Representative Harry Warren
♦Here is a review of some of the major public bills that were passed by the House this week and sent to the Senate for consideration:
HB 515 – Amend Credit Union Laws. This bill addresses various aspects of credit union membership, such as survivorship, joint tenants and accounts with minors.
HB 532 – No Drinking in EMS and Law Enforcement Vehicles. This is an act to make it a crime to operate an ambulance, law enforcement vehicle, or EMS vehicle upon any highway, street or public vehicular area within the state while consuming alcohol or while alcohol remains in the person’s body.
HB 610 – Modify Requirements for In-stand Beer Sales. This bill reduces the seating capacity requirement and eliminates the population requirement for in-stand sales of malt beverages. This will amend the General Statute 18B-1009 to allow the sale of malt beverages in the seating areas of stadiums, ballparks and other similar public places with a seating capacity of 3,000 or more (formerly 60,000 or more in cities with a population greater than 450,000) during professional sporting events, provided certain specifications are met.
HB 734 – Interstate Agreements to Improve Voter Rolls. This act amends General Statute 163-82.14 to allow the State Board of Elections to enter into data-sharing agreements with other states to crosscheck information on voter registration and voting records. The bill requires the State Board of Elections to actively seek ways to share and crosscheck information on voting records and voter registration with other states to improve the accuracy of voter registration lists, using resources such as the Electronic Registration Information Center and by entering into interstate compacts.
HB 829 – Sales of Growlers by Certain ABC Permittee(s) – This bill also amends an existing statute (GS 18B-1001) to provide that on-premises and off-premises malt beverage permits and wine shop permits authorize the sale of malt beverages in a sanitized, resealable container that can hold up to 64 ounces and is filled and sealed for consumption off of the premises.
HB 830 – Adopt State Symbols. This legislation creates new statutes that add several new state recognized symbols to our current list: GS 145-41, adopting the fossilized teeth of the megalodon shark as the official fossil of North Carolina; GS 145-42, adopting the pine barrens tree frog as the official frog of North Carolina; GS 145-43, adopting the marbled salamander as the official salamander of North Carolina; GS 145-44, adopting the Virginia opossum as the official marsupial of North Carolina; GS 145-45, adopting the whirligigs created by Vollis Simpson as the official folk art of North Carolina.
HB 935 – NC Pre-kindergarten Law Changes. This act would rename the Child Care Commission the Early Childhood Care and Education Commission, expanding the scope of the commission to encompass issues relating to early childhood education programs and making other conforming statutory changes. It would require that local partnerships shall be the sole contract administrators for the pre-kindergarten program (NC Pre-K) and clarifies the definition of “at-risk” as related to eligibility for participation in the NC pre-kindergarten program.
HB 937 – Amend Various Firearms Laws. This act generated the most emails for the week, although there was some stiff competition from HB 944, HB 775 and HB 983. By the time this bill came to the floor for a vote, I had received more than 700 emails in support of it and perhaps ten or so against it. The bill did pass overwhelmingly, without amendment, although more than 12 were proposed. Here is a general summery of its major provisions: 1) increases penalties for certain crimes in which a firearm is used, displayed, or where there is a threat to use or display a firearm; 2) makes it a criminal offense for anyone to permit a child to have access to or possess a firearm without supervision and parental consent; 3) provides that a person who has a valid concealed handgun permit may do all of the following: have a concealed handgun in a locked vehicle in a state government parking lot; have a concealed handgun in a locked compartment in a vehicle on the premises of a community college, or public or private college or university, and carry a handgun into an assembly where an admission fee is charged or an establishment where alcoholic beverages are sold and consumed, unless the person in legal possession or control of the premises has posted a notice prohibiting the carrying of handguns on the premises; 4) provides that an employee of an institution of higher education who lives in a certain type of campus residence may carry a handgun on the employee’s residential premises and in some instances also keep the gun in the employee’s locked vehicle in the parking area of the institution of higher education; 5) clarifies the law on local government authority to prohibit concealed carry of firearms; 6) establishes uniform state requirements for reporting information concerning mental health and substance abuse judicial determinations or findings to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System and to make these requirements more consistent with federal firearms law.
