The Senate bill filing deadline was last week. Summaries of the bills relevant to people with disabilities from this last batch of bills are below. An update of action on previously filed bills will be forthcoming.
SB648 AMEND LAW RE: SCHOOL DISCIPLINE (Preston; Tillman; Hartsell) SB 648 is the Senate version of HB 736, which is proceeding through the House. The bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Education.
SB650 SPENDING REDUCTION WITH MEDICAL HOUSE ARREST (Vaughan ) SB 650 would authorize a Sheriff to place certain defendants or prisoners on medical house arrest with electronic monitoring in lieu of confinement to the local confinement facility and to authorize the post release supervision and parole commission to release certain prisoners who require ongoing major medical treatment on medical release, provided the prisoner is placed on house arrest with electronic monitoring. The bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Judiciary II.
SB654 WC/ADJUST ORGAN INJURY BENEFIT ANNUALLY (Goolsby; Newton; Daniel) SB 654 would amend the workers' compensation act to provide for the annual adjustment of the benefit for permanent injury to an important bodily organ. This bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Judiciary I.
SB656 RIGHT TO CHOOSE PHYSICAL THERAPIST (Davis) SB 656 seeks to ensure that patients have the right to choose their physical therapists under their health benefit plans. The bill has been referred to the Committee on Insurance.
SB657 VOTING INTEGRITY (Davis; Daniel; Hise) SB 657 is one of several bills aimed at changing voting procedures including absentee voting, one-stop early voting, and registration for new voters. This bill would make it more difficult for newly-eligible young voters to participate in elections and narrows the times and places at which one-stop voting can be conducted, among other provisions. Disability Rights NC opposes any legislation that is likely to reduce the electoral participation of people with disabilities, a group that already votes at rates 10-15% lower than the rest of the population. The bill has been referred to Senate Committee on Judiciary I.
SB669 DIX PROPERTY MENTAL HEALTH TRUST FUND (Atwater) SB 669 seeks to require that proceeds from any sale of the Dorothea Dix Hospital Property be placed in the State’s Trust Fund for Mental Health. The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Mental Health & Youth Services.
SB674 CIVIL JUSTICE SYSTEM REFORMS (Brunstetter; Brown, H.; Rucho) SB 674 seeks to reduce the amount of money a plaintiff is eligible to recover in a civil law suit by allowing evidence of payments made, on behalf of the plaintiff, for any medical expenses or other damages the plaintiff is seeking. Most notably the bill eliminates the state’s long history of joint and several liability in civil cases where more than one person is at fault. This places the risk on the shoulders of the person who is least able to bear it, the one who has been injured. The bill also limits the scope of testimony admissible from an expert witness; limits the attorney fees that can be awarded to a plaintiff; and limits the liability of people in possession of land when a trespasser is injured. The bill has been referred to Senate Committee on Judiciary I.
SB697 PATIENT ADVOCACY & PROTECTION ACT (Stein) SB 697 would prohibit an employer from retaliating against a nurse who makes a good faith report concerning patient medical care or who engages in patient advocacy. The bill would also protect anyone who advises a nurse about the right to make a good faith report or engage in patient advocacy. The bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Rules.
SB707 SCHOOL VIOLENCE PREVENTION ACT (Tucker) SB 707 seeks to require school superintendents to report many acts, including assault resulting in serious personal injury, sexual assault, sexual offense, rape, kidnapping, indecent liberties with a minor, assault involving the use of a weapon, possession of a firearm in violation of the law, possession of a weapon in violation of the law, or possession of a controlled substance in violation of the law that occur on school grounds to local law enforcement. The bill also requires that the local board of education or superintendent shall expel, or remove to an alternative education setting, any student who has been convicted of a felony, adjudicated delinquent for an offense that would be a felony if committed by an adult, arrested two or more times, or alleged to be delinquent or undisciplined two or more times. These proposed changes to the law would disproportionately affect students with disabilities and would reinforce the school to prison pipeline that is already a problem. While the above items cause Disability Rights NC grave concern, the bill goes further to relieve school personnel of liability for using force to correct pupils and maintain order in the schools or for failing to intervene in an altercation between students creating the likelihood of real danger for students in North Carolina schools. Disability Rights NC is opposed to the bill. The bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Judiciary II.
