NASW-NC Strongly Opposes New "Slate of Hate" Laws
On July 5, 2023, Governor Cooper vetoed the harmful “Slate of Hate” anti-LGBTQ bills and on August 16, 2023, after 6 weeks of inactivity and instead of passing a state budget for North Carolina, the North Carolina General Assembly spent their time to override the governor’s vetoes and the following bills are now law:

• House Bill 574: Fairness in Women's Sports Act,prohibits transgender female athletes from participating in sports consistent with their gender identity and limits participation to teams matching people’s biological sex at birth.
• House Bill 808: Gender Transition/Minors,prohibits health care and mental health care professionals from providing gender-affirming care to minors, including puberty-blocking drugs, cross-sex hormones and surgeries. Young people who initiated care prior to August 1, 2023 will be able to remain in care. This bill also prohibits state funding from being used to pay for gender-affirming care for youth.
• Senate Bill 49: Parents' Bill of Rights,requires schools to tell parents if their child asks to use a different name or pronouns at school. It also restricts instruction and discussion about gender identity, sexual activity or sexuality in kindergarten through fourth grade classrooms unless a child asks a question about it in the context of classroom activity. NASW-NC’s position on SB49

NASW-NC strongly opposed these bills throughout the legislative session and issued many action alerts to stop the legislature from passing these laws meant to harm LGBTQIA+ children. These laws are antithetical to social work’s professional commitments to social justice, equity, the client’s right to self-determination and the dignity and worth of the person.

NASW-NC will continue to update and inform members about how these laws will impact the youth they are intended to harm and how the social work profession responds to these new laws that are against our NASW Code of Ethics.

Equality NC and Campaign for Southern Equality are hosting an emergency Town Hall about anti-LGBTQ+ laws in North Carolina on Monday, August 21, 2023 at 7pm via Zoom. Register here.

Click Here to Read: North Carolina General Assembly Overrides Gov. Cooper’s Veto of Cruel Anti-LGBTQ+ Legislation

Governor Cooper Statement in Response to General Assembly Election Bills
Today, Governor Roy Cooper issued the following statement on the General Assembly's passage of Senate Bill 747 Elections Law Changes, which the General Assembly passed on Wednesday night, as well as other harmful bills also currently being pushed by extreme MAGA Republican legislators, Senate Bill 749 and House Bill 772: 

"The North Carolina local and state elections boards conducted secure and accurate elections that resulted in a Republican supermajority and a Trump win in NC. But now, using the Big Lie of election fraud, this same legislature wants to block voters they think won’t vote Republican, legitimize conspiracy theorists to intimidate election workers and anoint themselves to decide contested elections. That’s the real fraud."
Source: NCGovernor

Budget negotiations delayed until September 11th
North Carolina House Democratic lawmakers and school board members warned Monday that schools won’t have all the teachers and bus drivers they need due to the lack of a state budget. Traditional-calendar schools will open in two weeks, bringing 1.5 million students into class for the start of a new school year. But school districts say the lack of a state budget means they’re at a disadvantage hiring needed school employees when they can’t tell people how much they’ll be paid. “Right now we can’t even tell our staff and our hires what they might be making next month with any certainty,” Wake County school board vice chair Chris Heagarty said at a news conference in the Legislative Building. “That uncertainty makes it hard to fill those crucial jobs that our families rely on to educate and transport their children.” House Democrats, joined by school board members and parents, held news conferences across the state to raise concerns about the lack of a state budget and Republican budget plans.

GOP STILL NEGOTIATING STATE BUDGET Even though the GOP has a legislative supermajority to pass a budget, the House and Senate haven’t agreed on a plan yet. House Speaker Tim Moore has said there’s “zero chance” the budget will pass before Sept. 1 due to ongoing GOP budget negotiations, The News &Observer previously reported. On Monday, Senate leader Phil Berger told reporters that it’s a more likely scenario that the budget would be adopted the second week of September. Until a budget is adopted, schools are operating on last school year’s funding levels. This includes delaying any planned pay raises, which will be applied retroactively when a state budget is approved. Read more HERE.
Source: NewsandObserver 

Click Here: NC labor commissioner candidate: Budget delay endangers workers and all of us: Opinion 

Sweeping elections bill passes both chambers 

Republicans approved broad changes to election rules in North Carolina in a party-line vote. 

The bill, SB 747, eliminates the three-day grace period for receiving absentee ballots, empowers partisan poll observers, bans most private money for election administration and more. 

Republicans argue the changes will increase faith in the election process, but Democrats say it’ll make it harder to vote and easier to throw out legitimate ballots. 

The bill now heads to Cooper, who derided it as conspiracy fodder in a statement on Thursday. 

“The North Carolina local and state elections boards conducted secure and accurate elections that resulted in a Republican supermajority and a Trump win in NC,” he said. “But now, using the Big Lie of election fraud, this same legislature wants to block voters they think won’t vote Republican, legitimize conspiracy theorists to intimidate election workers and anoint themselves to decide contested elections. That’s the real fraud.”

