Session, Week 6
Provisional: HB 1081 is on it’s way to the Governor! With no opposition in the Senate, it got voted out and sent to the Governor via special message. We expect her to sign it soon. Upon signature, the Licensing Board with contact Provisional licensees about the changes. As the name will change immediately, you do not need to do anything until the Licensing Board contacts you. Please be patient with them as they update their website and applications and get information out to every Provisional.
Raise the Age: SB 434 was heard in House Committee Jud. A this Wednesday. After a brief discussion, Representative Ross moved to favorably report the bill. It was voted out of committee with NO OPPOSITION and assigned to Appropriations. We will keep you updated on this progress of this bill.
Budget: Over the weekend and early this week, assigned legislators conferred over the budget and negotiated sections. See the last advocacy update about the budget highlights. Both the House and the Senate voted the budget bill out of the respective chambers. The bill was engrossed and sent to the Governor via special message. We now away her signature or veto of the $20.2Billion budget. Several legislators debated the importance of many social work programs and Rep. Bordsen of Mebane specifically mentioned the critical role social workers provide in our state.
Previous advocacy alert: SB 205 No Benefits for Illegal Aliens was originally calendared to be heard in House Committee Jud. A this week. Thanks to your calls and emails, the bill got pulled off the calendar. We will continue to watch the status of this bill and ensure that social workers not get penalized with a criminal record for doing their job.
HB 14: Use R&R Funds for 2011-2012 Medicaid Costs: This bill was introduced Thursday and was rushed through the House and Senate. After being approved by both, it was sent to the Governor. At the beginning of Session, legislators filled a $200M Medicaid gap but later found out there were additional funds that needed to be filled. This bill allocates $94M from the Repairs and Renovations Funds to fill the remaining gap. This will ensure Medicaid providers get paid for services.
NASW-NC Social Work Blog 