HB 101 – Repeal Estate Tax. This act effectively kills what is commonly called the “death tax” on estates in excess of $5 million. The bill repeals Article 1A, Estate Taxes, of GS Chapter 105. It makes conforming changes to GS 105-241.10 and GS 105-236(a)(5). The effective date would be January 1, 2013, and applies to the estates of decedents dying on or after that date.
HB 405 – Judges and Clerks Concealed Handgun Permit. This bill would exempt any justice or judge of the General Court of Justice of the State of North Carolina, who has a concealed handgun permit that is valid in North Carolina, from the general prohibition against carrying a concealed weapon and from the prohibitions against carrying a weapon on certain premises or in certain circumstances.
HB 611 – Suspension Removed When Eligibility Met. This is an act to require the Division of Motor Vehicles to expunge suspensions and revocations entered on a limited permittee or provisional licensee’s driving record if the student provides the required documentation to the Division that the student meets the eligibility requirements and if the limited permittee or provisional licensee has never had a prior expunction from the permittee(s) driving record.
HB 687 – Homeless Shelters/Remove Age Limits. This bill will require the Building Code Council to amend the NC Building Code to allow occupants younger than eighteen in temporary overflow emergency shelters for the homeless. It provides for the implementation of Sec. 424.1.1 of the 2012 NC Building Code by the Building Code Council and governments, which establishes that temporary overflow emergency shelters for the homeless, to allow occupants under the age of 18 when the shelter (1) is intended to serve homeless families that include children under 18 and their parents or other legal guardians and (2) the temporary shelter consists of a group of churches or other nonprofit religious entities that have agreed to host the shelter occupants on the premises of each church or religious entity on a rotating basis. The above should be implemented and only discontinued when the Council adopts amendments, notwithstanding GS 150B-19(4), to the Homeless Shelter Provision, providing for the inclusion of occupants under the age of 18 as specified above.
HB 716 – Clarify Law/Prohibit Sex-Selection Abortion. This is another bill that generated a multitude of emails, both in favor of and against the bill. The floor discussions on the bill were also very lively and extremely political. This act would prohibit a person from performing or attempting to perform an abortion when the sex of the unborn child is a significant factor in seeking the abortion. It enacts a new Article 1K, Certain Abortions Prohibited, in GS Chapter 90, which prohibits knowingly or recklessly performing or attempting to perform an abortion with knowledge or an objective reason to know that a significant factor in seeking the abortion is related to the sex of the unborn child. It provides for civil remedies for violations. This bill allows a claim for injunctive relief to be sought by (1) the woman upon whom an abortion was performed or attempted in violation of this article or (2) any person who is the spouse, parent, sibling, guardian, or current or former licensed health care provider of the woman upon whom an abortion has been performed or attempted in violation of this article. It provides for civil contempt fines. It requires the cout to rule whether the anonymity of any woman upon whom an abortion has been performed or attempted must be preserved from public disclosure if the woman does not give her consent to the disclosure. Upon determining that the woman’s anonymity should be preserved, the bill requires the court to issue orders to the parties, witnesses, and counsel and to direct the sealing of the record and exclusion of individuals from courtrooms or hearing rooms to the extent necessary to safeguard the woman’s identity from public disclosure. It requires such orders to be accompanied by specific written findings explaining (1) why the anonymity of the woman should be preserved from public disclosure, (2) why the order is essential to that end, (3) how the order is narrowly tailored to serve that interest, and (4) why no reasonable, less restrictive alternative exists. It applies to violations occurring or civil actions commenced on or after October 1, 2013.