SB714 SATELLITE EARLY VOTING MINIMUM TIMES (Nesbitt) SB 714 would require that in general elections within each county all satellite early voting sites are open at least the same number of days and hours each week as the board of elections office site. The bill has been referred to Senate Committee on Judiciary I.
SB717 PHOTO I.D. FOR SNAP RECIPIENTS (Mansfield) SB 717 would require the Department of Health and Human Services to issue debit cards to access Supplemental Food and Nutrition Program (SNAP) that include photo identification of the recipient. The bill has been referred to the Committee on Agriculture.
SB724 AN ACT TO IMPROVE PUBLIC EDUCATION (Stein, Tillman) SB 724 would make a number of changes. First it would increase the course requirements and the years of study required by UNC system teacher training programs, require prospective elementary school teachers in those programs to complete courses in teaching reading and mathematics, and increase requirements for technology and evaluation coursework. The bill would require local boards of education to create and implement plans for the transition of at-risk students from elementary to middle school and from middle to high school. The 25 schools with the highest dropout rates would have both longer school days and longer school years. Additionally the State Board of Education would be required to reconsider the high school graduation requirements for those students who do not plan to continue their education beyond high school possibly to include a five-year plan to complete graduation requirements and/or a change in those graduation requirements. The bill has been referred to the Committee on Education.
SB744 TRANSPARENCY IN THE COST OF HEALTH CARE (Goolsby) SB 744 would allow employers to access data regarding the usage of their group health coverage on an aggregate basis and on an individual basis for those employees who incurred more than $15,000 of total, paid claims. The data would include diagnostic codes, procedure codes, prognosis, and, for anyone in active case management, future expected costs. While the information would be provided without the name of the insured, that is not sufficient protection. This bill would violate the privacy of employees’ medical records and the records of their families. It would also make it easier for employers to discriminate against employees who have serious health problems or whose family members require significant medical care. The bill has been referred to the Committee on Health Care.
SB754 CAREGIVER RELIEF ACT (McKissick) SB 754 would expand the protections afforded under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act to caregiving for a sibling, grandparent, grandchild, stepparent, or parent-in-law. Disability Rights NC supports this bill. The bill has been referred to the Committee on Rules.
SB648 AMEND LAW RE: SCHOOL DISCIPLINE (Preston; Tillman; Hartsell) SB 648 is the Senate version of HB 736, which is proceeding through the House. The bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Education.
SB650 SPENDING REDUCTION WITH MEDICAL HOUSE ARREST (Vaughan ) SB 650 would authorize a Sheriff to place certain defendants or prisoners on medical house arrest with electronic monitoring in lieu of confinement to the local confinement facility and to authorize the post release supervision and parole commission to release certain prisoners who require ongoing major medical treatment on medical release, provided the prisoner is placed on house arrest with electronic monitoring. The bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Judiciary II.
SB654 WC/ADJUST ORGAN INJURY BENEFIT ANNUALLY (Goolsby; Newton; Daniel) SB 654 would amend the workers' compensation act to provide for the annual adjustment of the benefit for permanent injury to an important bodily organ. This bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Judiciary I.
SB656 RIGHT TO CHOOSE PHYSICAL THERAPIST (Davis) SB 656 seeks to ensure that patients have the right to choose their physical therapists under their health benefit plans. The bill has been referred to the Committee on Insurance.
SB657 VOTING INTEGRITY (Davis; Daniel; Hise) SB 657 is one of several bills aimed at changing voting procedures including absentee voting, one-stop early voting, and registration for new voters. This bill would make it more difficult for newly-eligible young voters to participate in elections and narrows the times and places at which one-stop voting can be conducted, among other provisions. Disability Rights NC opposes any legislation that is likely to reduce the electoral participation of people with disabilities, a group that already votes at rates 10-15% lower than the rest of the population. The bill has been referred to Senate Committee on Judiciary I.
SB669 DIX PROPERTY MENTAL HEALTH TRUST FUND (Atwater) SB 669 seeks to require that proceeds from any sale of the Dorothea Dix Hospital Property be placed in the State’s Trust Fund for Mental Health. The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Mental Health & Youth Services.