His comments also referred to another election bill, SB 749, which has not yet passed and that would restructure election boards, making them evenly bipartisan with members appointed by the legislature, rather than the governor. No provision in SB 749 gives legislators the express power to contest decided elections, but it does raise the possibility that election boards could deadlock on certifying election results.

Asked in general about deadlock situations in June, Senate leader Phil Berger told reporters he suspected the decision would then go to a superior court. 
Source: NCInsider

NC elections board certifies the No Labels Party despite questions about its link to a dark money group
The state Board of Elections voted 4-1 to certify No Labels as a political party despite board members’ questions about its connections to a Washington group that does not reveal its donors’ identities.

The national group No Labels has said it may offer a  presidential ticket in 2024, but is waiting until after Super Tuesday 2024 to decide.

The state board’s decision means if No Labels has a presidential ticket next year, it will appear on the North Carolina ballot.  

The national group is classified as a social welfare organization, called a 501(c)(4) for its designation under the federal tax code. It is not required to reveal its donors.  Its CEO, Nancy Jacobson, said in an NBC interview that No Labels is not a political party.

Former North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory is a national No Labels co-chairman, along with former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and Benjamin Chavis, president and CRO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, a trade association for Black-owned newspapers. 

Board Chairman Alan Hirsch pointed out that nearly all contributions to the No Labels Party of North Carolina came from out-of-state donors who contributed maximum amounts. No Labels of North Carolina spent nearly all of the money it raised last year on a campaign consulting group based in Northern Virginia. 

Siobhan Millen cast the sole vote against certifying No Labels, saying there is conflicting information as to whether it was a political party or not, and unanswered questions about what petition signers were told.

In addition to the two major parties, North Carolina recognizes the Libertarian Party and the Green Party.
Source: NCNewsline

August is #CivicHealthMonth and it's the perfect time for a civic health “checkup”!
✅ Double-check your voter registration.
⏰ Set up election reminders.
🗳 Preview what will be on the ballot in November.
Everything you need for your check-up is at http://chmonth.org/checkup

What is #UniteNC?
Pro-Choice North Carolina is excited to join with our partners at Common Cause North Carolina and other organizations across the state for a series of #UniteNC town halls! This is a fantastic opportunity to build our shared power and hold lawmakers accountable. Pro-Choice North Carolina will have materials at all town halls and we’ll be in-person at some of them, too. 

If you're concerned about harmful policies in the state legislature like attacks on abortion access, upcoming elections, and redistricting, join us and speak up for people-first policies!

• September 5: Hendersonville (Henderson)
• September 6: Brevard (Transylvania)
• September 7: Sylva (Jackson)
• September 11: Pitt [Greenville]
• September 12: Scotland’s Neck (Halifax)
• September 14: Hoke / Scotland [Wagram]
• September 18: Cabarrus [Kannapolis]
• September 19: Catawba [Hickory]

And there are more #UniteNC town halls to come…stay tuned! You can register and learn more by clicking HERE.  

Read Editorial: Town hall by town hall, some stirrings of democracy in North Carolina 

NC county election boards can now issue free ID cards for new voting mandate

Add election offices in all 100 counties to places where North Carolina voters can obtain photo identification cards that comply with the state’s voter ID mandate taking effect with this year’s municipal elections. Free IDs are also available at Division of Motor Vehicles offices. 

From the NC State Board of Elections: View and download our new resource on North Carolina's voter ID requirement. Learn about the state law and what you need to cast your vote in 2023:http://bit.ly/3qQudaU

REMINDER: All county boards of elections can now print FREE photo ID cards for registered voters in their county who need an acceptable form of ID. Press release: http://bit.ly/3rUePe7

Source: WUNC     

Join us for the 2023 NAMI North Carolina Annual Conference!

This year's conference theme is "Unified and Unbroken."

Visit our Annual Conference webpage for registration and event updates! Check back soon for more information, including a full agenda.

Questions? Contact Davine Laster, Director of Development and Events, at dlaster@naminc.org

Item to Watch: 
SB 90- Searches of Student's Person (Children's Law Omnibus) was re-submitted to the K-12 Education Committee with several PCS (proposed committee substitutes) that would change how social workers can support children with their mental health.  The PCS version of the bill would clarify that minors have no authority to consent to mental health treatment unless they believe themselves to be a danger to themselves or others.  NASW-NC OPPOSES ALL PCS SUBMITTED. 

• Challenge school library books and prosecute librarians
• Challenge instructional materials
• Force a superintendent to be dismissed or receive a reduction in pay
• Request for their child to be reassigned to another school or district
• Be informed if their child identifies as transgender or is at risk of suicide
• Prohibit instruction on gender identity, sexual activity and sexuality in fourth and fifth grade
• State that charter schools are not state actors, potentially giving them more leeway to institute dress codes 
   

Due to public backlash and media coverage, SB 90 was pulled from the committee calendar.  Please be on the lookout for more information from NASW-NC if it is reintroduced during this legislative session. 

You can see a copy of SB 90 with the PCS changes by clicking HERE. 

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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