Lawmakers continued to move legislation this week, however the House has yet to attempt to override Governor Cooper’s veto of the budget. House Speaker Tim Moore said that they are waiting until the time is right, and wants everyone to have time to consider their position before voting on the override. House Republicans are trying to convince a handful of Democrats to break ranks and vote with them on the override, and cite increased funding in specific legislators’ districts as reasons for them to support the override. Various locations for the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) have even been shopped around. The House has not given a date for when the override vote will take place.

The Senate stayed in town until Tuesday, while they waited for the House to attempt to override the budget veto. Senate leadership announced that they will return to Raleigh next week for session on Monday and Tuesday, and then will return the following Monday and Tuesday, with plans to leave town after. The Senate has also indicated that they could go home for the year with only passing a few spending provisions and leaving last year’s budget in place.

Temporary Spending Bill

The House passed a stopgap funding bill this week to fill in a few areas in the state budget while the legislature figures out its next step in light of the budget veto. Since a new budget has not been enacted by the July first deadline, last year’s budget remains in place with recurring dollars continuing, however, no non-recurring money can be spent. House Bill 111appropriates money for school enrolment, higher education tuition, NC FAST, behavioral health, and disaster relief. Legislators are pushing the bill to make sure that federal matching dollars are not jeopardized, and projects that are underway are not halted. The bill passed the House unanimously and Senate leadership has indicated their support for a stopgap bill.

House Medicaid Expansion Proposal

Healthcare leaders in the House advanced their version of Medicaid expansion this week with the NC Health Care for Working Families Act. The bill seeks to provide healthcare insurance to nearly 300,000 of the 1,083,000 uninsured citizens in the State. To be eligible for coverage under the bill, individuals must be between 19 and 64 years old, have an income that does not exceed 133% of the federal poverty level, and be ineligible for Medicare or Medicaid. Program enrollees will be required to pay 2% of their income in the form of a monthly premium, as well as participate in wellness and preventative care activities. The program is funded with federal dollars, gross premiums tax revenue, and additional hospital assessments. The bill is meant to be a compromise on the traditional Medicaid expansion plan that Governor Cooper and legislative Democrats have been pushing. The bill passed through the committee process quickly, but was then pulled from the floor calendar. Speaker Moore indicated that the bill will only receive a floor vote once they receive a commitment from Democrats to vote to override Governor Cooper’s budget veto. This drew criticism as some saw this as holding the bill hostage. Governor Cooper was quick to point out that the bill only passing the House does not mean that Medicaid expansion happens. Senate leadership has already indicated that they will not pass the bill if it makes it out of the House.

Hemp Controversy

The House Finance Committee heard the 2019 NC Farm Act this week, but, due to the bill’s controversial hemp section, the committee adjourned without taking a vote. Federal law changes last year have opened the door for states to legalize hemp production and hemp derived products. Senator Brent Jackson, the bill sponsor, is advocating for allowing smokable hemp products. However, Representative Jimmy Dixon, the House agriculture leader, firmly opposes allowing smokable hemp, while supporting its other uses. Advocates for smokable hemp say that it is a vital revenue stream for hemp growers and that farmers will struggle to make the industry profitable without it. Opponents of smokable hemp call it a backdoor path to marijuana legalization and say that it will make the law hard to enforce. Prosecutors and law enforcement groups worry that since hemp looks and smells similar to marijuana, it will prevent them from having probable cause when enforcing other laws. They claim that the smell of marijuana is a common way to obtain probable cause, and this bill will take that away.

The House Finance Committee had been expected to take a vote on the bill, but after a heated exchange of words between members, Chairman Szoka chose to adjourn the meeting. While the Farm Act largely deals with hemp regulations, it also includes provisions relating to a wide variety of issues, ranging from utility easements, animal waste odor rules, sweet potato promotion, present use tax valuation, swine permits, and public records disclosure.

WRAL: https://www.wral.com/hemp-marijuana-fight-may-doom-nc-farm-act/18504073/

2019 Session Laws

The following 120 bills have become law this session:

1. SB 7: Bipartisan Ethics Appointments
2. SB 75: Restore Ct. of Appeals Membership
3. SB 77: Ag Disaster Fund/Certain Counties
4. SB 214: Ensure Orderly 2019 Elections
5. SB 12: Fill Certain Vacancies/Alexander & Burke Co.
6. SB 56: Revenue Laws Technical Changes
7. SB 4: Extend Terms of 2 Members/Coastal Carolina CC
8. SB 272: Zoning for University Facilities-Durham
9. SB 6: Dare County/CC Construction Funds
10. SB 162: Loan Origination/Late Payment Charge Changes
11. HB 263: Fill Vacancies/Modify 2018 Appointments
12. SB 63: City of Kannapolis/Annexation
13. HB 130: Allow Game Nights
14. SB 505: Rural Job Retention Act
15. SB 605: Highway Storm Recovery Act
16. HB 1014: 2020 Census VTD Verification Program
17. SB 310: Electric Co-Op Rural Broadband Services
18. HB 363: Craft Beer Distribution & Modernization Act
19. HB 233: State Auditor/Local Finance Officer Amends
20. HB 532: DNCR Add New Trails & Various Changes
21. HB 388: Immunizing Pharmacists
22. HB 646: ID Approval/Flex Muni One-Stop
23. HB 70: Delay NC HealthConnex for Certain Providers
24. HB 9: Bessemer City Charter Amendment
25. HB 201: Randolph Co. Register of Deeds Tax Cert
26. SB 252: Dental Bill of Rights
27. SB 138: Even-Yr Municipal Elections/Town of Black Mtn.
28. SB 139: Even-Yr. Municipal Elections/Town of Montreat
29. HB 336: Extend Suspension of Spencer Mountain
30. SB 235: Franklin/Nash Municipalities/Unfit Dwellings
31. SB 30 Stanly CC/Contracting Date Extension
32. SB 381: Reconstitute/Clarify Boards and Commissions
33. HB 301: CIP Revisions/Juvenile Code
34. HB 179: Mini-Truck Classification
35. HB 131: Repeal Map Act
36. HB 82: Railroad Crossings/On-Track Equipment
37. SB 648: Support Shellfish Aquaculture
38. SB 448: Amend Appt For Compact on Education/Military
39. SB 255: State Board Construction Contract Claim
40. SB 151: Break or Enter Pharmacy/Increase Penalty
41. HB 617: Allow Repeat Referral to Teen Court
42. HB 578: Modify Legitimations Provisions
43. HB 548: Modify Physical Therapy Definition
44. HB 383: Topsail Beach Charter/Board Vacancies
45. HB 1016: UNC Boards of Trustees Appointments
46. HB 1017: Special Master Wake House Plan
47. HB 415: Photos of Juveniles/Show-Ups
48. SB 148: Public Records/Release of LEO Recordings
49. SB 11: ABC Regulation and Reform
50. SB 466: EDPNC Modifications
51. HB 57: Create Term for Public Schs. & Codify NCVPS
52. HB 389: ABC/Univ Athletic Facility
53. HB 531: Tenants at Foreclosure Act Restored
54. HB 658: Allow Donations of Unexpired Drugs
55. HB 664: myFutureNC/Postsecondary Attainment Goal
56. HB 432: Water/Sewer to Contiguous Dwelling Units
57. HB 219: NAIC Accreditation Amendments.-AB
58. SB 80: China Grove Satellite Annexation
59. SB 242: Recreational Land Fee Changes
60. SB 227: TP3/Principal Fellows Consolidation
61. SB 84: Walkertown Zoning Authorizations
62. SB 262: Union/Prohibit Certain Hunting Acts
63. SB 674: Surry Co./Mt. Airy/Elkin City/Bd. Ed Partisan
64. HB 15: Lexington/Dissolve Utilities Commission
65. HB 240: Albemarle/City Labor for Business Ctr
66. HB 299: Henderson Cty/Build Community College Bldgs
67. HB 6: Burlington Airport/Lease/Contract Authority
68. SB 225: Repeal Tuition Surcharge
69. HB 537: Hwy Use Tax Vehicle Subscriptions
70. HB 934: Right to Try Adult Stem Cell Treatments
71. SB 219: Modify Teacher Licensing Requirements
72. SB 55: Continuing Education for General Contractors
73. SB 483: Vacation Rental Act Changes
74. SB 610: Authorize Northern Peaks Trail
75. SB 95: Veterans Memorial Funds/Do Not Revert
76. SB 556: GSC People First Language 2019
77. SB 529: Fees/Returned Checks
78. SB 88: Electrician Requirements for Certain Orgs
79. SB 313: Guar. to Streamline Afford. Housing
80. SB 127: Protect Governmental Accountability
81. HB 656: Medicaid Changes for Transformation
82. HB 924: Teacher Contract Changes
83. HB 474: Death by Distribution
84. HB 67: Road Barrier Prohibition
85. HB 310: Clarify Insurance Prod'r Crim. Bckgrd Check
86. HB 812: Nutrient Offset Amendments
87. HB 886: Study Participation of Operators in NC Pre-K
88. HB 529: Utilities/Water and Wastewater Consumption
89. HB 917: Emergency Declaration/Clarify Rd Closure
90. HB 747: NC Missing Person Information Sharing
91. HB 770: Freedom to Work/OLB Reform
92. HB 871: Fair Contracts
93. HB 4: Claremont Deannexation
94. HB 52: Wrightsville Beach Local Act Amendment
95. HB 204: Town of Beaufort/Annexation
96. HB 349: Wilkes County Fire Tax-Procedure
97. HB 489: Lincolnton-Lincoln County Airport Authority
98. HB 80: Roanoke Rapids Lake/Unattended Equip
99. HB 237: Brunswick County Zoning Procedure Changes
100. HB 368: Bermuda Run/Speed Restrictions
101. HB 98: Macon/Clay/No Right-of-Way Spotlighting
102. HB 134: Filling Vacancy/Onslow County Board of Comm
103. HB 170: Various Satellite Annexations
104. HB 187: Amend Town of Elon Charter/Parking Ordinances
105. HB 285: City of Sanford/Town of Beaufort/Vol Annex
106. HB 239: Pitt County Animal Control Records
107. HB 324: Local Hunting Omnibus
108. HB 429: Navigable Waters/Manteo/Hyde
109. SB 191: Out-of-State Law Enforcement/2020 Rep Convtn
110. SB 399: Rehire High-Need Teachers
111. SB 355: Land-Use Regulatory Changes
112. SB 378: Local Economic Development Modifications
113. SB 394: Changes to Estates & Trusts Statutes
114. SB 311: Massage Board Membership
115. HB 257: Motorcycles/Face Masks
116. HB 224: Assault w/ Firearm on LEO/Increase Punishment
117. SB 594: Register of Deeds Updates
118. SB 525: Textile Hist. Site/Operate SE NC Museum
119. SB 220: Removal of Political Signs by Citizens
120. SB 500: Modify Advanced Math Course Enrollment