Latest news with #HouseBill519
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
OBGYN: My patients' health and wellbeing will be endangered by NC House bill
A teenage girl examines a pregnancy test. (Photo: Connect Images) Earlier this month, the North Carolina House of Representatives passed House Bill 519, also known as the 'Parents' Medical Bill of Rights.' As a board certified OBGYN who treats minors, I am deeply concerned about the implications of this bill. This legislation, which aims to revise the laws regarding minors' consent to medical treatment and parental access to medical records, poses significant risks to the health and wellbeing of patients across the state. HB 519 will impede the trust young patients have in their medical providers and therefore undermine the confidentiality of their care. Currently, North Carolina law allows minors to consent to treatment for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), pregnancy, substance abuse, and mental health issues without parental involvement. This provision is crucial for ensuring that young patients feel safe seeking medical help without fear of judgment or repercussions from their parents. By mandating parental consent for these sensitive treatments, the bill risks deterring minors from seeking necessary medical care. This could lead to untreated STIs (which can lead to future infertility), unaddressed mental health issues, and unintended pregnancies, all of which have serious long-term consequences for our young North Carolinians' health and wellbeing. The trust between patients and healthcare providers is foundational to effective medical care. Confidentiality is a cornerstone of this trust, particularly for minors who may be navigating complex and sensitive health issues. HB 519 threatens to erode this trust by introducing parental oversight into the patient-provider relationship. Healthcare providers may find themselves in difficult positions, having to balance the legal requirements of HB 519 with our ethical duty to protect patient confidentiality. Advocates for HB 519 argue that the exclusion of parental consent in our current laws leaves children to navigate serious medical situations alone. This perspective completely ignores the role that healthcare providers like myself play in the navigation of these issues. We do not leave our young patients 'alone' to navigate their medical decisions, but instead provide thoughtful guidance, including often suggesting the involvement of their parent(s) in their medical care. Unfortunately, for some of my young patients, their medical team members are the only trusted adults in their lives, and if they are required to obtain parental consent to seek treatment, they simply will not do so. House Bill 519, while ostensibly aimed at empowering parents, poses significant risks to the health and wellbeing of minors in North Carolina. By undermining confidentiality, creating barriers to mental health and reproductive care, and hindering substance abuse treatment, the bill jeopardizes the autonomy and safety of young patients. As a physician who treats young patients, I urge the lawmakers to reconsider the implications of HB 519 and prioritize the health and rights of minors in our state.
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
07-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
NC House passes bill curbing minors' access to confidential mental health, STD care
A bill limiting when minors can consent to medical treatment without parental involvement passed the North Carolina House, with every Republican who voted supporting it and all but four Democrats who voted opposing it. Rep. Jennifer Balkcom, a Hendersonville Republican, said the bill upheld the 'essential role of parents in a child's life, especially when it comes to medical decisions.' 'In almost every area of a child's life, we assume the parents are responsible for their child,' Balkcom said. 'But somehow, when it comes to emotional health, STDs and drug or alcohol abuse, we still have parents have no role. That doesn't make any sense,' she said. House Bill 519, titled the 'Parents' Medical Bill of Rights,' would require healthcare providers to obtain parental consent before treating a minor in most cases. That includes care related to mental health, substance use and sexually transmitted infections — areas where current law allows some minors to seek treatment confidentially. The bill includes exceptions for medical emergencies, abuse or neglect cases, and when a parent or guardian can't be located. It also expands parents' rights to access medical records, narrowing when information can be withheld. Minors would still be able to consent on their own for treatment for a pregnancy, excluding for abortions. They would also be able to consent to treatment for sexually transmitted diseases that can be treated with a prescription with a duration of 10 days or less. After the bill passed, House Speaker Destin Hall said it was crafted with input from the medical community to balance concerns about minors in abusive situations with parents' rights to be involved in their children's medical care. But Hall emphasized that the default should be parental involvement. 'Unless there's some sort of abuse from a parent, a parent really has a right to know at the end of the day what sort of medical decisions are being made for their child,' he said. Debate during session Rep. Carla Cunningham, of Charlotte, was one of the four Democrats who voted in favor of the bill. She as joined by Democratic Reps. Abe Jones, Garland Pierce and Amos Quick. 