State Budget Details and Bills of Interest

Legislators released their budget late Monday night. The following is a short list of budget highlights.
Click here to view the budget bill. Items below referenced with page numbers can be found in this link.
Click here to view the committee report. Items below referenced with a letter and then a number can be found in this link (example: C-4).

• Pay raises: State employee salaries will be raised to $31,200, or a 2% raise if the salary is already at that level or higher; a one time, 1% payment for retirees; and five non-expiring bonus leave days

Education

• B7/Page 35: School safety program: hire more support staff, implement anonymous tip line, hire School Resource Officers. Nonrecurring funds from Dorothea Dix property sale of $10 million is to be used for mental health related school safety initiatives. Since the funding is nonrecurring, funds will have to come from somewhere else in future fiscal years.
  
• Page 36: Allocates $2 million for the Department of Public Instruction, in consultation with the Department of Health and Human Services, to provide crisis services from community partners.

Juvenile Justice

• E-9: Provides partial year funding for 65 full time staff in the Court Services section of the Division of Juvenile Justice to support the Juvenile Justice Reinvestment Act. The positions have a start date of May 8, 2019 and an annualized cost of $4,613,748. The funding supports 40 Court Counselors, 15 Court Counselor Supervisors, and 10 Office Assistants.

Health and Human Services (starts on page 71)

• C-38: Adult guardianship: Budgets additional Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) federal receipts of $987,309, along with local match receipts, for local county departments of social services to provide additional adult guardianship services.
• C-48: Home and Community Care Block Grant (HCCBG): Increases access to HCCBG, community based services and supports by budgeting $850,000 in additional SSBG federal receipts and an additional $94,444 in local match.
• C-49: Budgets additional SSBG receipts for 1 full time Social Work Planner/ Evaluator to support the Adult Protective Services (APS) and Guardianship social work staff in North Carolina's 100 county departments of social services to provide adult guardianship services.
• C-74/Page 85: Reduces single stream funding to LME/MCOs. $438,041 recurring and $16,583,635 nonrecurring.
• C-75: $500,000 in nonrecurring funds for Traumatic Brain Injury services
• Page 101: Amends risk categories for Medicaid. This move allows outpatient providers and behavioral health and I/DD provider agencies that are nationally accredited to be considered low risk. 
• No Medicaid work requirements are in the budget.
  

Bills of Interest Filed at the North Carolina General Assembly

• SB 726 Go Big for Early Childhood
  This legislation appropriates funds to provide an ongoing, increased source of funds above the base budget for the NC Pre-K program and the North Carolina Partnership for Children to increase the reimbursement rate for NC Pre-K Slots by 3 percent for 2018-2019. It would also provide a tax credit to early education teachers and directors based on years of experience and education.
• SB 727 Rape Evidence Collection Kit Tracking Act (HB 945)
  This bill would establish a statewide sexual assault evidence collection kit tracking system and requires testing of previously untested sexual assault evidence collection kits.
• HB 976/SB 734 Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPO)
  This would temporarily restrict a person's access to firearms if there is evidence that the person poses a danger of physical harm to self or others. A family member, someone in a dating relationship, relative, or legal guardian could request this. A hearing would occur within 10 days for a full ERPO. A full ERPO would result in restrictions of one year.
• HB 981 State as Model Employer/IDD
  Directs the Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of State Human Resources to study the development and implementation of a statewide program that establishes the state as a model employer for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The program would develop guidelines, appropriate workplace conditions, and other necessary standards for hiring.
• HB 982 IDD Data Sharing/Longitudinal Data System
  This legislation would direct the Government Data Analytics Center to establish a task force to study the collection and use of data on education and employment outcomes for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities through the North Carolina longitudinal data system. 
• HB 983 ABLE Act Changes/Study
  This legislation makes several changes to the ABLE Act. This includes allowing parental savings trust funds to be rolled into an ABLE account without counting as income. It also directs the Board of Trustees to study any federal law changes with the ABLE Act and recommend any necessary changes to the legislature.
• HB 984 Oversight IDD Employment/Educ. Programs
  This legislation creates a position at the Department of Health and Human Services to oversee administration and coordination of education and employment programs for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
• HB 999/SB 741 Rural Health Loan Funds/Target for Rural Areas
  Appropriates $3,000,000 for the 2018-2019 fiscal year to be used to supplement current funding for the North Carolina State Loan Repayment Program. The funding will be directed to health care providers practicing in rural areas.
• HB 1001 Study State Health Plan and Medicaid
  This legislation would study if there are any measures both plans can take to increase preventative health services that might save the plans money.
• HB 1021 People First Language
  This bill updates the general statutes of North Carolina with people first language by changing the phrase "Mental Retardation" to "Intellectual Disability" in necessary sections of our laws.
• SB 737 Safer Schools, Healthier Kids Act
  This legislation incorporates Extreme Risk Protection Orders as filed in House Bill 976 and Senate Bill 734. It requires a permit for the purchase of assault weapons or long guns and requires you to be age 21 and older to purchase. Appropriates 40 million in recurring funds to support personnel- including school social workers.
• SB 747 Funds for Smart Start Healthy Development Initiative
  Appropriates $10,000,000 to the North Carolina Partnership for Children, Inc., for an initiative to promote young children's healthy development. Funds allocated shall be used for (i) evidence-based parent education programs that give parents tools to increase their knowledge of early childhood development and positive parenting practices and (ii) evidence-based home visiting programs that help parents by providing education, information, and resources.
• SB 750 Health-Local Confinement/Prison Health Connect
  This legislation directs the state prisons to connect to the state's Health Information Exchange Authority. This connection will go a long way in ensuring justice involved citizens receive continuous health care as they transition in and out of state facilities. It also directs local confinement facilities to address inmate health care needs including the use of Medicaid services for eligible individuals.

Upcoming Advocacy Events

• Rural Day: May 29th. Learn more about issues facing our rural communities and register here.  
• North Carolina Oral Health Collaborative- Oral Health Day: June 5^th. Register here.
• HIV Speaks: June 12^th. More information here.
• Equality NC Lobby Day: June 19^th. Register here.
• Close the Gap Advocacy Day: June 26th. Register here.