Legislative Update for the Week of March 4

Bill Updates

HB 5, Temporary Funding/Group Homes and Special Care Units (Dollar, Burr).  HB 5 allows individuals in group homes who are no longer eligible for Personal Care Services due to the change in law and individuals in Special Care Units who have reduced Personal Care Services due to the change in law to access the $39.7 mil allocated in last year’s budget for residents of Adult Care Homes who lost Personal Care Services due to the eligibility changes.  The bill was signed into law on March 6 and is S.L. 2013-4.  It was effective when it became law and expires on June 30, 2013.

HB 109, Require Safety Helmets/18 & Under (Torbett, Speciale).  HB 109 seeks to eliminate the requirements of a safety helmet for adults on a motorcycle if (1) the operator has held a motorcycle license for more than 12 months or successfully completed the course of instruction offered by the Motorcycle Safety Instruction Program; and (2) is covered by an insurance policy providing for at least $10,000 in medical benefits for injuries incurred as a result of a crash while operating or riding on a motorcycle.  The bill would also allow adult passengers to ride without a helmet if the operator meets the above requirements and the passenger has at least $10,000 in medical benefits for injuries incurred as a result of a crash while riding on a motorcycle.  It is scheduled to be heard in the House Transportation committee Tuesday, March 12 at 12:00.

HB 120, Building Codes: Local Consistency/Exempt Cable (Hager, Brawley, Cotham, Arp).  HB 120 will require approval from the NC Building Code Council before any local unit of government may require building inspections for Residential one and two family dwellings in addition to those required by the state building code; and to change the code adoption cycle for Residential one and two family dwellings from 3 to 6 years.  HB 120 passed out of the House Regulatory Reform committee last week and was approved by the full House on Second reading today.  It is scheduled for its final House vote tomorrow, before it proceeds to the Senate.

SB 4, No NC Exchange/No Medicaid Expansion (Apodaca, Brown, Rucho).  SB 4 prohibits Medicaid expansion and a state-federal partnership health benefit exchange.  It also repeals the budget provision related to the Dept of Insurance implementing a state based health exchange; repeals budget and statutory provisions regarding powers of the Insurance commissioner to implement the ACA; and provides direction to seek federal funding (with a 90/10 match) for the NC FAST system to make Medicaid eligibility determinations for the federal Health Benefits Exchange, as long as the state match is no greater than $5 mil.  It was signed into law last week and is S.L. 2013-5.

SB 10, Boards and Commission (Apodaca, Hunt, Rabon). SB 10 has been controversial for its removal of current members of certain environmental commissions, but also for its removal of certain judicial appointments.  The Senate version eliminated the Special Superior Court Judges, but the House removed that provision, along with changes to several other sections.  The House added a provision limiting the terms of Administrative Law Judges to 4 years.  After approval in the House last week, the Senate voted not to concur with the House version and the bill has been referred to a conference committee.

SB 45, Incapacity to Proceed Amendments (Randleman).  SB 45 was approved unanimously in the Senate last week.  It has been referred to The scheduled to the House Judiciary B subcommittee, where the House version of the bill, HB 88, is scheduled to be heard on Wednesday of this week.

New Legislation Filed This Week

HB 185, Ballot Reform Act of 2013 (Jones, Martin, Conrad, Steinberg).  HB 185 proposes to eliminate straight-party ticket voting and to change the order in which party candidates appear on ballots.  It has been referred to the House Elections committee, and, if favorable, to the House Rules committee.

HB 217, Criminal Law/Procedure Amendments (Faircloth, Stam). HB 217 proposes several changes to the state criminal laws and procedures, including probation revocation hearings in district court with a right of direct appeal to the court of appeals, unrestricted resentencing hearing upon the reversal of a sentence on appellate review, amend the procedure in driving while impaired cases, and to require the courts commission to study the court jurisdiction and jury trial process for misdemeanors and other methods of improving the efficiency and administration of the justice system.  It also includes a provision that would mandate the transfer of a juvenile defendant's case to be tried as an adult in Superior Court when the juvenile is accused of a Class B1-E felony, upon motion of the prosecutor and a finding of probable cause.  It has been referred to the House Judiciary B subcommittee.

HB 235, Parents Consent Required to Quit School (Lambeth, Whitmire, Brandon, Ramsey).  HB 235 would require children to attend school until the age of 18 (raised from 16) unless they have graduated or the parent has consented after all of the following have occurred: (i) the child and the child's parent, guardian, or custodian attend a final counseling session at the school, (ii) during that session a statement to encourage the child to remain in school or to pursue educational alternatives is presented to the child and the child's parent, guardian, or custodian, and (iii) the child and the child's parent, guardian, or custodian sign the statement. The statement shall include information regarding the academic skills that the child has not yet achieved, the difference in future earning power between a high school graduate and a high school dropout, and a listing of educational alternatives that are available for the child.  The bill has been referred to the House Education committee, and the Judiciary C subcommittee.

HB 256, VA Survivors Benefits/Medicaid Eligibility (Farmer-Butterfield, Glazier, Lewis).  HB 256 will allow a deduction for Veterans Affairs survivors pension benefit when defining income for Mediciad eligibility.  It has been referred to the House Military committee, Health and Human Services, and Appropriations.

SB 125, Public Meetings/Records Laws Violations (Goolsby, Apodaca).  SB 125 would make violations of the public records and open meetings laws a Class 3 misdemeanor. It has been referred to the Senate Judiciary I committee.

SB 137, Prohibit Waiver Co-Pay/Medicaid Providers (Tillman).  SB 137 seeks to amend NCGS 108A-63 to make it unlawful for any provider of medical assistance to waive the collection of co-payments with the intent to induce recipients to purchase, lease, or order items or services from the provider, or in return for referrals or in return for purchasing, leasing, ordering, or arranging for a good, facility or service. It is not a violation if a provider waives a co-payment after determining on an individual basis that the collection of the copayment amount would create a substantial financial hardship for the recipient, provided the waiver of co-payments is not a regular business practice of the provider; or if the provider makes a good faith attempt to collect the co-payment and fails. The bill has been referred to the Senate Healthcare committee.

SB 140, Financial Exploitation of Older Adults (Bingham). SB 140 makes several recommended changes to the law to increase the recognition, reporting, and prosecution of those who defraud or financially exploit older adults, and to continue the Task Force on Fraud Against Older Adults.  It has been referred to the Senate Healthcare committee.

SB 208, Effective Operation of 1915(b)/(c) Waiver (Tucker, Barringer).  SB 208 seeks to define LME/MCOs in state statute; require the Health and Human Services Secretary to attest to the LME/MCO's compliance with state and federal laws and contracts, particularly its solvency, timeliness of provider payments, and the ability to exchange billing, payment, and transaction information with LME/MCOs and providers in a manner that complies with all applicable federal standards. If the Secretary cannot attest to these factors, then the operation of that LME/MCO must be transferred to another LME/MCO.  It has been referred to the Senate Health committee.

SB 223, Severance and Relocation for Area Directors (Hise).  SB 223 seeks to amend the state statute to allow an area board of an LME to offer severance and relocation benefits to recruit an area director.  It has been referred to the House Health committee.