HB 784 – Worthless Check/Present Cashed Check. This is an act to provide that the remedies and penalties for worthless checks also apply when a check that has been paid in full is presented again for payment. The bill amends GS 6-21.3(a), providing that any person, firm, or corporation that knowingly draws, makes, utters, or issues and delivers to another any check that has previously been presented and honored for the payment of money or its equivalent will be liable to the payee for the following: (1 the amount owing on the check, the service charges, and processing fees and (2 additional damages of three times the amount owing on the check, not to exceed $500 or to be less than $100. It sets out the procedure for demanding the damages, including initial and subsequent demand letters and steps that can be taken after the sending of or failure of the demand letters. It amends GS 6-21.3(d), establishing that the remedies provided in this section also apply to checks that have been presented with the knowledge that the check had previously been presented and honored for the payment of money or its equivalent (previously, only applied to checks that were drawn, made, uttered or issued with the knowledge there were insufficient funds in the account). It amends GS 14-107, Worthless Checks; Multiple Presentment of Checks, providing that it is illegal for any person, firm or corporation, to draw, make, utter or issue and deliver to another, any check or draft on any bank or depository, for the payment of money or its equivalent, or to solicit, aid, or abet another person, firm or corporation to do the same when knowing at the time, the check has been previously presented for the payment of money or its equivalent. Such a violation is a Class 1 felony if the amount of the check or draft is more than $2,000, if less, then it is a misdemeanor, punishable as a specified (previously, the provisions of this section only applied to checks that were drawn, uttered or issued with the knowledge there were insufficient funds in the account). This legislation would become effective on December 1, 2013 and applies to offense committed on or after that date.
HB 609 – NC Cancer Treatment Fairness Act. This is an act relating to health benefit plan coverage for orally administered anticancer drugs. The House committee substitute to the 1st edition makes the following changes: amends proposed GS 58-51-59.1 to require every policy or contract of accident or health insurance and every preferred provider benefit plan under GS 58-50-56 that provides coverage for prescribed, orally administered anticancer drugs that are used to kill or slow the growth of cancerous cells and that provides coverage for intravenously administered or injected anticancer drugs (was, that provides coverage for cancer treatment) must provide coverage for prescribed, orally administered anticancer drugs (was, orally administered anticancer drugs that are used to kill or slow the growth of cancerous cells) on a basis no less favorable than the coverage provided for the intravenously administered or injected anticancer drug. Also amends the statute to provide that nothing in the statute applies to accident-only, specified disease, hospital indemnity, Medicare supplement, long-term care, disability income, or other limited benefit health insurance policies.
These bills were passed into law this week and were presented to the Secretary of State…..
SB 369 – Name Change Requirements for Minors. This act authorizes a parent to apply for a name change for a minor child without consent of the other parent if the other parent has been convicted of certain criminal offenses against the minor child or a sibling of the minor child.
SB 240 – Develop Rules for Release of Path Materials. This act directs the Department of Health and Human Services and the North Carolina Medical Board to develop rules governing requests for and release of pathological materials, as recommended by the Legislative Research Commission on Pathological Materials.
SB 456 – Designate Primary Stroke Centers. This law will require the Department of Health and Human Services to designate qualified hospitals as primary stroke centers, as recommended by the Justus-Warren Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Task Force.
SB 98 – Require Pulse Oximetry Newborn Screening. This law will expand the newborn screening program established by the Department of Health and Human Services to include newborn screening for congenital heart disease utilizing pulse oximetry, as recommended by the North Carolina Child Fatality Task Force.
HB 247 – Freedom to Negotiate Health Care Rates. This act allows health providers and health insurers to freely negotiate reimbursement rates by prohibiting contract provisions that restrict rate negotiations.
SB 117 – Lily’s Law. This act codifies the common law so say that it is murder where a child who is born alive dies as the result of injuries inflicted prior to the child’s birth, and provides that the act shall be entitled “Lily’s Law.”
Details for the May Town Hall meeting will be announced as soon as a date has been confirmed. I hope you will be able to attend.
Sincerely, Harry
N.C. House of Representatives District 77, Rowan County
611 Legislative Office Building Raleigh,
North Carolina 27603
(919) 733-5784
