by Senator Joyce Krawiec

It is an honor to serve as a North Carolina Senator, representing the 31st District of North Carolina.  I am happy to have the opportunity to inform the citizens of what is taking place in our state Capitol.  It has been said that the legislative process is like making sausage and nobody really wants to know the details, but I think it is important for citizens to hear from elected officials and to be informed.  Thank you for taking the time to stay up-to-date on what is happening in your legislature.

The short session, which takes place in even-numbered years like this one, is primarily for tweaking the budget and dealing with bills that have passed one of the chambers, either House or Senate, and need to be heard in the other body.  Some local bills can be introduced as long as the entire delegation from the affected counties approves.  However, substantive new bills will have to wait for long session next year.  This short session has moved at lightning speed since session began on May 14.

The main issue, of course, is the budget.  The House and Senate have differing versions that must be reconciled.  A conference committee has been tasked with producing an agreement on budget numbers.  This year, the biggest differences between House and Senate budgets were a raise for teachers and funding for Medicaid.

Regarding teacher pay, the Senate budget gives an 11.8% average raise to teachers, while the House version allows for a 5% average raise.  I am certain that a compromise will be reached and teachers will have a much-deserved substantial raise for the first time in many years.

Medicaid is an out-of-control fiscal monster.  It has been growing at an unsustainable rate.  Since 2009, Medicaid spending has grown more than $2.1 Billion.  Each year in long session, legislators have had to come back and find the money to fill the Medicaid gap.  The Senate does not want that to happen again.  So, we asked our non-partisan Fiscal Research Division (similar to the Congressional Budget Office for Congress) to prepare a budget for Medicaid and give us best and worst case scenarios.  In order to be prepared for any eventuality, the Senate chose to use the worst case scenario for our version of the budget.  Conversely, the House budget would produce another Medicaid shortfall even under the best of conditions.  This was a huge obstacle to reaching an agreement.  However, through negotiations, the House has met us in the middle between the worst and best case numbers, which allows greater optimism that an agreement can be reached in short order.

Aside from the budget, here are some notable bills that have been passed in the Senate this session:

Senate Bill 812:  Replace CCSS (Common Core) with North Carolina’s Higher Academic Standards.  This bill repeals and replaces the Common Core standards that were pushed by the Obama administration for Race to the Top funds for schools.

Senate Bill 729:  Coal Ash Management Act of 2014.  This bill establishes some of the most stringent rules in the country in dealing with the storage of coal ash, a byproduct of some power plants.

Senate Bill 853:  Business Court Modernization.  This bill streamlines and expedites the timeline for business cases to make their way through the system, while providing clarity and predictability on the types of cases to be heard.

Senate Bill 786:  Energy Modernization Act.  This bill paves the way for responsible domestic energy production by authorizing the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and Mining and Energy Commission to begin issuing permits for natural gas exploration and development as of July 1, 2015.

Thanks again for taking the time to stay informed on what is happening in state government.  If you ever have any questions, please feel free to contact me.  My office in Raleigh can be reached at 919-733-7850, where you will be assisted by my Legislative Assistant, Robb Jansen.  You can also email me at Joyce.Krawiec@ncleg.net.  Also, if you would like regular updates from my office, please sign up for our newsletter by emailing Robb at KrawiecLA@ncleg.net