2023 NASW-NC Legislative Session Update: Week 18
After the catastrophic passing of SB 20: Care for Women, Children, and Families Act; a ban on abortion after only 12 weeks of pregnancy, within both chambers in under 48 hours, activity was light for last week as the NC General Assembly held skeletal (non-voting) sessions. Voting sessions will resume the week of May 15th, and with it expected overrides by the super majority in the House and Senate of Governor Cooper's veto of SB20, the monster abortion ban. The North Carolina Senate's budget will also be released this week to the public.
The Senate Committee on Appropriations/Base Budget will meet Tuesday, May 16th at 8:30AM in 643 LOB to hear HB 259: 2023 Appropriations Act. We encourage you to listen to the meeting here: Audio - North Carolina General Assembly (ncleg.gov)
NASW-NC will be looking to see if Restoring Master's Level Pay for School Social Workers, one of our top 2023 Legislative Priorities, is included in the Senate Budget. This was included in the House Budget.
Governor Cooper and Pro-Choice advocates across the state gathered in Raleigh on Saturday, May 13th for a rally as he publicly vetoed SB 20. NASW-NC thanks Governor Cooper for his veto and will continue to support unrestricted access to Abortion/Reproductive Health in NC.
This bill is a monster abortion ban for several reasons including:
- Prohibiting abortion after the 12th week of pregnancy
- Prohibit the use of medication abortion after 10 weeks of pregnancy
- Mandated 3 separate visits to a provider, with a 72-hour waiting period in between the first and second in-person visits
- If the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest, an abortion is prohibited after 20 weeks of pregnancy
Experts from UNC, including the UNC School of Social Work, contributed to this article which amplifies the dangers of this bill:
UNC experts: Abortion ban proposal is not what sponsors say it is | NC Newsline
Social Work Interstate Licensure Compact Update
Great News: NASW-NC learned because there is a fee for social workers who participate in the Compact, 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
ACTION ALERT: NASW-NC Opposes BCBSNC's Ability to Move $2 Billion and More into a Holding Company
HB 346-Reorganization & Economic Development Act: NASW-NC OPPOSES. This will would allow Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC to create a "holding corporation" into which it could transfer assets, property and ownership or subsidiaries. The holding corporation would not be subject to insurance company regulations. NASW-NC opposes this bill because:
- Failure to retain the creation of a charitable trust for children and families in North Carolina could result in a loss of $250-$500 million of annual funding for health care for our state, based on BCBSNC’s current fair market value.
- Insurance premiums could rise 40% for 4.3. million North Carolinians currently insured by BCBS.
TAKE ACTION NOW & SEND A LETTER TO YOUR LEGISLATOR! CLICK LINK BELOW:
https://www.votervoice.net/NASWNC/Campaigns/105161/Respond
North Carolina Moves Forward: The End of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency
The U.S. public health emergency that was declared in response to COVID-19 ended on Thursday, May 11, 2023. NC will continue to distribute federally funded COVID-19 vaccines and tests for free to those without insurance while supplies last.
"The past three years were a testament to the strength, innovation and resilience of North Carolinians as we worked to protect one another from COVID-19," said Kody H. Kinsley, Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. "COVID-19 is not the threat it used to be because of vaccines, testing and treatment, which remain important tools to reduce severe illness and hospitalization due to COVID-19."
From early 2020 to April 2023, more than 17 million COVID-19 vaccines were administered in North Carolina through both medical settings and at community events.
As the public health emergency ends, people’s Medicaid, WIC and Food and Nutrition Services benefits could change. On April 1, North Carolina began the recertification process to check the status of all Medicaid recipients and work to minimize health care coverage gaps for families. Medicaid recertifications will happen on a rolling basis into 2024. The first beneficiaries will see changes July 1.
Medicaid recipients may receive instructions by postal mail, email, phone or text message on when and how to renew coverage or recertify benefits. It’s important to update all necessary information related to benefits coverage, respond right away to instructions and submit all required materials on time. Further information is available at Medicaid.ncdhhs.gov.
Source: NCDHHS Press Release
May is Jewish American Month -May is Jewish American Heritage Month! This month honors and pays tribute to the generations of Jewish Americans who have helped form the fabric of American history, culture and society.
Read more here: https://jewishamericanheritage.org
May is Military Appreciation Month- "NCDHHS Military Appreciation Month - In Memory of Many, In Honor of All"For Military Appreciation Month, the NCDHHS Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services will host a webinar to honor those who served, those who sacrificed, those left behind, and those who carry on. North Carolina recognizes the importance of honoring the relations with veterans and military personnel, and we are committed to building on the strengths and resiliencies of veterans, military members, their families, and the community to achieve improved health, wellness, and quality of life.
Thursday, May 25, 2023: 10:00-11:00AM Join Link: Click here to register
Action Alert from DemocracyNC
Did you know election-related bills were not subject to the May 4th bill crossover? Here are anti-voter bills that are currently still expected to end up in the final 2023 Budget:
- Make absentee voting harder by shortening the window when absentee ballots can be returned and without providing funding to educate voters about the changes (Election Day Integrity Act - S88/H304)
- Turn same-day registration (SDR) ballots cast during Early Voting into provisional ballots (Provisional Ballot/Same-Day Registration - H485). Processing more provisional ballots during early voting will lead to longer lines, delaying voters at the polls and overburdening CBOE staff, and will almost certainly delay election results.
- Reduce the early voting period from 17 to 11 days and 17 to 7 consecutive days (Reduce Early One-Stop Voting Days - H303 and Early Voting Constitutional Amendment - H123, respectively). Early Voting is the most popular voting method for North Carolinians and is used by voters of all political affiliations – even by some of the lawmakers sponsoring these bills!
- Codify the common law requirement for U.S. citizenship to qualify as a juror in North Carolina, resulting in legitimate, naturalized voters being flagged for removal from the voter rolls (Remove Foreign Citizens from Voting Rolls - S352). Under the law, if a person were to be disqualified from jury duty due to lack of citizenship, their names and addresses would be shared with the NCSBE and flagged for removal from its list of registered voters. SB 352 is rooted in disproved claims that the state's voting rolls are full of undetected non-citizens.
Source: DemocracyNC
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.
Learn more about NASW-NC membership here.
Want this information sent directly to your inbox? Sign up for weekly NASW-NC legislative updates: https://votervoice.net/NASWNC/home
