Legislative Session, Week 6
This week the Governor signed these two bills into law:
House Bill 5– Temporary Funding/Group Homes & SCUs. This bill was supported by NASW-NC. It will allow a temporary extension of funding for group homes and special care units.
Senate Bill 4– No N.C. Exchange/No Medicaid Expansion. This is a huge loss for the state and comes at the heels of other Republican led states such as Florida and New Jersey announcing they will expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.
Action taken this week on relevant bills:
Senate Bill 20– Good Samaritan Law/Naloxone Access. This bill passed the Senate floor and was referred to House Committee Jud. B. This bill would allow someone to seek medical care after an overdose without criminal penalties. It also would allow an individual to seek medical care for someone else after an overdose without criminal penalties.
House Bill 140– Caylee’s Law/Report Missing Children. This bill passed the House and was sent to the Senate. It would make it a felony for a parent or other caretaker to fail to report a missing child.
Relevant bills filed this week:
SB 208- Effective Operation of 1915(b)/(c) Waiver- NASW-NC is very in favor of this legislation. This legislation includes prompt pay for providers and gives the Secretary more control to ensure MCO’s are operating effectively. This bill was sent to Senate Committee on Health Care.
SB 220/HB 115– State Minimum Wage/Inflation Increases- This bill would require that the state minimum wage be increased annually based on increases in the consumer price index. It was assigned to Rules and Operations of the Senate.
SB 235/HB 253– Voter Protection Integrity/Every Vote Counts- This legislation is to ensure that every legally registered voter who goes to the polls has the right to vote and cannot be denied this right because of photo ID requirements. Neither bill has been assigned to a Committee yet.
HB 207– Expunction of Drug Offenses- This bill would allow for certain drug offenses to be expunged after 15 years of a clean record and free from drug use. The bill was referred to House Committee Jud. B.
HB 221– Increase Penalties for Human Trafficking- This legislation increases penalties for trafficking and includes any person caught trafficking minors be added to the sex offender registry. This bill was referred to House Committee Jud. B.
* Want to contact your legislators about any of this legislation? Use our Capwiz Center to find who represents you and how to contact them.
* Heard about a bill but didn’t see it listed here? Feel free to contact Kay Paksoy, Director of Advocacy, Policy and Legislation and Registered Lobbyist for NASW-NC.
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