2023 Budget Update The North Carolina General Assembly delayed formal work for another week while budget negotiations and summer travel delayed actions that Republicans want to accomplish before this year’s chief legislative session ends. Aides to House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate leader Phil Berger confirmed that their respective chambers would not take votes or hold committee meetings last week.
This means the fate of five bills vetoed by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper earlier this month — three of them that include restrictions related to LGBTQ+ youth — remains pending.
Speaker Moore delayed override votes scheduled for last week on four of the vetoed bills parked in his chamber. Moore had described challenges to ensure all Republican colleagues could be in Raleigh to override a veto successfully when lawmakers were traveling.
The Senate, which hasn’t held recorded votes since June 29, also had initially planned to conduct business last Wednesday. But Berger said last week that was contingent on the House taking some override votes, which now won’t happen.
Both chambers already took a break during the week that included July 4. Lawmakers had aimed to get a two-year state budget enacted by July 1, but negotiations over tax reductions and reserves have led to delays. Berger and another House negotiator said it could be August before a budget is finalized. State law sets no limits on when annual sessions must end.
We need to come together to demand NC lawmakers listen to the people of North Carolina who want our money to fund public schools, public health, healthy environments, and safe communities. The NC Senate tax plan is an unacceptable option for North Carolina that is being considered by state lawmakers as part of the final steps in establishing the state’s budget for the next two years. Now is a critical time to make your voice heard in the NC budget process! Contact your lawmaker TODAY!
Medicaid Expansion Update: HB 76 - Access to Healthcare Options (Medicaid Expansion Bill) was signed into law by Governor Cooper
on March 27, 2023. This legislation is expected to provide health coverage to over 600K North Carolinians and bring billions of federal dollars to the state. NC would be the 40th state to expand Medicaid, after years of NC Republicans refusing
to support this legislation. Unfortunately, Medicaid expansion takes effect upon the signing into law of the 2023-2025 State of NC Budget. The continued delay of the budget is harmful in multiple ways, including being literal life or death for
uninsured North Carolinians. Governor Cooper has asked for Medicaid Expansion to be separated from the Budget, stating: “Making Medicaid Expansion contingent on passing the budget was and is unnecessary, and now the failure of Republican legislators to pass the budget is ripping health care away from thousands of real people and costing our state and our hospitals millions of dollars. Tying it to the budget is tying our hands, and the legislature should decouple the two and start Medicaid Expansion now.”
The Republican-controlled legislature has let the June 30, 2023 end of the fiscal year pass without authorizing a budget bill, further delaying Medicaid Expansion. This failure could result in more work for counties, less money for hospitals and people losing care in the interim for no reason. If Medicaid Expansion and HASP (Healthcare Access and Stabilization Program that reimburses hospitals) don’t go live at the same time it will cost the hospitals as much as $60 million more than necessary.
This month, about 9,000 people will lose their Medicaid coverage who would have been able to keep it under expansion. These are working North Carolinians who need access to health care. Processing those 9,000 for eligibility later will be double work for our counties which are already facing workforce challenges.
Decoupling Medicaid expansion from the state budget now can get the process started while legislators continue to debate the budget.
What is #UniteNC? Pro-Choice North Carolina is excited to join with our partners at Common Cause North Carolina and other organizations across the state for a series of #UniteNC town halls! This is a fantastic opportunity to build our shared power and hold lawmakers accountable. Pro-Choice North Carolina will have materials at all town halls and we’ll be in-person at some of them, too.
If you're concerned about harmful policies in the state legislature like attacks on abortion access, upcoming elections, and redistricting, join us and speak up for people-first policies!
July 20: Mint Hill (Mecklenburg County)
July 24: Carthage (Moore County)
July 31: High Point (Guilford County)
August 1: Gibsonville (Guilford County)
August 2: Fayetteville (Cumberland County)
August 3: Wentworth (Rockingham County)
August 7: Kannapolis (Cabarrus County)
August 14: Wilmington (New Hanover County)
August 17: Salisbury (Rowan County)
And…more to be announced in Eastern & Western North Carolina + the Triangle! You can register and learn more by clicking HERE.
NEW VOTER ID LAW The State Board of Elections has approved 99 student and employee identification cards across the state for use in the 2023 municipal elections and 2024 primary and general elections in North Carolina.
