Legislative Update from Rep. Frank Iler – July 14, 2014
It was an interesting week in Raleigh, although the majority of the House members were not required to be there. Only the members on the budget conference committee or conference committees for other bills were needed in Raleigh. So, after the July 4th parade and other Independence Day activities, I prepared to wait for the 48-hour notice we were promised. As of this writing, I haven’t received an official notice, but we have been called back for a Monday 1:00 o’clock caucus meeting. We are supposed to begin regular sessions Monday or Tuesday.
Last week, for the first time anyone can remember, the House and Senate budget conferees decided to have open meetings. These meetings are usually held behind closed doors. By the end of the week, most of them probably wished they had not opened the doors. Only those items that are different in the two budgets passed by the House and Senate are up for discussion. The first few meetings were consumed by offers from the two houses. Then, a disagreement over allowing public comments in one of their joint meetings caused the Senate members to walk out. They returned after the public comments from educators and the back-and-forth offers continued.
Some of the major points of difference are in Medicaid, teacher pay, and teacher assistants. The House wants to retain teacher assistants in kindergarten through the third grade, while the Senate wants to cut those in the second and third grades. The House budget would give teachers an average 6 percent raise this year, while the Senate would provide 11 percent average raise. This would put our teachers at the national average. The House plan would take two to three years to achieve the national average or above. We in the House believe that we should retain the second and third grade teacher assistants, especially since we are insisting on all third graders reading at grade level.
While the public conference committees were going on, the House held skeleton sessions (no votes) and the Senate held regular voting sessions. The Senate has dealt with several bills that we had sent over from the House, and we will see one or two of them this week for concurrence votes. Senate Bill 812 – Replace CCSS w/NC’s Higher Academic Standards is the Common Core bill that has been much-discussed this year. It has been in a conference committee since June 30th. The committee reported it out and the Senate approved the conference report on Thursday. We will, undoubtedly, have it on the House floor this week for a final vote.
Senate Bill 729 – Coal Ash Management Act of 2014 passed the House by a vote of 94-16, and went to the Senate last week. It is on the Senate calendar for this Monday, the 14th.
Other bills that the House passed and sent to the Senate have not fared as well. House Bill 1181 – North Carolina Medicaid Modernization, which passed 113 – 0 in the House, was sent to the Senate Rules committee on July 3rd. The regulatory reform bills, Senate Bill 734 and Senate Bill 493, which passed the House on June 26th by more than 2 to 1 majorities, were sent to the Senate Ways and Means committee on June 30th. Frequently, bills sent to these committees do not come out for a vote on the Senate floor. It remains to be seen if they will be considered or die at the end of this session.
With the budget in negotiations and many bills being pushed prior to our adjournment in a week or two, it should be an active week in Raleigh. I am hoping it is also a productive week, as some of our decisions could impact North Carolina for years to come.