SB674 CIVIL JUSTICE SYSTEM REFORMS (Brunstetter; Brown, H.; Rucho) SB 674 seeks to reduce the amount of money a plaintiff is eligible to recover in a civil law suit by allowing evidence of payments made, on behalf of the plaintiff, for any medical expenses or other damages the plaintiff is seeking. Most notably the bill eliminates the state’s long history of joint and several liability in civil cases where more than one person is at fault. This places the risk on the shoulders of the person who is least able to bear it, the one who has been injured. The bill also limits the scope of testimony admissible from an expert witness; limits the attorney fees that can be awarded to a plaintiff; and limits the liability of people in possession of land when a trespasser is injured. The bill has been referred to Senate Committee on Judiciary I.
SB697 PATIENT ADVOCACY & PROTECTION ACT (Stein) SB 697 would prohibit an employer from retaliating against a nurse who makes a good faith report concerning patient medical care or who engages in patient advocacy. The bill would also protect anyone who advises a nurse about the right to make a good faith report or engage in patient advocacy. The bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Rules.
SB707 SCHOOL VIOLENCE PREVENTION ACT (Tucker) SB 707 seeks to require school superintendents to report many acts, including assault resulting in serious personal injury, sexual assault, sexual offense, rape, kidnapping, indecent liberties with a minor, assault involving the use of a weapon, possession of a firearm in violation of the law, possession of a weapon in violation of the law, or possession of a controlled substance in violation of the law that occur on school grounds to local law enforcement. The bill also requires that the local board of education or superintendent shall expel, or remove to an alternative education setting, any student who has been convicted of a felony, adjudicated delinquent for an offense that would be a felony if committed by an adult, arrested two or more times, or alleged to be delinquent or undisciplined two or more times. These proposed changes to the law would disproportionately affect students with disabilities and would reinforce the school to prison pipeline that is already a problem. While the above items cause Disability Rights NC grave concern, the bill goes further to relieve school personnel of liability for using force to correct pupils and maintain order in the schools or for failing to intervene in an altercation between students creating the likelihood of real danger for students in North Carolina schools. Disability Rights NC is opposed to the bill. The bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Judiciary II.
SB714 SATELLITE EARLY VOTING MINIMUM TIMES (Nesbitt) SB 714 would require that in general elections within each county all satellite early voting sites are open at least the same number of days and hours each week as the board of elections office site. The bill has been referred to Senate Committee on Judiciary I.
SB717 PHOTO I.D. FOR SNAP RECIPIENTS (Mansfield) SB 717 would require the Department of Health and Human Services to issue debit cards to access Supplemental Food and Nutrition Program (SNAP) that include photo identification of the recipient. The bill has been referred to the Committee on Agriculture.
SB724 AN ACT TO IMPROVE PUBLIC EDUCATION (Stein, Tillman) SB 724 would make a number of changes. First it would increase the course requirements and the years of study required by UNC system teacher training programs, require prospective elementary school teachers in those programs to complete courses in teaching reading and mathematics, and increase requirements for technology and evaluation coursework. The bill would require local boards of education to create and implement plans for the transition of at-risk students from elementary to middle school and from middle to high school. The 25 schools with the highest dropout rates would have both longer school days and longer school years. Additionally the State Board of Education would be required to reconsider the high school graduation requirements for those students who do not plan to continue their education beyond high school possibly to include a five-year plan to complete graduation requirements and/or a change in those graduation requirements. The bill has been referred to the Committee on Education.
SB744 TRANSPARENCY IN THE COST OF HEALTH CARE (Goolsby) SB 744 would allow employers to access data regarding the usage of their group health coverage on an aggregate basis and on an individual basis for those employees who incurred more than $15,000 of total, paid claims. The data would include diagnostic codes, procedure codes, prognosis, and, for anyone in active case management, future expected costs. While the information would be provided without the name of the insured, that is not sufficient protection. This bill would violate the privacy of employees’ medical records and the records of their families. It would also make it easier for employers to discriminate against employees who have serious health problems or whose family members require significant medical care. The bill has been referred to the Committee on Health Care.
SB754 CAREGIVER RELIEF ACT (McKissick) SB 754 would expand the protections afforded under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act to caregiving for a sibling, grandparent, grandchild, stepparent, or parent-in-law. Disability Rights NC supports this bill. The bill has been referred to the Committee on Rules.
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