'This might be the hardest bill I'll ever have to vote on because of my history with my own child who is involved with (the) long-term mental health and behavioral health' population, Cunningham said. When her son was a teen, she said she was blocked from obtaining records or directing care for his treatment until he was adjudicated as incompetent. 'This is hard, but if the patient or your son or your daughter is not getting the proper treatment, then you need to know that,' she said. 'And there's a lot of people that don't know how to advocate and do that,' she said. The bill faced pushback from other Democrats, who said it would limit access to critical care for minors. Rep. Julie Von Haefen, an Apex Democrat, said the bill would create a 'chilling effect on minors seeking out treatment.' 'It takes a village to raise a child,' Von Haefen said. 'Parents cannot do it alone. Kids need other adults that they can talk to and who they can trust. Doctors are those trusted adults that I would want my own kids to be able to talk to.' Rep. Deb Butler, a Wilmington Democrat, said not all parents are accepting of the care their child needs. 'Some parents are loving and supportive, but others are abusive, absent or deeply opposed to the care their child may need, whether it's therapy, birth control, gender affirming treatment,' Butler said. 'It's about politics, and our kids deserve better than being used as pawns,' she said. Rep. Dean Arp, a Republican who represents Union County, agreed that children shouldn't be 'used as pawns,' but his statement contradicted Butler's reasoning. 'Children should not be used as pawns to further a liberal agenda that further separates the children from their parents,' Arp said. Jillian Riley, director of public affairs for Planned Parenthood South Atlantic in North Carolina said current law 'provides an opportunity for vulnerable young people to speak privately with a trusted, qualified adult and receive appropriate health care. 'Taking this option away will only increase their risk of unintended pregnancy, untreated STIs, and long-term harm to their health,' Riley said. Tami Fitzgerald, executive director of the socially conservative NC Values Coalition, disagreed, saying, 'Parents need to be involved when children face serious medical conditions.' 'It is dangerous and irresponsible to allow children to make medical decisions in secret, especially when those decisions involve mental health, drug use or sexual activity,' she said. The bill now moves to the Senate.
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ohio groups lay out policy strategies for 136th General Assembly
A protest at the Ohio Statehouse. (Photo by Susan Tebben, Ohio Capital Journal.) Advocacy groups of all types are revving up for the new term of the Ohio General Assembly, laying out policy priorities from early childhood education to housing and brownfield remediation. With a new year, a new House Speaker and a new Senate President, groups are planning their strategies when it comes to legislative and state support for what they feel are the biggest needs of Ohioans. 'State policies and tools that are sensitive to local context will ensure that all communities will contribute to Ohio's standing as an economic leader,' said Jason Warner, director of strategic engagement for the Greater Ohio Policy Center. The GOPC recently met to discuss priorities like housing inventory, public transportation and rail expansion, but at the top of the list for the group is brownfield remediation, a topic legislators have brought to the General Assembly in the past. 'Ohio has hundreds of sites with utility infrastructure, transportation access and nearby workers which are currently unusable,' Warner said. Brownfields are areas that were built up for industrial or commercial development, but were abandoned, at times with environmental hazards or substances keeping further development from happening on the land. In the last General Assembly, state Reps. Thomas Hall, R-Madison Twp., and Bride Rose Sweeney, D-Westlake, introduced House Bill 519, which aimed to revive the Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund, a program to provide grants for brownfield cleanup or remediation. The CORF has been inactive since 2013 and was repealed in the state operating budget passed in the 135th General Assembly, according to the Legislative Service Commission. The bill would have required developers to submit affidavits confirming 'that they did not contribute to the release of hazardous substances or petroleum at the brownfield that is being cleaned up or remediated.' H.B. 519 saw one committee hearing in the House Finance Committee, but was never taken up further, thus it died at the end of the General Assembly term in December. The last two budgets, however, contained funding for the state's Brownfield Remediation Program, a total of $350 million each in the 2022-2023 and 2024-2025 budgets. GOPC data showed that the BRP has given $659 million to Ohio communities to 'assess, cleanup and revitalize brownfields in 86 of 88 counties.' The U.S. EPA keeps track of brownfields across the country as well, along with assessments and resources in each region. Hall and Sweeney say they plan to bring back the issue as the new GA begins, with the goal of establishing a 'fundamental, permanent funding mechanism.' 