NC Child Legislative Update: Jan. 26-30
And we’re off!
The 2015 legislative session began in earnest this week with a flurry of new bills and some surprising committee assignments. Despite the excitement and activity, no bills were voted on and committee hearings are not expected to begin until next week.
Here’s a bulleted list of some of the big ticket children’s issues for 2015:
- Medicaid Reform — Can the Senate and House agree on a Medicaid reform package? What will be the impact on children?
- Education Reform / Funding — K-12 schools are always a hot-button issue–vouchers, charter schools, and teacher pay will be some of the key issues.
- State Budget and Tax Questions — Might not seem like a children’s issue on the surface, but our state budget (and the taxes that fund it) is the engine that drives our investment in children. How will legislators deal with yet another looming budget shortfall?
Click here to see NC Child’s 2015 Legislative Agenda.
Here’s a good big picture preview of the 2015 session from Mark Binker at WRAL.
Senate, House Cmte Leadership
HOUSE:
With a new House Speaker in place, there were several significant committee chair shake-ups and even some new committees. Here’s a list of the most important changes:
- Speaker Moore created the House Committee on Children, Youth, and Families, which will be chaired by Rep. Jonathan Jordan and Rep. Sarah Stevens. We’re still not sure exactly what policy issues will be under the purview of this committee, but they will obviously be relevant to our work.
- Rep. Donny Lambeth and Rep. Chuck McGrady are have joined Rep. Nelson Dollar and Rep. Linda Johnson as “big” chairs of the House Appropriations Committee. Rep. Justin Burr, Rep. Pat McElraft, and Rep. Bryan Holloway are no longer chairs.
- Rep. Josh Dobson and Rep. Chris Malone join Rep. Marilyn Avila and Rep. William Brisson as co-chairs of the House HHS Appropriations Subcommittee.
- Rep. Bert Jones, Rep. Justin Burr, Rep. Donny Lambeth, and Rep. Brian Brown are the new chairs of the House Health Committee.
- Rep. Jeffrey Elmore and Rep. Craig Horn have joined Rep. Linda Johnson as chairs of the House Education Committee. Rep. James Langdon is no longer a chair.
SENATE:
With a few exceptions, committee leadership in the Senate largely stayed the same. Here’s a quick rundown of the changes:
- Sen. Tommy Tucker joins Sen. Louis Pate and Sen. Ralph Hise as a chairman of the HHS Policy Committee and HHS Appropriations Subcommittee.
- Sen. Bill Cook and Sen. Trudy Wade have joined Sen. Andrew Brock as chairs of the Senate Agriculture Committee. Sen. Bingham is no longer a chairman.
- Sen. Jerry Tillman has moved from chair of the Senate Education Appropriations Subcommittee to a co-chair of the Senate Finance Committee. Sen. Tillman remains a co-chair of the Senate Education Policy Committee.
For a complete list of legislative committees, including their chairs and full membership, follow this link.
Introduced Bills
Not much yet on children’s issues, but we’ll see an uptick very soon.
HB9, Restore School Calendar Educ. Purpose Waiver: This bill allows local school districts to modify their schedules for a “reasonable educational purpose.”
H27, Reenact EITC: This bill would reinstate the state Earned Income Tax Credit.
H28, Root Out Poverty/Appropriate Funds: This bill would create a permanent statewide poverty task force.