Legislative Update from Rep. Iler — February 20, 2023
Last week at the North Carolina General Assembly saw a full schedule of committee meetings and several voting sessions of the full House and Senate. Significant bills were moving quickly through the committees and onto the floor. They dealt with public health, second amendment rights, and education, among other important subjects.
Our appropriations committees dealing with the various areas of the budget began meeting each morning at 8:30. House members on each committee are meeting jointly with the Senate members for information, questions, and discussion on the subject areas. Tuesday, I chaired the first meeting of the Appropriations Committee on Transportation, and we got off to a good start each morning with presentations from our fiscal staff and from the N.C. Dept. of Transportation.
Our most significant bill last week was House Bill 76 – Access to Healthcare Options. After years of concern over “Medicaid Expansion”, we finally had a bill that offers options for more North Carolinians without costing the taxpayers. It will bring billions of federal dollars into our healthcare system and has a safeguard that will automatically sunset (end) if the federal government changes their share. The hospitals are now in agreement, and we should see more people using primary care instead of the emergency room. They will be paying the state share, not the taxpayers. It passed the House by a final bipartisan vote of 92 – 22.
House Bill 49 – Protect Religious Meeting Places gives churches that also house a school the same right to protect their congregation during services that other churches have, but only when the school activities are not taking place. It passed 77 – 43, with 6 Democrats joining all Republicans in a bipartisan vote.
Another education-related bill passed the Education K-12 Committee. House Bill 8 – Computer Science Grad. Requirement was discussed and passed and is now in the State Government Committee. It is controversial and will be heavily debated prior to final passage in the House.
I cosponsored a significant election bill that was filed last week. House Bill 123 – Early Voting Constitutional Amendment gives the people the chance to vote on whether early voting should be limited to 7 consecutive days prior to the official election day. Currently early voting has extended to 2 ½ weeks. I have heard from a lot of citizens that early voting is too long. We are meeting this Tuesday with the entire House and Senate Appropriations Committee to hear the state revenue forecast which is a consensus between the legislative staff economists and the executive branch Office of State Budget and Management (OSBM). We will then know what income figures we have with which to do the expense budget. Our budget by law has to balance, unlike the federal government. Our morning joint meetings will continue through February as we prepare to do the 2023 – 2024 biennial budget for the state (which covers the two years from July 2023 to June 2025).