The Raleigh Report
from the office of Representative Marian McLawhorn
February 13, 2009
The House of Representatives has wrapped up its second full week of the 2009-2010 legislative biennium, and we made a great deal of progress in preparing for the work ahead. House Speaker Joe Hackney announced our committee assignments on Wednesday, and we are now ready to get to work on the more than 160 bills that have already been filed.
Much of the work of our chamber is done in committees. Every bill that comes up for a vote on the House floor has been reviewed and debated by at least two committees, and often the most important changes are made during committee meetings. Every House member serves on several committees.
We unanimously voted to change our committee structure to add a committee for Marine Resources and Aquaculture and a committee for Water Resources and Infrastructure. We also combined the State Government and State Personnel committees into a single body, and changed the Ways and Means Committee to Ways and Means/Broadband Connectivity.
I would now like to share some of the legislation that has been proposed in the past few days. I hope it will be of interest to you.
As always, please contact me if I can be of service to you.
Domestic Violence
_ Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have filed legislation (HB 141) that would make a series of changes to the state’s domestic violence laws based on the recommendations of the Joint Legislative Committee on Domestic Violence of which I am the House chairman. Among other things, the bill would direct the legislature to study state oversight and coordination of services for victims of sexual violence, and would support a statewide domestic violence protective order notification system. I am the primary sponsor of this bill.
_ A bill has been filed that would award money to the Domestic Violence Center Fund. The bill (HB 151) would also appropriate funds for the purchase and maintenance of online, web-based software for grant application and distribution for domestic violence, sexual assault, and displaced homemaker grant funds.
Children
_ Lawmakers have proposed the Healthy Youth Act, which would provide for abstinence until marriage and comprehensive sexuality education programs in grades seven through nine. Under existing law, sexual education programs are limited to teaching abstinence until marriage. If enacted, this new legislation (HB 88) would allow for parents to choose whether to enroll their child in a program that teaches only abstinence until marriage or to enroll their child in a program that teaches comprehensive sexuality.
Transportation
_ Lawmakers have filed a bill that would establish a Congestion Relief and Intermodal Transportation 21st Century Fund, which would provide for the allocation of funds to local governments and transportation authorities for public transportation purposes. The fund would also be used to expand intercity passenger rail service, among other things. The bill would also allow municipalities to levy up to a half-cent sales tax exclusively for mass transit, but only if it’s first approved by voters. The bill (HB 148) is based on legislation Mecklenburg County used to finance its downtown light rail system and to supplement the operation of its buses.
Miscellaneous
_ I joined with my fellow House members on Thursday to officially honor the 100th anniversary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The NAACP is the nation's oldest, largest and most widely recognized civil rights group with more than a half-million members. In North Carolina, the NAACP remains an active advocate for all the people of our state.
Please remember that you can listen to each day’s committee meetings and press conferences on the General Assembly’s website at www.ncleg.net. Once on the site, select “audio,” and then make your selection – Appropriations Committee Room or Press Conference Room. You can also use the website to look up bills, view lawmaker biographies and access other information.