Bills Previously Filed with Action Last Week:
HB 234, Juror Qualifications/Disabilities (Glazier, S. Stevens, Parfitt, Samuelson Sponsors). HB 234 seeks to amend the current Juror Qualifications statute to remove the ability to hear as a requirement to serve as a juror. It also seeks to amend the statute regarding Requests to be Excused from Jury Duty to allow potential jurors with a disability to request to be excused if the person feels that their disability could interfere with their ability to serve as a juror. Disability Rights NC is working with the sponsors to support the bill. As reported last week, the bill was heard in the House on Thursday, March 17 and while there were still some who spoke against the bill on the ground that it should be allowable to exclude people who are deaf from a jury pool, most of the opposition appeared to be to an amendment lowering the age at which potential jurors can request to be excused based on age. For this reason, the final vote on the bill was not held until Tuesday of this week. On Tuesday, the bill was amended in an 88-30 vote to remove the change in age (which was irrelevant to the original purpose of the bill). At that point, Representative Randleman very eloquently spoke in support of the bill, stating that it simply makes the law consistent with what is already current practice. The bill passed 106-12. It now proceeds to the Senate, where it has been referred to the Senate Judiciary I Committee.
HB 329, Bldg Codes/Expand Equine Exemption (Horn, Dixon, Faircloth, Burr Sponsors). As originally filed, this bill sought to exempt from the building code farm buildings used for a spectator event with more than 10 members of the public present at the event. As the building code requires certain accessibility provisions, in addition to safety, etc., the bill raised concerns for Disability Rights NC. A Proposed Committee Substitute for the bill was presented in the House Committee on Agriculture this week. The new version narrows the exception to farm buildings used for temporary (defined as 120 hours in a calendar year) events where a fire watch is maintained. The new version received a favorable report from the committee but more changes may be made to the bill as it proceeds. The bill will next be heard in the full House.
SB 33, Medical Liability Reforms and Tort Reform Update (Rucho, Apodaca, Brown sponsors). SB 33 seeks to limit medical liability claims through several reforms including a higher standard for liability when providing emergency medical care, ordering bifurcation upon motion of any party, and limiting the amount of noneconomic damages that may be awarded to $500,000 for each plaintiff. The bill was approved by the Senate and is now being considered in the House Select Committee on Tort Reform. A bill draft of comprehensive Tort Reform legislation was presented in the House Select Committee on Tort Reform this past week. It proposed lowering the cap on non-economic damages down to $250,000 (as originally proposed in SB 33), limiting liability for drug manufacturers as long as their product had been approved by the appropriate government regulators, and limiting the amount of punitive damages that can be awarded to a plaintiff to 25% of the punitive awarded with the remaining 75% going to a fund for education, among several other proposals.
SB 316, Additional Section 1915 Medicaid Waiver Sites (Hartsell Sponsor). SB 316 authorizes DHHS to allow additional 1915 (b)/(c) Medicaid waiver sites and to allow third-party billing for state facilities. This would allow further expansion of 1915(b)/(c) waivers beyond PBH, Mecklenburg and Western Highlands, without legislative approval. The bill was heard in the Senate Mental Health Committee this week. During the committee discussion, it was acknowledged that many object to the inclusion of the 1915(c) (a Home and Community Based Supports waiver for people with developmental disabilities) in the managed care model. However, the bill received a favorable report. It will be heard on the Senate floor next week. A house version, HB424 (Barnhart, Ingle and Insko sponsors) was also filed this week and referred to the House Committee on Health and Human Services. As we have previously expressed, Disability Rights NC remains concerned about the expansion of the use of the 1915(b)/(c) waivers on numerous grounds. There are also many questions about how the state will proceed with LME mergers, and, in turn, what entities will be operating the 1915(b)/(c) waivers.
Newly Filed Bills:
HB 417, Extend Time for Site of Low/Moderate Income Housing (McGrady Sponsor). HB 417 seeks to extend the time, for tax purposes, that real property may be held by a non-profit organization as a future site for housing for individuals or families with low or moderate incomes from 5 to 10 years. It was filed on March 21 in the House and referred to the House Commerce Committee.
HB 423, Enact First Evaluation Program (Hurley Sponsor). HB 423 seeks to codify a practice that has been piloted that allows the Secretary to waive the requirements for a physician or eligible psychologist to perform the initial examination for involuntary commitment and substitute a licensed clinical social worker, a master's level psychiatric nurse, or a master's level certified clinical addictions specialist at the request of an LME. When making and considering the request, certain criteria must be addressed. The proposed statutory language also specifies that the waiver shall be for 3 years and the LME shall assure that a physician is available at all times to provide backup support to include telephone consultation and face to face evaluation, if necessary. It was filed in the House on March 22 and referred to the House Health and Human Services Committee.