These newly approved IDs include student IDs for all UNC System schools, as well as many other public and private colleges and universities. They also include employee IDs for many educational institutions, as well as some county governments and charter schools. All approved IDs include a photograph, which can be used to confirm a person’s identity when they check in to vote.
These IDs are in addition to the types of identification already permitted by state law for use by voters. The most common type of acceptable ID is a North Carolina driver's license, but there are other acceptable types of photo ID, which are listed on the State Board’s website at Voter ID. Students who have a driver’s license or other type of acceptable ID may use those, or, if their school’s ID is approved, they may use that ID instead.
Non-driver’s ID from NC DMV (free to residents who show a birth certificate and other documents)
U.S. Passport or U.S. Passport Card
Driver’s license or non-driver ID from another state, District of Columbia or U.S. territory. Only if voter registered in North Carolina within 90 days of the election.
NC Voter Photo ID card (free, issued by a county board of elections). Voter must provide name, date of birth, and the last four numbers of their Social Security number, and have their photo taken. Coming soon!
College or university student IDapproved by the NCSBE.
A list of approved college/university IDs will be published in late July.
What Is Human Trafficking? Human trafficking involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act. Every year, millions of men, women, and children are trafficked worldwide
– including right here in the United States. It can happen in any community and victims can be any age, race, gender, or nationality. Traffickers might use the following methods to lure victims into trafficking situations:
Violence
Manipulation
False promises of well-paying jobs
Romantic relationships
Language barriers, fear of their traffickers, and/or fear of law enforcement frequently keep victims from seeking help, making human trafficking a hidden crime.
Item to Watch: SB 90- Searches of Student's Person (Children's Law Omnibus) was
re-submitted to the K-12 Education Committee with several PCS (proposed committee substitutes) that would change how social workers can support children with their mental health. The PCS version of the bill would clarify that minors
have no authority to consent to mental health treatment unless they believe themselves to be a danger to themselves or others. NASW-NC OPPOSES ALL PCS SUBMITTED.
Challenge school library books and prosecute librarians
Challenge instructional materials
Force a superintendent to be dismissed or receive a reduction in pay
Request for their child to be reassigned to another school or district
Be informed if their child identifies as transgender or is at risk of suicide
Prohibit instruction on gender identity, sexual activity and sexuality in fourth and fifth grade
State that charter schools are not state actors, potentially giving them more leeway to institute dress codes
Due to public backlash and media coverage, SB 90 was pulled from the committee calendar. Please be on the lookout for more information from NASW-NC if it is reintroduced during this legislative session.
You can see a copy of SB 90 with the PCS changes by clicking HERE.
NASW-NC Bills of Interest: HB 762-School Social Workers/Master's Pay as a stand alone bill was heard in the House Education Committee on May 30th. Master's Level Pay for School Social Workers was included in the Governor's & House versions of the Budget.
However, it was cut from the Senate version. NASW-NC and the NC School Social Workers Association (NCSSWA)
were present at the NC General Assembly to advocate for this legislation. It passed unanimously out of the House Education Committee and is now in the Appropriations Committee, where we hope it will be included in the final version
of the 2023 Budget.
Social Work Interstate Licensure Compact Update
SB 718 was not subjected to the final bill crossover deadline of May 4th. This means we still have the
rest of the 2023 Legislative Session to get the bill passed in both chambers and signed into law by Governor Cooper. We are optimistic the bill will pass. Since only Republican-sponsored bills have moved this session,
we are pitching the Compact as primarily a bill to support military spouses. The Social Work Compact creation was initiated by the Department of Defense to promote licensure portability for military spouses. You can read about that here:
Interstate Licensure Compact for Social Work (socialworkers.org) A large number
of Republican lawmakers, who have the supermajority in both the House and Senate, are very supportive of bills that support military populations and NASW-NC is working on getting support to advance the bill before session ends. Please
be on the lookout for action alerts to contact your legislators to support the Social Work Licensure Compact.
More information about the Social Work Licensure Compact can be found here: https://swcompact.org
Thank you to the members of NASW-NC for supporting the advocacy work we do. We would not be able to advocate for the social work profession or social justice issues in North Carolina without a robust and engaged NASW membership. If you are a social worker and not a member, we ask that you join NASW today. Our voice is louder with your membership.
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