numbers, etc.), committee memberships, calendars for the next legislative day, legislative districts, and links to state government agencies. You can even listen in on floor sessions.
• You can get the current status of a bill by calling (919) 733-7779. This is not a toll-free call.

To Contact the Governor

By phone: (919) 733-4240

By Fax: (919) 733-2120

By mail: Governor Bev Perdue
Office of the Governor
20301 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-0301

By e-mail: governor.office@nc.gov

Filed Under: Raleigh Report Tagged With: Good Government, Health, Immigration, Public Education, State Budget

About George Reed, Former Executive Director

As I had hoped, I have spent more time reading books in my retirement. One recent read was Jon Meacham’s splendid biography of Thomas Jefferson. I resonated with something TJ wrote in a letter shortly after leaving the White House in 1809: “I am here [at Monticello] enjoying the ineffable luxury of being owner of my own time.” I can’t say that I am complete owner of my time, but I am really enjoying not being controlled by clock and calendar. Well, except when there’s a deadline for Raleigh Report.

Reader Interactions

More Like This

Paid Leave Can Help Make Us Well
Politicians’ fear: Too many votes
‘For the People’ – or for whom?

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Anonymous comments or comments that target individuals will not be posted (please include your first and last name). All comments must be on topic and respectful. Comments will not be posted until they have been reviewed by a moderator. Comments do not reflect the positions of the NC Council of Churches.

Footer

Contact

NC Council of Churches
27 Horne St.
Raleigh, NC 27607
(919) 828-6501
info@ncchurches.org

Facebook

Partners in Health and Wholeness

Featured

Raleigh Report – February 7, 2011

Latest Tweets

Our @healthandfaith initiative is accepting mini-grant applications! If your faith community would like to implement a program or initiative to support your congregation’s health ministry and its mission, we encourage you to apply! More info at the link: ncchurches.org/progr… pic.twitter.com/EWJz…

About 46 minutes ago

RT @RasuShrestha We grieve and are mortified by the staggering number of mass shootings and other acts of violence with guns in our country. We need action, not just thoughts & prayers. Sign the petition now if you agree: ✅change.org/p/interfa… #GunControlNow pic.twitter.com/hx2O…

About 3 hours ago

Are you passionate about the health and wellbeing of North Carolina communities? Then apply for a job with our Partners in Health and Wholeness as the Engagement and Program Administrator! ncchurches.org/2022/… pic.twitter.com/0Q7Y…

Yesterday

The U.S. Supreme Court, as if rushing to settle old grievances, in recent weeks has thrashed about in a virtual frenzy of “originalism” – never mind the consequences for America’s civic well-being. ncchurches.org/2022/…

About 2 days ago

Faith Leaders! Last chance to apply this training! Learn to incorporate suicide prevention programming into your congregation’s activities. Apply at the link! ncivpb.iad1.qualtric… pic.twitter.com/vFmT…

About 2 days ago

Follow @ncchurches

Latest Tweets

Greetings! Be sure to stop by our table at the Western NC Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church at Lake Junaluska this weekend! We hope to see you there! pic.twitter.com/30bk…

About 3 weeks ago

Hello twitter family! Be sure to stop by our table at the NC Conference of the United Methodist Church in Greenville, NC starting today! We hope to see you there! pic.twitter.com/l6X3…

About 3 weeks ago

Our mini grant cycle is now open!!! pic.twitter.com/eyRp…

About a month ago

RT @faithleadership Faith coalitions are addressing the opioid crisis by providing resources, connections and a destigmatizing vision. lght.ly/45iam80 Featuring: @okconfchurches | @ODMHSASINFO | @healthandfaith | @ncchurches | @DukeTMCI | @shannon_fleck

About a month ago

Join us for Sacred Conversations: Older Adults - Fraud & Scams on Friday, June 24th from 11 AM to 12 PM and learn to recognize common scams targeted towards older adults and how to protect yourself and those in your faith communities. ncchurches.ourpowerb…

About 2 months ago

Follow @healthandfaith

Latest Tweets

RT @mocleanair A new study found hundreds of toxins in natural gas from residential sites, including toluene and benzene in 94-95% of samples. Read more, call ALL your elected leaders for just clean energy: ow.ly/ICTi50JKSug @GCVoters @scennetwork1 @uscan @enviRN @docsforclimate @CEHN

Last week

RT @GeorgiaIPL The Supreme Court’s ruling limits the EPA’s ability to set the strong standards needed to cut carbon pollution and tackle the climate crisis. We can’t afford to stop fighting climate change. pic.twitter.com/XTC7…

Last week

RT @scennetwork1 Join us for Season 2 of @CJYpodcast! We spoke to Catherine Coleman Flowers, one of the founding mothers of Environmental Justice from the South, about the lessons learned from her activism with the civil rights movement to the modern EJ movement. #SouthernVoices #CJY #Podcast pic.twitter.com/TzEr…

Last week

RT @scennetwork1 We thank everyone who joined us for our first in-person convening since the pandemic started! We had a fantastic time and had over 30 organizations from the Southeast represented!🎉 pic.twitter.com/1KYc…

Last week

RT @scennetwork1 We made the news last week! NC Faith Leaders Call on the U.S. to Pay 'Fair Share' for Climate-Related Loss! Read the full article here: publicnewsservice.or… pic.twitter.com/nltj…

Last week

Follow @ncipl

Latest Tweets

Copyright © 2022 NC Council of Churches · All Rights Reserved · Website by Tomatillo Design · Hosted by WP Engine