HB 466, Spend 65% of Funds in the Classroom (Blust). HB 466 seeks to add a new section to Chapter 115C “to ensure that sixty five percent of State funds for the operations of the public schools are used for classroom instruction.” It directs the State Board of Education to modify its allotment formulas, modify its rules regarding the expenditure of State funds, and transfer funds, as necessary, to ensure that each local administrative unit spends on classroom instruction at least sixty five percent (65%) of the State funding it receives for the operations of the public schools. It is not clear how “classroom instruction” would be defined. It has not yet been referred to a committee.
HB 467, Improve School Discipline (Blust Sponsor). HB 467 seeks to amend the current law related to the use of reasonable force in schools to allow reasonable force to be used for discipline purposes and to make it even more difficult to hold school personnel liable for excessive force. The bill proposes a “Teacher Protection Act” “to deter meritless lawsuits and sanction deliberately false reports against educators.” Disability Rights NC is opposed to this bill. It has been filed in the House but not yet referred to a committee.
HB 474, Protect Adult Care Home Residents (Weiss, Hollo, Farmer-Butterfield, Earle Sponsors). HB 474 proposes changes to Chapter 131D governing adult care homes to increase minimum continuing education, training, competency evaluation and inspection requirements for Adult Care Home medication aides, related to Infection Control Requirements. It has been filed in the House but not yet referred to a committee.
SB 384, Conforming Changes/Persons with Disabilities Act (Hartsell). This is a Disability Rights NC agenda bill. It seeks to amend the North Carolina Persons with Disabilities Protection Act to conform to the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act of 2008. The bill was filed in the Senate last week and will be heard in the Senate Healthcare committee next week – Wednesday at 11 am.
SB 394, Clarify Process/Reportable Offenses in Schools (Newton, Tillman, Preston Sponsors). SB 394 seeks to amend the statute (115C-288(g)) regarding principal reporting of certain acts to law enforcement. It proposes to change the standard from a principal’s “personal knowledge or actual notice from school personnel” to “reasonable belief” (which is further defined) that a specified act has occurred on school property. It also provides that the State Board of Education shall not require the principal to report to law enforcements acts in addition to those required in the statute. It was filed in the Senate on March 22 and referred to the Senate Judiciary I committee.
HB 234, Juror Qualifications/Disabilities (Glazier, S. Stevens, Parfitt, Samuelson Sponsors). HB 234 seeks to amend the current Juror Qualifications statute to remove the ability to hear as a requirement to serve as a juror. It also seeks to amend the statute regarding Requests to be Excused from Jury Duty to allow potential jurors with a disability to request to be excused if the person feels that their disability could interfere with their ability to serve as a juror. Disability Rights NC is working with the sponsors to support the bill. As reported last week, the bill was heard in the House on Thursday, March 17 and while there were still some who spoke against the bill on the ground that it should be allowable to exclude people who are deaf from a jury pool, most of the opposition appeared to be to an amendment lowering the age at which potential jurors can request to be excused based on age. For this reason, the final vote on the bill was not held until Tuesday of this week. On Tuesday, the bill was amended in an 88-30 vote to remove the change in age (which was irrelevant to the original purpose of the bill). At that point, Representative Randleman very eloquently spoke in support of the bill, stating that it simply makes the law consistent with what is already current practice. The bill passed 106-12. It now proceeds to the Senate, where it has been referred to the Senate Judiciary I Committee.
HB 329, Bldg Codes/Expand Equine Exemption (Horn, Dixon, Faircloth, Burr Sponsors). As originally filed, this bill sought to exempt from the building code farm buildings used for a spectator event with more than 10 members of the public present at the event. As the building code requires certain accessibility provisions, in addition to safety, etc., the bill raised concerns for Disability Rights NC. A Proposed Committee Substitute for the bill was presented in the House Committee on Agriculture this week. The new version narrows the exception to farm buildings used for temporary (defined as 120 hours in a calendar year) events where a fire watch is maintained. The new version received a favorable report from the committee but more changes may be made to the bill as it proceeds. The bill will next be heard in the full House.
SB 33, Medical Liability Reforms and Tort Reform Update (Rucho, Apodaca, Brown sponsors). SB 33 seeks to limit medical liability claims through several reforms including a higher standard for liability when providing emergency medical care, ordering bifurcation upon motion of any party, and limiting the amount of noneconomic damages that may be awarded to $500,000 for each plaintiff. The bill was approved by the Senate and is now being considered in the House Select Committee on Tort Reform. A bill draft of comprehensive Tort Reform legislation was presented in the House Select Committee on Tort Reform this past week. It proposed lowering the cap on non-economic damages down to $250,000 (as originally proposed in SB 33), limiting liability for drug manufacturers as long as their product had been approved by the appropriate government regulators, and limiting the amount of punitive damages that can be awarded to a plaintiff to 25% of the punitive awarded with the remaining 75% going to a fund for education, among several other proposals.
