2023 NASW-NC Legislative Session Update: Week 21
Happy Pride Month!
NASW-NC stands with the LGBTQ+ community, especially those that are trans and gender expansive. This pride month we celebrate LGBTQ+ folks and acknowledge the fight to achieve LGBTQ+ equity and inclusion is not over. Learn more about NASW-NC legislative advocacy for LGBTQ+ issues here.
HB 762 - School Social Workers/Master's Pay as a stand alone bill was heard in the House Education Committee on May 30th. Master's Level Pay for School Social Workers was included in the Governor's & House versions of the Budget. However, it was cut from the Senate version. NASW-NC and the NC School Social Workers Association (NCSSWA) were present at the NC General Assembly to advocate for this legislation. It passed unanimously out of the House Education Committee and is now in the Appropriations Committee, where we hope it will be included in the final version of the 2023 Budget. Read more about the bill here:
NC House panel advances bill to give school social workers a pay raise | NC Newsline
Action Alert from NC Budget & Tax Center -Tell lawmakers to reject the Senate’s tax plan!
Legislators are now meeting behind closed doors to finalize a budget that will be taken to the full General Assembly for a vote sometime soon.
The House released their list of conference committee members on Thursday, and we need you to contact them TODAY to let them know you need them to stand firm together against any income tax cuts. We need to come together to demand NC lawmakers listen to the people of North Carolina who want our money to fund public schools, public health, healthy environments, and safe communities.
Take action TODAY to tell them that’s not OK!
The income tax cuts proposed in the Senate budget would result in a $7.6 billion loss in public funds, roughly equivalent to the entire state appropriation to Health and Human Services, when fully in effect. Proposed income tax cuts would deliver the greatest share of the tax cut, 67 percent, to the richest 20 percent.
Contact your legislator today to demand that they fund our future, not line the pockets of the wealthy.
The North Carolina General Assembly recently voted to override Governor Cooper’s veto of Senate Bill 20 - Care for Women, Children and Families Act. This bill bans abortion after 12 weeks of pregnancy with narrow exceptions and implements harsh new restrictions on abortion even before 12 weeks. The main takeaway is that abortion access is still available and will not be changed in North Carolina until July 1st.
Please join Pro-Choice North Carolina on Wednesday, June 14th, at 6:30pm as we talk with North Carolina State Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls about what it means to guarantee equal justice under the law and how that relates to reproductive rights.
You can register here for the Zoom webinar: https://prochoicenc.org/FairCourts
Bills of Interest:
HB 346 - Reorganization & Economic Development Act (Blue Cross NC bill). Passed the NC Senate through a floor vote of 41-5. Despite the NC Justice Center’s concerns over transparency, regulation, competition, and protecting affordability and accessibility to healthcare, House Bill 346 will soon allow Blue Cross NC to funnel policyholder money into an unregulated shell company and drain nonprofit assets that should be used exclusively to promote the health of North Carolinians. NASW-NC publicly opposed this bill.
Click below for the NC Justice Center's full statement on the passage of HB 346:
Read more about the bill here:
Blue Cross reform bill easily clears NC legislature (wral.com)
HB 551 - Landlord-Tenant and HOA Charges. NASW-OPPOSES. HB 551 is an omnibus bill for landlord interests. It includes several sections that housing advocates object to — including a new requirement that could increase business for the pet-vetting company owned by the bill's sponsor. House Bill 551 has four parts, three of which impact landlord-tenant relationships.
- The bill bans cities and counties from enacting source of income non-discrimination policies. That means no local governments could institute protections for those who use Section 8 funding or VASH vouchers, which provide housing for veterans.
- Another element of the bill that impacts the landlord-tenant relationship touches on pet policies. It would require tenants with service of support animals to provide written verification from health professionals on both their disability and then their requirement of a service or support animal.
- The bill also targets tenants in other ways: for example, it specifically allows landlords to seek to recoup legal fees if a tenant appeals an eviction, among other financial damages related to litigation.
Please be on the lookout for action alerts to contact your legislators when HB 551 is moved out of NC Senate Rules for a vote.
Source: WFAE
HB 834 - Strengthen Juvenile Laws. This bill would allow for public release of juvenile records and place youth at greater risk of coercion during police investigations. It would allow for the public release of a youth's full name, picture, along with any alleged offenses the juvenile has committed. NASW-OPPOSES.
From ACLU of North Carolina: H834 would reverse the significant progress North Carolina has made in the last three years to end the cycle of criminalization that is both costly to the state and has only made our communities, including our youth, less safe. Instead of backtracking, North Carolina should be building upon the reforms started by Raise the Age and work on addressing the root causes of crime and violence in our communities to prevent our youth from entering the justice system in the first place.
Social Work Interstate Licensure Compact Update
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
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.
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