'These are the types of issues, I think, most Ohioans want us to be working on,' Sweeney said. Among other issues the GOPC wants to see from the state is use of underutilized commercial districts and other areas to boost inventory so Ohioans can obtain housing, something the state lacks in terms of sufficient inventory, according to Warner. 'The General Assembly should continue to support programs that encourage private and nonprofit developers to produce homeownership and rental opportunities,' Warner said, adding that the state should also limit the residential purchases by institutional real estate investors. Supporting Ohio residents also means maintaining roads and transportation options for those residents, though the struggle might grow as Ohio's population drops. 'In the next 25 years, Ohio is projected to lose 5.7% of its 2020 population,' according to Warner. That means an aging population still looking to maintain its independence, but fewer ratepayers available to support longterm roadway maintenance costs. Because of that, the state should prioritize projects where they're most needed, and cut others, the GOPC stated in their policy priorities. The conservative group Americans for Prosperity-Ohio also released a legislative agenda they called the 'Buckeye Blueprint.' The policy agenda focused on three major issues: the economy, education and energy. The AFP-Ohio started their policy document by saying Ohio 'is failing to lead where it counts' in areas like tax reform, spending, education and energy. The national Americans for Prosperity Action, a super-PAC affiliated with the AFP, spent millions on GOP-backing ads for U.S. Senate races, including the race now-U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno ran against former Sen. Sherrod Brown. In 2024, AFP-Ohio endorsed, among other Republicans, state Sen. Jerry Cirino of Kirtland, the author of the new Senate Bill 1, a reintroduction of the highly criticized S.B. 83, which seeks to overhaul higher education by banning mandatory diversity training and faculty strikes, along with keeping colleges from taking stands on topics deemed 'controversial,' like climate change or abortion. They top their policy agenda with support for laws that 'phase out' income tax and 'enhancing the business climate' to 'improve its citizens' financial well-being and regain competitiveness for congressional representation.' The AFP-Ohio partnered with the Buckeye Institute on a new report laying out what they see as the 'best energy policy for Ohio.' 'Affordable energy is essential to Ohio's economy, where manufacturing accounts for over 15% of the workforce,' the groups stated. 'Rising costs are a risk driving manufacturers to relocate, threatening economic growth.' The best energy policy, in their view, would include eliminating 'excessive government regulations' from the federal EPA, ending government subsidies that 'damage energy markets,' and taking away a focus on clean energy. 'The reliance on solar and wind, driven by regulations on fossil fuels, raises concerns about creating reliable power and maintaining a stable grid,' the report stated. The AFP-Ohio also plans to push the Republican supermajority to advance universal open enrollment in public schools along with 'school choice' and the removal of 'barriers in the EdChoice (private school) voucher system to ensure every child is given the opportunity to choose an education option that fits their unique needs.' The legislature already expanded voucher eligibility in the previous budget to near universal levels, but the AFP sees more ways to 'fund families, maximize flexibility and expand the supply for educational choice as demand continues to increase.' 'Despite the universal availability of EdChoice vouchers, barriers still stand in the way of true education freedom in the Buckeye state,' the policy document states. Other groups are looking at the youngest populations of Ohioans, and prepping for 'transformative policy,' partly through the passage of the state budget. 'With the upcoming state budget process, we are seizing this crucial opportunity to ensure that Ohio's youngest children and their families are at the center of public investment,' Groundwork Ohio president and CEO Lynanne Gutierrez wrote in an email to the public earlier this month. Groundwork's policy priorities were spurred on by a 'Roadshow Listening Tour' the group did in 13 communities in Ohio. From those conversations, Groundwork came up with budget priorities that include increasing eligibility for Publicly Funded Child Care in Ohio, increased access to public preschools, implementation of 'community impact models' for infant mortality reduction, increased access to mental and behavioral health services and support for the educators who provide the young children with their learning experiences. 'Despite diverse geographical and socioeconomic contexts, the fundamental challenges facing families with young children across Ohio – such as access to quality child care, health care and basic needs – are strikingly similar,' the policy report stated. 'This underscores a commonality that transcends urban-rural divides and offers opportunities for unified statewide solutions.' Gov. Mike DeWine is expected to release his executive budget at the beginning of February, after which the Ohio House will introduce a budget bill for hearings. The Ohio Senate is set to hold budget hearings in the spring, with a conference committee of the House and Senate scheduled for June to bring the two budget proposals together with DeWine's proposals. The deadline for DeWine to sign the budget is June 30. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
