Latest news with #JimBurgin
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
NC Senate passes bills to help the child care industry
Child care advocates rallied in Raleigh last summer in support of calls for better state funding. (Photo: Greg Childress) The state Senate on Wednesday unanimously approved legislation meant to help the state's struggling child care industry. House Bill 412 would allow larger class sizes in child care centers if the staff-to-child ratio stays the same. Child care center employees would be able qualify as lead teachers if they have five years of teaching experience as an alternative to a North Carolina Early Childhood Credential. The bill would also set up a workgroup on developing group liability insurance plans for child care providers. 'A lot of child care centers are having trouble finding and keeping insurance,' said Sen. Jim Burgin (R-Harnett). Child care businesses tend to operate on thin profit margins. At the same time, child care is unaffordable for many families. Child care centers face staff shortages that force them to limit enrollment. Wages are low and many workers do not have health insurance through their employers. The median wage for child care workers in the state was $11.69 in 2022, according to a report last year from the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment. More than 40% of early childhood educator households participated in safety net programs the report said. Legislators are focused on child care this year, with lawmakers considering increases in child care subsidies, and with an active task force Gov. Josh Stein assembled looking at questions of child care financing and funding, child care for the public sector workforce, and child care worker compensation. Wide swaths of the state are considered child care deserts. Rural families are more likely to use home-based child care or have friends and family watch their children, according to the NC Early Childhood Foundation. House Bill 309, which makes it clear that for building-code purposes, home-based child care should be treated as a residence and not commercial building, also passed the Senate unanimously. Both bills go back to the House to see if House members agree with the Senate's changes.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
NC bill seeks more public reporting of hospital charges and price guarantees for patients
A Senate bill would provide patients with more up-front information about hospital charges and would fine hospital CEOs whose facilities do not report their prices. The Senate Health Committee on Wednesday approved Senate bill 316, called Lower Healthcare Costs. 'This bill is an attempt to shine a light on every part of the health care system to begin to see where the cost drivers truly exist and to start to tamp down on those costs,' said Sen. Amy Galey (R-Alamance), who is one of the bill's sponsors. The bill focuses on hospitals and other health facilities. Under the bill, hospitals would be largely prohibited from charging what are known as facility fees. Those are charges that may be added to bills when patients go to a hospital-owned clinics. Health care facilities would have to send patients itemized lists of charges before sending unpaid bills to collections. Hospitals and ambulatory care facilities would be required to provide quarterly reports on the costs of common procedures. CEOs would face fines of up to $2,000 a day for failure to comply. In cases where patients are not experiencing health emergencies, health care facilities would have to provide them with 'good faith estimates' for each procedure. The final bills could not exceed the estimates by more than 5%. A spokeswoman for the North Carolina Healthcare Association, which represents hospitals, said in an email that the organization is evaluating the bill and its potential impacts, and would communicate directly with senators. Sen. Jim Burgin (R-Harnett), said greater price transparency will result in lower costs. People who don't need emergency medical care will have time to compare prices, he said. 'You ought to know what it's going to cost,' said Burgin, one of the bill sponsors. 'You ought to know if you're going to get a separate bill from the anesthesiologist, or the radiologist, or the lab, or anybody else.'
