2004 GA Overview

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State Lawmakers Return to Full Plate of Issues

Family Policy Facts - May 7, 2004
On Monday, May 10, the North Carolina General Assembly will convene the 2004 “Short” Legislative Session. The primary purpose of the short session, which is technically a continuation of the 2003 Regular Session, is to ensure that the state budget is balanced as required by the North Carolina Constitution. In addition, lawmakers will work to complete action on bills carried over from the 2003 session, receive recommendations from interim legislative study committees, and consider other eligible proposals. Due to legal action challenging the state legislative district maps drawn and approved by the General Assembly last year, the primary election date for federal, state and local offices has been scheduled for July 20, 2004. With the short session starting on May 10, this provides a relatively short timeframe for lawmakers to approve a budget before the beginning of the state’s fiscal year (July 1), to consider other legislation, and to adjourn the session in time to campaign before the primary election. This means the 2004 session may live up to its “short session” title, possibly concluding in early July.

The following is a list of select legislation we expect to be on the table during the 2004 session. Of course, there is no way to predict everything that will come before state lawmakers this year, but this list should serve as a good outline of many of the significant issues that are likely to be debated. To view the complete text of a bill, visit our web site at http://www.ncfamily.org and click on “General Assembly,” enter the bill number in the Bill Look-up window, and click “Go.”

ABORTION/PRO-LIFE:
S145—PHYSICIAN ASSISTED SUICIDE, which was discussed by the Senate Judiciary 2 Committee last year but saw no formal action, may still be eligible for the 2004 session. During deliberations in the Senate, S145 was expanded to clarify that any assisted suicide would be illegal in North Carolina. H998—ABORTION-WOMAN’S RIGHT TO KNOW (S571) may still eligible for consideration this year. The bill would ensure that any woman considering an abortion is fully informed about the medical risks, the physician performing the procedure, the probable gestational age of the unborn child, and other information at least 24-hours prior to the abortion. H64—“CHOOSE LIFE” LICENSE PLATE (S96) would authorize the issuance of license plates bearing the pro-life message “Choose Life” and would direct $15 of the $25 purchase price to fund Crisis Pregnancy Centers across the state.

BUDGET/TAXES:
Last year, state lawmakers approved a $14.75 billion budget for the 2003-04 fiscal year and a tentative $15.5 billion budget for the 2004-05 fiscal year, which begins on July 1, 2004. While legislative fiscal staff estimate that the 5.5 percent growth rate built into the 2004-05 budget is realistic, and that tax collections for 2003-04 are expected to come in approximately $190 million above projections, many lawmakers will approach the budget process with a reserved optimism.

First of all, North Carolina continues to experience ever-increasing expenses as public school enrollment increases, Medicaid costs skyrocket, government and university buildings require attention, teachers and other state employees seek pay raises, and so on. Many of these expenses are not fully funded in the 2004-05 budget. In addition, last year lawmakers extended two “temporary” tax increases for two more years in order to fund the 2003-04 and 2004-05 budgets. An extra half-cent of the state sales tax and a half-percent state income tax increase on high wage earners enacted in 2001 were originally scheduled to expire on June 30, 2003, but are set to run through June 30, 2005. In 2003, the General Assembly also initiated the first year of a two-year phase out of the marriage tax penalty and the phase up of the child tax credit, which was initially approved in 2001 but subsequently delayed. These family-friendly forms of tax relief could wind up in the crosshairs if lawmakers are looking to seize more taxpayer money to plug budget holes. However, in what is shaping up to be a very competitive election year, such a move could prove to be less than desirable not only for the taxpayers, but also for legislators seeking to return to the General Assembly next year. On a similar note, the State Senate attempted to raise about $330 million from proposed increases in cigarette and alcohol taxes last year, but those efforts were rejected by the House, as was a fleeting attempt by the Senate to use the budget shortfall as an excuse to pass a bill calling for a state lottery referendum. The House may well hold the line against any tax increases again this year.

EDUCATION:
Last year, the House approved H31—RAISE CAP ON CHARTER SCHOOLS to increase the statewide charter school cap from 100 to 110, but the Senate Education/Higher Education Committee did not take the bill up for consideration. Because of the Senate’s inaction, the House added a similar cap increase to a Senate bill originally designed to give the Winston-Salem/Forsyth School System the ability to apply for a charter. When the Senate received the House version of S359 for concurrence, the bill was sent to the Senate Rules Committee, where it remains. H943—SCHOOLS CAN’T RECOMMEND SOME MEDICATIONS passed the House last year but did not pass the Senate. H943 would require local boards of education to adopt rules prohibiting school personnel from recommending the use of psychotropic drugs or central nervous system stimulants (such as Ritalin) or requiring use of such drugs as a condition of attending school.

GAMBLING:
The push to put North Carolina into the gambling business will undoubtedly be on the front burner again this session. Lottery proponents, including Governor Mike Easley, will place lawmakers under tremendous pressure to adopt H5—2003 EDUCATION LOTTERY REFERENDUM, which would authorize a statewide referendum vote on the lottery. A bill to prohibit the possession and operation of video poker machines in North Carolina, except by federally recognized Indian tribes, overwhelmingly passed the Senate during the 2003 session and is still eligible in 2004. While the House leadership has pledged to bring S6—BAN VIDEO POKER/ALL BUT RESERVATION up for consideration in the House, recent reports indicate that the House may consider a completely different version of the bill. According to the Raleigh News & Observer, an alternative recently offered by the video poker industry would have the industry pay $1,000 per machine to the Sheriff of the county in which the machine is located. The NCFPC has opposed such a proposal in past sessions, because it would create, at the very least, the appearance of a conflict of interest between video gambling and those primarily responsible for enforcing the state’s gambling laws.

HOMOSEXUAL AGENDA:
Legislation to amend the North Carolina Constitution to protect marriage in our state is expected to be introduced early in the 2004 session. With Massachusetts scheduled to begin issuing marriage licenses to same sex couples in mid-May and other similar happenings in other states, it is imperative that North Carolina’s Constitution be amended in order to preserve our existing marriage laws and defend against efforts to redefine marriage in North Carolina. It is important to note that a state-level constitutional amendment will help to insulate North Carolina from legal challenges in state courts, but a federal marriage amendment is necessary to protect states from similar legal challenges in federal courts.

MARRIAGE/FAMILY:
H1047—ABOLISH ALIENATION OF AFFECTION/CRIMINAL CONVERSATION, which passed the House last year but was not taken up in the Senate, remains eligible in 2004. This bill would abolish two centuries-old civil actions that allow a wronged spouse to sue a third party who, with wrongful and malicious intent, intrudes into their marriage, steals the affections of their spouse, and breaks up the marriage (alienation of affections), and/or who commits adultery with their husband or wife (criminal conversation). S721—POST-ADOPTION PRIVILEGES, would allow adoptive parents and the birth relatives of an adopted child to enter into a legally binding agreement to allow visitation, communication, or the passage of information between the parties. Such agreements are currently allowed, but making them legally binding could create serious problems, if adoptive parents find that the arrangements are no longer in the best interest of the child or the adoptive family. This bill was set aside by the House Judiciary 2 Committee last year in order to allow interested parties ample opportunity to review an amended version of the bill. In addition to these bills, an interim legislative study committee is expected to make several recommendations to curb domestic violence in North Carolina, including higher penalties for domestic abuse and a new felony charge for strangulation.