Legislative Update from Rep. Frank Iler – September 28, 2015
Last week in the North Carolina House of Representatives: we passed a bill to move 2016 primary elections to March 15th, we passed the economic incentives bill, and we passed a major reorganization of Medicaid.
As the weather in Raleigh showed signs of cooling off for the coming fall season, issues and tempers were heating up as we passed controversial bills on which we had been working for months. Since the budget had gotten so much attention over the past three months, other important issues had taken a back seat. However, Medicaid reform, economic incentives, and primary elections bubbled to the surface and finally received the attention they deserved.
House Bill 117 – NC Competes Act came to the floor of the House on Tuesday and received a healthy debate. It allocates funds for new businesses in all counties, with additional help for those locating in poorer counties. It also targets “high-yield” industries that will create 1750 jobs or more and invest at least $500 million. It also gives special fuel tax breaks to the airline industry and the motorsports industry. This is not the bill concerning the film industry. The budget bill included $30 million per year for the next two years in potential grants to the film companies that invest in North Carolina. This bill passed on a bipartisan vote of 84 – 24.
Medicaid reform has been debated among different groups for years, and more recently for months during the Spring and Summer. House Bill 372 – Medicaid Transformation and Reorganization sets up a hybrid system that includes provider-led entities, such as doctors and hospitals, as well as for-profit groups under what is called managed care organizations. It is complicated and difficult to understand, but we were well briefed on it. Tuesday this bill passed 65 – 40 on a party-line vote.
Another controversial issue that has been around for months is the idea of moving the 2016 primary date from early May to February or March, so that North Carolina will have a say in the selection of the parties’ presidential nominees. It was thought that by May the selection process was decided in most cases, and that little attention was paid to our state. Last session, we moved the presidential primary into February, not realizing that the Republican National Committee rules would deny most of the NC Republican delegates if it was held that early. House Bill 373 – Elections did two things. It moved the presidential primary to March 15th and also moved the regular primary that had been left in May to March 15th. It passed the House by a narrow margin of 52 – 49.
This week, we anticipate that we will adjourn for the 2015 session by Tuesday or Wednesday. It has been long, and most of us are anxious to spend more time back in the districts. I am anticipating going back into our schools in October and November, as well as visiting some of our town council meetings. We have 13 towns in the district (19 in the entire county), and I know some of them do things differently from others. It’s always good to communicate with our town and county officials and answer questions about what we are doing in Raleigh