NC Child Legislative Update: Mar. 2-6
Governor’s Budget
Governor McCrory released his biennial budget proposal yesterday. The budget is largely devoid of any major shifts in child-related funding or policy. Click here to see the full proposal. Below is a brief overview of some the key provisions:
Early Education
NC Pre-K — $5.4 M recurring expansion that continues a one-time appropriation from last year’s budget. This allocation will not result in new slots for at-risk four-year-olds.
Replace NC Pre-K state funding with federal funding — The Governor’s budget would replace $16.9 M in state funding with federal block grant funds.
Social Services
Increase foster care funding — The budget includes a $12.4 M increase in foster care funding for FY2016 and a $21 M increase for FY2017. This increase is necessary to support a growing foster care caseload.
Medicaid
Rebase — The budget includes a $1 B rebase for Medicaid to continue the current level of benefits and services. $734 M is federally-funded and $287 M is state-funded.
Funding for Transition to Accountable Care Organizations — The budget includes a $2.3 M allocation to hire staff that would oversee the transition to an Accountable Care Organization model for Medicaid service delivery.
Mental Health / Developmental Disability / Substance Abuse
Community Mental Health Initiatives — The Governor’s budget includes a $7.8 M expansion in FY2016 and a $15.6 M expansion in FY2017 for community mental health initiatives.
Open new Broughton Hospital — The budget includes a $16.6 M one-time allocation in FY2016 for the completion of a new Broughton Hospital in Morganton.
Public Education
Increase Beginning Teacher Salary — The beginning teacher salary would be increased from $33K to $35K. This is a $41.8 M recurring allocation.
Fund Movement on the Teacher Salary Schedule — This line item would support the movement of teachers to the next tier of the salary schedule. This is a $64.8 M recurring allocation.
Teacher Assistants — The budget allocates $64 M in recurring state funds to maintain current levels of teacher assistants that were funded from lottery revenues in the previous fiscal year.
Increase funding for textbooks and instructional resources — This recurring $35 M allocation can be used by districts as they see fit to supplement classroom resources.
Enrollment Growth — The budget includes $100 M in recurring funds for enrollment growth. It is my understanding that, in previous years, this allocation would have been captured in the continuation budget and would not have needed to be included as an expansion item. However, due to a change in the way the state calculates the continuation budget, enrollment growth must now be considered an expansion item.
Bills
HB158, Jim Fulghum Teen Skin Cancer Prevention Act — This bill would ban the use of tanning beds by teens under the age of 18. The bill passed the House on multiple occasions last session and is scheduled to be heard in the House Health Committee next week. A companion bill was introduced in the Senate (SB125) with a very strong group of co-sponsors.
HB13, Amend School Health Assessment Requirement — This bill would require all students admitted to NC public schools for the first time to show proof of a recent health assessment. The bill passed the House Health Committee and has been referred to the Education K-12 Committee.
HB120, Custodial Parent/Party Cooperate w/ Child Suppport (Senate Companion Bill: SB114) — This bill requires the DHHS Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE) and the Division of Social Services (DSS) to develop a plan requiring a custodial parent or other person with primary custody of a child receiving Child Care subsidy payments to cooperate with county Child Support services programs as a condition of receiving child care subsidy payments. The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Children, Youth, and Families.
H139, Gun on Private School Prop/Forsyth County — This bill would permit private schools in Forsyth County to allow school employees to carry guns on school grounds. The bill has been referred to the Judiciary I Committee.