Happy New Year! Lots going on in North Carolina

There is a lot happening in Raleigh to get ready for the legislative session, which begins Wednesday, January 26:

• The General Assembly has a new website. The session database and membership lists for the House and Senate have been changed to reflect the new membership.  Go to the “Who Represents Me” section to determine who the legislators are for where you live.
• There is lots happening with the new leadership in the NC House and Senate - Senator Basnight, the long-time leader of the Senate is stepping down, Senator Berger and Representative Tillis, the new Senate and House leaders are hiring new staff, etc.  Get all the latest at the News & Observer's Under the Dome blog.
• House Speaker-elect Thom Tillis has also proposed to consolidate the number of House Committees. Click here to see the new committee list.
• The session hasn't even started, yet there is constant discussion about it. While the official budget shortfall prediction has risen to $3.7 billion, the Governor and legislative leaders remain steadfast in their opposition to any new revenue. At the recent Economic Forecast Forum, Charlie Perusse, the Governor’s Budget Director, Sen. Pete Brunstetter (incoming Appropriations Chair) and Rep. Harold Brubaker all reiterated that the budget would be balanced without new revenue. Furthermore, Senate and House leaders state that they are working together on a budget (as opposed to the old system in which each chamber takes a turn and then the budget is reconciled). This means that the budget process will move very quickly after the Governor releases her budget in mid-February. If you would like to influence the process, the time to take action is now! If you click here there is a sample message for the Governor from the Covenant with NC's Children, of which Disability Rights NC is a member.

Juvenile Justice Consolidation

In early December, Governor Perdue proposed to merge the Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (DJJDP) with the Department of Corrections and the Department of Crime Control to create a new Department of Public Safety. While we understand the need to find efficiencies in government due to ongoing budget pressures, we have serious concerns about merging DJJDP with Corrections, and the potential for DJJDP to lose its focus on prevention and treatment.

Just prior to the holidays, Disability Rights NC, along with our key allies, sent a letter to Governor Perdue stating that if DJJDP must be consolidated, then it should be merged with the Department of Health and Human Services, so that it can maintain its focus on prevention and treatment. Click here to see a copy of the letter.

We also sent out a press release in coordination with this letter. Click here to see coverage from the News and Observer. Click here to see an editorial from the Winston-Salem Journal.