Axios
07-03-2025
- Politics
- Axios
New bill would ban use of cellphones in North Carolina schools
A new bill filed this week in the N.C. General Assembly, with some bi-partisan support, would ban the use of cellphones in public schools during instructional time. Why it matters: A growing number of states have moved to ban cellphones and other smart devices in classrooms, as part of an effort to reduce distractions during learning time and boost socialization among students. Driving the news: Senate Bill 55 would ask public school districts to create policies to ban students from using wireless communication devices during class time. The ban would apply to cellphones, tablet computers, laptops, pagers, radios, gaming devices or any device that can provide voice, messaging or other data communication. Devices would be allowed if authorized by a teacher for educational purposes. Between the lines: The bill has three primary Republican sponsors in Sens. Michael Lee (New Hanover County), Jim Burgin (Harnett) and Lisa Barnes (Nash), but there is some bipartisan support. State Sen. Jay Chaudhuri, a Democrat representing Wake County, introduced a similar bill last year with Burgin and applauded the new effort, saying "Study after study, superintendent after superintendent have told us that phone-free schools benefit students, teachers, and parents." State of play: 68% of U.S. adults support cellphone bans during class, and about 36% favor an all-day ban, a Pew Research survey found last year. A group of parents in Wake County schools pushed last year for a district-wide ban in the state's largest school district. But so far, Wake County lets each school set its own policy on phones. The other side: Those who oppose the bans, especially parents of K-12 students, argue that parents should be able to reach their children when needed, Axios' April Rubin previously reported. Many parents see cellphones as critical for safety and connectedness, especially in the face of emergencies like school shootings. Zoom in: While new North Carolina Superintendent Mo Green said on the campaign trail that "we've got to figure out ways to limit the access of cellphones in schools," he hasn't supported an outright ban publically, NC Newsline reported. Zoom out: Health experts and policymakers have called for stricter regulations on youth social media use, while social media companies have been reckoning with accountability about their platforms' harmful effects on children. Research has found that excessive cellphone use can impact children's mental health.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Senate bill introduced to increase car inspection fees in NC
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — North Carolina lawmakers introduced a new bill to raise the prices of vehicle inspection fees during Wednesday's General Assembly meeting. Senate Bill 192 was introduced by state Senator Jim Burgin, an act that looks to raise the fee for performing a vehicle safety inspection in the state. If passed, lawmakers would raise the Emissions and Safety Test from $23.75 to $40.15 and the Safety Only Test (if a vehicle does not require an emissions test) from $12.75 to $29.15. The fee for window tinting will remain at $10, the authorization and sticker fees will remain the same and drivers will still have 60 days to fix their issues if they fail a test. If passed, the changes will go into effect on Oct. 1. Each vehicle that needs to be registered in North Carolina must go through safety and emissions tests first. Eligible test stations have a set fee that drivers pay, which is created by state lawmakers. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New legislation looks to limit cellphone usage in North Carolina schools
NORTH CAROLINA (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — New legislation filed in Raleigh looks to limit phone usage in North Carolina Schools. Senate Bill 55 would ban students from using non-educational devices for the entire school day. SB 55 would restrict students from using personal, wireless communication devices from the first to the last bell of the school day. Bill author Sen. Jim Burgin (R-Harnett County) told Queen City News the measure is getting positive feedback and downplayed concerns about safety. PREVIOUS: NC education leaders to discuss possible cellphone restrictions in public schools 'There is a phone in every classroom in the state of North Carolina,' said Burgin. 'You know the teachers are instructed on what to do in case of an emergency. If there's an emergency, I don't want 30 kids or 25 kids, however many in the class on their phone, not listening, not taking instructions, not being quiet if they're told to be quiet.' Back in January, a similar ban on phone usage went into effect statewide in South Carolina. Lancaster County Schools implemented their own policy months earlier. They had begun discussions about limiting phone use during the Summer of 2024. 'There was a lot of time being spent on asking students to put their phone away. We know that technology is a tool and there's a lot of positives to it, but we also know that it can be a distraction,' said Elizabeth Bryant, Director of Communication for Lancaster County School District. Bryant said that district-wide, they're already seeing a positive impact. 'They have seen a lot of students talking to one another…the only negative thing, I wouldn't even say…it's really a positive, is that the conversations have increased and so the noise level in the buildings has increased,' she said. Back in North Carolina, Sen. Burgin told Queen City News he believes his bill will get the votes it needs to become law, and argued a statewide mandate is the best way to improve outcomes for districts and their students. 'I think a lot of the districts are a little bit timid about doing some things,' he said. 'Whereas if they had clear direction from us, I think they would find it easier to do.' While SB 55 would be the first state mandate restricting phones in North Carolina schools, several districts, including Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, have already rolled out their own policies. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
