Legislative Update for the Week of May 13

Cross-over, the date by which most bills must pass at least one chamber, came and went this week in a flurry, but minus the very late nights of previous years. The Senate budget is due to be posted online on Sunday, with discussion beginning in Senate Appropriation committees Monday afternoon.

Bill Updates

HB 74, Periodic Review and Expiration of Rules, (Murry, Moffitt, Samuelson, Bryan).  HB 74 directs state agencies to review existing rules at least once every 10 years according to a procedure set out in the bill.  It was approved by the full House this week.

HB 109, Require Safety Helmets/Under 21 (Torbett, Speciale).  HB 109 was amended in the House Judiciary B subcommittee to direct the Joint Legislative Transportation Oversight Committee to review the laws of North Carolina and other states relating to the use of motorcycle helmets, and consider whether the State's motor vehicle laws should be amended to provide exceptions to the requirement that all operators and passengers on motorcycles or mopeds wear a safety helmet.  It was approved by the full House.

HB 269, Children with Disabilities Scholarship Grants (Jordan, Brandon, Jones, Stam). HB 269 seeks to repeal the tax credit for families of children with disabilities who send their children to a non-public school, and, instead, enact a scholarship in the same amount, $3000 per semester, for the reimbursement of tuition and special education and related services, including services provided to home schooled students.  HB 269 was approved by the House Appropriations committee and the full House this week.  There was an amendment proposed on the floor by Rep. Hamilton to require documentation that special education services required under the IEP be provided by the nonpublic school, but it failed. 

HB 311, Repeal Literacy Test (K. Alexander, Michaux, Jeter, Warren).  HB 311 seeks a constitutional amendment to repeal the requirement that persons present themselves for voter registration and read and write a section of the Constitution, both of which requirements have been prohibited by federal law.  The bill was approved by the full House this week and has been referred to the Senate Judiciary I committee.

HB 320, Medicaid Managed Care/Behavioral Health Services (Dollar, Burr).  HB 320 as originally filed would establish an entirely new statute governing Medicaid appeals for both recipients and providers under Managed Care. An amended version of HB 320 was approved by the House Health and Human Services committee and the full House this week.  It was amended on the floor to remove the provisions related to providers and to add mediation back in for recipient appeals. 

HB 498, Mandate Autism Health Insurance Coverage (McGrady, Murry, Cotham, Shepard).  The bill requires health benefit plans, including the State Health Plan to provide coverage for the treatment of Autism Spectrum disorders.  HB 498 was approved by the House Appropriations and Insurance committees and full House this week.  It was amended and scaled back along the way - the cap reduced to $36,000, age limit cap to 23, to benefit must be diagnosed by the age of 8,   It provides that every health benefit plan shall provide coverage for the screening, diagnosis, and treatment of autism spectrum disorder; unlimited number of visits; may not be denied on the basis that the treatments are habilitative or educational in nature; but are subject to a maximum annual benefit of $75,000.  It has been referred to the House Insurance and Appropriations committees. 

HB 533, Detention of Mentally Ill in Facility (Jordan).  HB 533 is a local Ashe, Wilkes and Cumberland County bill.  It was amended substantially on the House floor before passing the full House.  The bill now amends 122C-251 regarding transportation to allow hospital police to supervise an Involuntary Commitment respondent, and to use appropriate and reasonable force to keep the respondent at that facility, if law enforcement vacates the facility after finding, in collaboration with  the facility, that the respondent is safe to be temporarily detained under the appropriate  supervision provided by the facility.   

It has now been referred to the Senate Judiciary II committee.

HB 625, Zoning/Health Care Structure (Moffitt, Howard, Setzer, Ramsey). HB 625 will allow a ”temporary family health care structure” to be used by a caregiver in providing care for a “mentally or physically impaired person.” It was approved by the full House this week, and has been referred to the Senate State and Local Government committee.


HB 674, Study Medicaid Provider Hearings (Stevens).  HB 674 directs the Program Evaluation Oversight Committee to Direct the Program Evaluation Division to study the contested case process for Medicaid provider appeals.  HB 674 was approved by the House Health and Human Services committee and the full House this week, and has been referred to the Senate Rules committee.

HB 802, Landlord/Tenant/Shorten Eviction Time (Earle, Moore, Brawley, Cunningham). HB 802 seeks to shorten the times for an eviction proceeding. It was approved by the full House this week.  It was amended on the floor to remove the provisions that would have allowed private process servers in certain counties.  It has now been referred to the Senate Judiciary II committee.

HB 838, Exceptional Children's Services/Study (Martin, Horn, Whitmire, Johnson).  HB 838 seeks to establish a commission to study the delivery of EC services and oversight by DPI.  It has been referred to the House Rules committee.  HB 838 was amended in the House Rules committee to include Disability Rights in the study committee. It was approved by the full House this week and has been referred to the Senate Rules committee.

HB 840, Division of Deaf Education (Martin, Farmer-Butterfield, Blackwell, Horn).

HB 840 was amended in committee to direct a task force rather than a separate division of deaf education in DPI. The Task Force shall (i) serve as a resource for legislators and State agencies involved in the education of children who are deaf or hearing impaired and (ii) make recommendations to the General Assembly regarding the necessary continuum of educational services, supports, and placements to ensure optimal educational outcomes of children who are deaf or hearing impaired.  It was approved by the full House and has been referred to the Senate Rules committee.

HB 868, Residential School Changes (Farmer-Butterfield, Blackwell, Martin, Tolson). HB 868 makes conforming changes to the state statutes regarding the residential schools.  It was approved by the full House this week and has been referred to the Senate Education committee.

HB 891, Exploitation of Seniors/Freeze Defendant's Assets (Glazier, McGrady, Insko, Baskerville).  HB 891 allows the district attorney to petition the Court to freeze the assets of a defendant charged with financial exploitation of an elder adult or disabled adult.  HB 891 was approved by the House Judiciary B committee and the full House this week.  It has been referred to the Senate Judiciary II committee.

HB 900, Exempt Continuing Care Facilities from CON (Avila, Samuelson, Burr, Setzer).  HB 900 seeks to exempt Continuing Care Retirement Communities from Certificate of Need review for communities that provide home health services to individuals receiving lodging within those communities.  The bill was approved by the House Health and Human Services committee this week but was pulled before a full House vote and referred to the House Rules committee.  Because the bill was not passed before the cross-over deadline, the matter will likely not proceed during this session.

HB 982, Modify Medicaid Subrogation Statute (Burr, Avila). HB 982 seeks to modify the state statute regarding recovery of health care expenditures made on behalf of Medicaid beneficiaries who are tort victims in response to the US Supreme court decision, Wos v. E.M.A. It was approved by the House Health and Human Services committee and the full House this week.  It has been referred to the Senate  Health Care committee.

SB 553, LME/MCO Enrollee Grievances and Appeals (Hise).  SB 553 creates a new chapter to govern LME/MCO recipient appeals.   SB 553 was approved by the full Senate this week and has been referred to the House Health and Human Services committee.

For information on bills that did not make cross-over, the News and Observer has a good rundown here:  http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/05/17/2897873/which-bills-survived-crossover.html.