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Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
NC House okays bills on school calendar, medical records for parents and powers of state auditor
The North Carolina Legislative Building (Photo: Clayton Henkel) Lawmakers in the North Carolina House approved a torrent of legislation Tuesday evening, ranging from a more flexible school calendar, expanding parents' access to their children's medical records and expanding the scope of the state auditor's investigations. The floor debate flurry came two days before the legislature's self-imposed Thursday 'crossover' deadline — in which a bill must be approved by one chamber, or else be considered effectively 'dead' for the remainder of the two-year legislative biennium (with some exceptions). Both the House and Senate are swiftly pushing a raft of policy changes through the legislative process this week. The House moved through 31 bills during hours of debate Tuesday. Districts setting their own school year calendars Under current North Carolina law, the school year can begin no earlier than the Monday closest to Aug. 26, and end no later than the Friday closest to June 11. Districts would be granted more flexibility to create their calendars under a bill passed by the House on Tuesday. House Bill 121 would repeal the 2004 calendar law — one notably backed by the tourism industry — in favor of a policy allowing districts to set their own calendars. It passed the chamber, 111-2, with no debate. The House has passed bills altering the school calendar for years, but they have always died over in the Senate. A separate proposal, Senate Bill 754, would allow schools to start a week earlier. Parents' access to medical records House debate grew heated as the chamber passed a bill requiring parents' consent to grant children medical treatment or prescriptions. House Bill 519 was prompted, Republican backers say, by constituent complaints that common medical practice allowed children starting at age 12 to opt out of sharing information with their parents. 'Doctors can and should still listen to and counsel children,' said Rep. Jennifer Balkcom (R-Henderson). 'But when it comes to treatment, getting medication or performing procedures, that's when parents need to be involved.' Democrats warned against the proposal, arguing that it would infringe on confidential care that includes mental health and contraception. 'You are stripping teenagers of rights they currently have, to seek care independently,' said Rep. Marcia Morey (D-Durham). 'That is not just cruel, it's dangerous.' Rep. Carla Cunningham (D-Mecklenburg) voted in favor of the bill, saying 'nowadays you need to know' as a parent about the treatment and procedures your children are receiving. It passed the House 68-41. The Republican majority also passed House Bill 606, changing the statute of limitations for gender affirming care related medical malpractice claims. This measure removes the cap on noneconomic damages for medical malpractice claims involving gender affirming care. Rep. Allison Dahle (D-Wake) said the bill was intended to strike fear in the hearts of healthcare providers, but it would not change the outcome for those seeking gender transition procedures. State auditor investigating 'publicly funded entities' Republicans continued their quest to further empower new state Auditor Dave Boliek with another bill passed Tuesday. House Bill 549 grants Boliek's office the power to investigate any entity that receives state or federal money, an expansion of his current authority auditing state agencies and government programs. And it was further amended Tuesday to remove exemptions from state workers under the auditor's office — effectively allowing Boliek to replace those workers with new hires. 'This gives him a little exercise of freedom to run his office a little more efficiently,' said House Majority Leader Brenden Jones (R-Columbus). Jones acknowledged that there was still further work to be done with the bill. Democrats urged their colleagues to halt the bill — dubious of it improving in the Senate and worried about its impacts on the auditor's office in the long term. Rep. Tim Longest (D-Wake) said the removed exemptions was 'politicizing state employment.' And House Democratic Leader Robert Reives (D-Chatham) questioned why lawmakers weren't giving 'that same trust to state employees that are already there.' The bill passed the House 66-46. Bills in committee: Drivers licenses, death penalty and constitutional convention A number of prominent bills also continued advancing through committees Tuesday ahead of Thursday's deadline. Suspension on driver's license expirations: North Carolina drivers' licenses set to expire would remain valid for two years under a bill considered Tuesday. House Bill 821 comes as the state DMV continues to face struggles, with many North Carolinians unable to make an appointment to renew their licenses. 'Hopefully this will relieve the DMV of some renewals so they can organize themselves better and address their responsibilities,' said Rep. Jay Adams (R-Catawba). The legislation also allows lawmakers to consider the several ongoing studies of the department and eventually issue recommendations. Electric chair and firing squad death penalties: The House Committee on State and Local Government approved a bill Tuesday permitting use of the electric chair and death by firing squad with the goal of ending a nearly 20-year moratorium on the death penalty. House Bill 270 could allow the first execution by electrocution in North Carolina in almost a century. Rep. Reece Prytle (R-Rockingham) said the measure 'seeks to restore the death penalty as a deterrent and an option for prosecutors across the state,' adding that it would create no new capital offenses and was limited in scope to resuming executions. The bill drew pushback from Democratic representatives who questioned the safety and efficacy of the methods of capital punishment it would introduce. Rep. Vernetta Alston (D-Durham) cited the costs the state would incur in creating the infrastructure to carry out execution via the electric chair, which no prison in the state is currently equipped to perform. Foster care: The House unanimously approved a bill overhauling the state foster care system. House Bill 612 gives the state Department of Health and Human Services greater oversight of child welfare cases in county offices, allows for open adoptions, and removes the requirement that parents pay child support for children in county custody, among other changes. DHHS sets child welfare policies, but it's the responsibility of counties to administer them. The decentralized system leads to variations in operations and decisions. Legislators have been talking for years about the need for improvements, said Rep. Allen Chesser (R-Nash), the bill's lead sponsor. 'We're at the position where we can start turning the ship where we really start putting children first and families first in our system,' he said. Constitutional convention: A House judiciary committee also advanced a joint resolution Tuesday that would call for a national convention to make changes to the U.S. Constitution. Rep. Dennis Riddell (R-Alamance) said with House Joint Resolution 379, North Carolina will join 19 other states seeking to amend the federal Constitution. The Convention of States seeks to impose term limits, greater fiscal restraint, and limit the scope and reach of the federal government. 'It was designed to give the states an opportunity to put in corrections to the national government, if the federal government is becoming rather obtuse and not paying attention,' Riddell said. North Carolina Republicans in the House and Senate have filed similar bills for years. But with the crossover deadline fast approaching, it's unclear if this year's attempt will advance. NC Newsline's Brandon Kingdollar, Clayton Henkel, and Lynn Bonner contributed reporting.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NC Senate proposal would amend state's controversial school calendar law