SB 316, Additional Section 1915 Medicaid Waiver Sites (Hartsell Sponsor). SB 316 authorizes DHHS to allow additional 1915 (b)/(c) Medicaid waiver sites and to allow third-party billing for state facilities. This would allow further expansion of 1915(b)/(c) waivers beyond PBH, Mecklenburg and Western Highlands, without legislative approval. The bill was heard in the Senate Mental Health Committee this week. During the committee discussion, it was acknowledged that many object to the inclusion of the 1915(c) (a Home and Community Based Supports waiver for people with developmental disabilities) in the managed care model. However, the bill received a favorable report. It will be heard on the Senate floor next week. A house version, HB424 (Barnhart, Ingle and Insko sponsors) was also filed this week and referred to the House Committee on Health and Human Services. As we have previously expressed, Disability Rights NC remains concerned about the expansion of the use of the 1915(b)/(c) waivers on numerous grounds. There are also many questions about how the state will proceed with LME mergers, and, in turn, what entities will be operating the 1915(b)/(c) waivers.
Newly Filed Bills:
HB 417, Extend Time for Site of Low/Moderate Income Housing (McGrady Sponsor). HB 417 seeks to extend the time, for tax purposes, that real property may be held by a non-profit organization as a future site for housing for individuals or families with low or moderate incomes from 5 to 10 years. It was filed on March 21 in the House and referred to the House Commerce Committee.
HB 423, Enact First Evaluation Program (Hurley Sponsor). HB 423 seeks to codify a practice that has been piloted that allows the Secretary to waive the requirements for a physician or eligible psychologist to perform the initial examination for involuntary commitment and substitute a licensed clinical social worker, a master's level psychiatric nurse, or a master's level certified clinical addictions specialist at the request of an LME. When making and considering the request, certain criteria must be addressed. The proposed statutory language also specifies that the waiver shall be for 3 years and the LME shall assure that a physician is available at all times to provide backup support to include telephone consultation and face to face evaluation, if necessary. It was filed in the House on March 22 and referred to the House Health and Human Services Committee.
HB 466, Spend 65% of Funds in the Classroom (Blust). HB 466 seeks to add a new section to Chapter 115C “to ensure that sixty five percent of State funds for the operations of the public schools are used for classroom instruction.” It directs the State Board of Education to modify its allotment formulas, modify its rules regarding the expenditure of State funds, and transfer funds, as necessary, to ensure that each local administrative unit spends on classroom instruction at least sixty five percent (65%) of the State funding it receives for the operations of the public schools. It is not clear how “classroom instruction” would be defined. It has not yet been referred to a committee.
HB 467, Improve School Discipline (Blust Sponsor). HB 467 seeks to amend the current law related to the use of reasonable force in schools to allow reasonable force to be used for discipline purposes and to make it even more difficult to hold school personnel liable for excessive force. The bill proposes a “Teacher Protection Act” “to deter meritless lawsuits and sanction deliberately false reports against educators.” Disability Rights NC is opposed to this bill. It has been filed in the House but not yet referred to a committee.
HB 474, Protect Adult Care Home Residents (Weiss, Hollo, Farmer-Butterfield, Earle Sponsors). HB 474 proposes changes to Chapter 131D governing adult care homes to increase minimum continuing education, training, competency evaluation and inspection requirements for Adult Care Home medication aides, related to Infection Control Requirements. It has been filed in the House but not yet referred to a committee.
SB 384, Conforming Changes/Persons with Disabilities Act (Hartsell). This is a Disability Rights NC agenda bill. It seeks to amend the North Carolina Persons with Disabilities Protection Act to conform to the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act of 2008. The bill was filed in the Senate last week and will be heard in the Senate Healthcare committee next week – Wednesday at 11 am.
SB 394, Clarify Process/Reportable Offenses in Schools (Newton, Tillman, Preston Sponsors). SB 394 seeks to amend the statute (115C-288(g)) regarding principal reporting of certain acts to law enforcement. It proposes to change the standard from a principal’s “personal knowledge or actual notice from school personnel” to “reasonable belief” (which is further defined) that a specified act has occurred on school property. It also provides that the State Board of Education shall not require the principal to report to law enforcements acts in addition to those required in the statute. It was filed in the Senate on March 22 and referred to the Senate Judiciary I committee.
No comments:
Post a Comment
We are eager to hear your feedback on our policy blog posts! However, we would like to ask that conversation remain civil. Avoid offensive, vulgar or hateful language and please be respectful of all viewpoints and opinions, even if they may differ from your own. We do not monitor each and every posting, but we reserve the right to delete comments that violate our policy.