Students work in a classroom at a Wake County public school. (Photo: Galen Bacharier) North Carolina Senate leaders introduced a bill earlier this week aimed at providing more flexibility to local school districts in setting their school calendars. The bill would also impose stricter punishment for districts that defy the law. Senate Bill 754, titled 'School Calendar Flexibility: A New Alternative,' was filed by Senate Leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, and Sens. Amy Galey, R-Alamance, and Michael Lee, R-New Hanover. The bill offers school districts two options for setting their academic calendars. One follows the current law, which requires a start date no earlier than Monday closest to Aug. 26 and end date no later than the Friday closest to June. The new options allow schools to start as early as the Monday closest to Aug. 19, with the school year ending no later than the Friday before Memorial Day. The bill also outlines consequences for school boards that violate the law. The superintendent of public instruction would investigate violations and report to the State Board of Education. Districts that violate the law would lose funding for central office staff and supplies if they do not take corrective actions. Residents and business owners of the district would also be able to sue their local school boards. 'This balances the desire of some school districts to start the school year earlier while still supporting our local businesses dependent on summer tourism,' Berger said in a release announcing the bill. 'We must take the appropriate steps to hold school districts that break the law accountable.' This marks a shift for Berger, who has long maintained that districts should stick to the current law. Many school districts argue that an earlier start date allows them to complete a full semester of instruction and final exams before winter break, preventing learning loss during the recess. Supporters also point out that the flexibility would allow school districts to better align high school and community college schedules, making it easier for high school students to earn college credit while still in high school. The North Carolina tourism industry has long opposed granting school districts more control over their calendars, arguing that earlier start date hurts family vacations and summer tourism revenue. The state's current school calendar law aligns with the industry's preference for a break that includes most of August and was chiefly the result of industry lobbying effort when it was enacted in 2004. Legislative efforts to grant local school districts more control over school calendars have stalled over the years. Multiple bills have already been introduced this year to grant local school boards greater authority to set academic calendars. Many school districts have in the past defied the state's Aug. 26 academic start date. Last year, a judge voided Carteret County's proposed calendar, which had students starting nine weekdays earlier, on Aug. 13, after a group of parents and business owners sued the school board. 'Finding compromises like this isn't always easy, but this bill is the culmination of good-faith efforts from stakeholders and legislators,' Sen. Galey said in the same release. 'With the evolution of the school choice landscape, as well as North Carolina becoming the fifth most popular state for travel and tourism, it's time to update and adapt our school calendar law.'
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Youngkin signs bill to protect reproductive and sexual health data, vetoes right to contraception
Reproductive-rights supporters watch as lawmakers debate a proposed constitutional amendment to protect abortion access on Jan. 21, 2025. (Photo by Charlotte Rene Woods/Virginia Mercury) Public concerns about menstrual health data privacy have flared in Virginia since the overturn of federal abortion protections and changes to state laws relating to the procedure. Gov. Glenn Youngkin has helped put some of those fears at bay by signing Senate Bill 754 by Sen. Barbara Favola, D-Fairfax. Her bill protects reproductive health data, often collected in period tracking digital apps, and allows consumers to sue if their data is sold or released without their consent. Governor unleashes veto storm to drown progressive legislation Favola expressed gratitude to Youngkin in a statement. 'It should go without saying that when a woman has her period or visits a doctor, it is nobody's business but her own,' Favola added. As more pregnant people travel to get abortions outside states where the medical procedure is banned or restricted, some states — including Alabama and Texas — have threatened legal repercussions for people who leave the state for an abortion, and for those who aid them. Last year Youngkin signed a related bill by Favola to protect menstrual health data from search warrants — roughly a year after many, including former President Joe Biden and talk show host Stephen Colbert, lambasted the governor for opposing it in a previous legislative session. Reproductive health is still a hotly debated topic, particularly among partisan lines, as Virginia weighs a proposed constitutional amendment to enshrine reproductive rights more broadly into the state constitution. This week, Youngkin again vetoed a bill that would have shored up the right to contraception. After helping overturn federal abortion protections in 2022, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas expressed interest in revisiting cases that upheld contraception protections. As some states have also explored contraceptive restrictions in recent years, reproductive rights advocates and some lawmakers in Virginia have emphasized the benefit of strengthening state law, should federal protections for contraception also be overturned. While the measure also cleared the legislature last year, Youngkin sought amendments that the bill's patrons say 'gutted' it because it reinstated the federal court cases for which protection hinges on before he ultimately vetoed it. This year, he went straight for a veto. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
