2024 North Carolina General Assembly Session begins April 24th
State lawmakers start their 2024 legislative session Wednesday with a primary goal of making tweaks to the state’s $30 billion annual budget. But much more, from immigration to medical marijuana, could be on the agenda.
Legislative sessions in North Carolina work in two-year cycles in which the majority of the work gets done in the odd-numbered years. That allows the even-numbered years, when all lawmakers are up for election, to remain focused less on policy and more on campaigning. But there’s still likely to be some policy work tackled in the short session this spring — particularly in areas that overlap with what politicians want to be talking about on the campaign trail.
Here are some issues that could come up:
Immigration. A conservative push to force sheriffs to cooperate with federal immigration officials, despite the constitutional concerns that some sheriffs have raised, passed the House mostly along party lines last year. But the Senate never brought it up for a vote, instead saving it for this year. State and national Republicans are hoping to make immigration a key theme of the 2024 elections, so passing the bill could help them show action to constituents.
Guns. State Rep. Marcia Morey, a Durham Democrat, plans to kick off the new session with a press conference Thursday calling for new firearms safety laws. A WRAL News poll last month found most North Carolinians would favor legislation to address gun violence, although similar efforts in the past have gone nowhere in the GOP-controlled legislature. One gun bill that has a greater chance at receiving attention — yet is still considered a long shot — is a proposal from Republican Rep. Keith Kidwell to get rid of concealed carry permit requirements, and let state lawmakers bring guns into the legislature.
Gambling: The legislature will look to address video lottery terminals, or VLTs, House Speaker Tim Moore told reporters this month. Video gambling has been outlawed in North Carolina for decades, but a succession of legal battles and resulting changes in gaming software has kept the doors open at video gambling parlors all over the state. People associated with the industry have donated large sums of money to state lawmakers as they seek legalization. The state recently legalized sports betting, a topic that could continue seeing tweaks this year, potentially over horse racing. Morey, the Democratic Durham representative, also told WRAL she plans to introduce a bill banning prop bets, largely in line with a recent suggestion from the NCAA to disallow prop betting on individual college athletes. Morey is a former college and Olympic swimmer. But some of the legislature’s powerful, pro-sports-betting GOP leaders have previously said they would protect prop betting.
Education. In addition to boosting funding for private school tuition vouchers, the legislature could also take new action on public education policy. The UNC System Board of Governors plans to vote next month on a new policy targeting diversity and inclusion efforts at state universities and eliminate positions related to diversity and inclusion. The legislature could pass a law doing the same to make the policy more permanent. Lawmakers debated multiple anti-DEI laws in 2023 and passed one into law, banning state agencies and universities from asking potential or current employees to affirm their support for diversity. At the K-12 level, lawmakers briefly considered a bill last year that would have banned certain books from all public school libraries, banned students from being allowed to check out any library books without parental permission, and given more power for selecting books over to outside groups. It also would have given parents more power to sue school districts to try getting a superintendent fired. The bill was pulled last year, with Moore saying GOP lawmakers wanted to discuss it privately before deciding whether to move forward with it in a future session.
Changes to election laws: State elections director Karen Brinson Bell testified at the legislature for over two hours last week, in part warning lawmakers that the elections this year are at risk from a number of issues — from artificial intelligence being used to spread misinformation, to a massive amount of turnover among county-level election staff in the past few years. She’s pushing for more funding to increase staffing ahead of the November election. Beyond those budgetary talks lawmakers could discuss action to address AI in elections, although there appears to be little appetite for such regulation, WRAL reported last month. And with numerous election-related lawsuits moving through the courts on issues including voter identification, felon voting rights and same-day registration, it’s also possible the legislature could tweak some of those laws depending on what happens in court.
Read the complete article here: WRAL
DEI Vote
Administrative positions and offices dedicated to diversity, equity and inclusion are likely to be eliminated at all public universities across North Carolina following a vote Wednesday by members of the board that oversees the campuses.
The UNC System Board of Governors’ University Governance committee approved a policy that repeals the university system’s existing policy on diversity and inclusion, which requires each of the state’s 17 public campuses to employ diversity officers and work toward achieving diversity-related goals, among other requirements.
The committee passed the policy unanimously and with no discussion. The new policy would eliminate those jobs — or, if a university wishes to keep the positions, it would be forced to remove the job’s ties to diversity. After the positions are eliminated or changed, chancellors of each university would have to describe to UNC System President Peter Hans “reductions in force and spending” that resulted from the cuts, and how the “savings achieved” could be “redirected to initiatives related to student success and wellbeing.”
The policy states that the university system will “continue to ensure that diverse persons of any background, from North Carolina and beyond, are invited, included, and treated equally.” Universities would also continue to follow nondiscrimination policies and laws.
The committee passed the policy without objection and with no discussion.
UNC System President Peter Hans was not made available for comment Wednesday. The policy now goes to the full, 24-member board for consideration at its May meeting. At that meeting, the policy is likely to be considered on the consent agenda, meaning the board could vote on the policy without further discussion. If the full board approves the policy, it would take effect immediately.
Chancellors would be required to certify they have made changes to align their campuses with the changes by Sept. 1.
Two faculty leaders told The N&O Wednesday that, to their knowledge, faculty were not consulted on the policy or informed about it prior to it being added to the meeting materials Tuesday afternoon. The policy was not included in the materials when they were first posted last week.
Beth Moracco, faculty chair at UNC-Chapel Hill, said the new proposal took “us as a surprise,” and the quick turnaround from the policy being introduced to being voted on means that she and other faculty “have not really had a chance to digest and react to it.”
Some faculty are concerned about the policy “because diversity is a key value” of many people in the system, Maki said. “It’s foundational to what we do,” he said. “And it’s going to continue to be.”
Jack Yordy, an Appalachian State University student who is also the state council chair for the state College Democrats, told The N&O that the policy is “kind of like another target of right-wing outrage of the month.” Yordy compared the move to previous legislation and policies in North Carolina and across the country targeting critical race theory, or CRT, and “woke and cancel culture.”
Yordy said ending diversity and inclusion efforts on campuses would have “an actual, real impact on the safety and well-being of students.” “We want our college campuses to be a welcoming and safe place,” Yordy said.
Students from the UNC-Chapel Hill group TransparUNCy, which is dedicated to shining a light on political connections in North Carolina higher education, attempted to attend the meeting in-person. They told The N&O they were kept out of the UNC School of the Arts building where the meeting was held after being told by UNC System security that the meeting room was full.
System spokesperson Andy Wallace told The N&O that some members of the public were unable to enter the meeting room because of a lack of available seats and because the open-session portion of the meeting, in which the vote took place, lasted for such a short time — roughly five minutes.
State law states that “any person is entitled to attend” open meetings. It is unclear whether exceptions are made when a room reaches its capacity. Asked by The N&O whether the room was full to a point at which a fire code or other regulations would make the room unsafe, Wallace said only that the room was full.
Samuel Scarborough, another UNC student who is a member of the group, said the group wanted to attend the meeting “to make our voices heard.” “Knowing that institutionally, we don’t have as much power as we wish we had, we want to at least be present in the room as these decisions are happening and have a chance to speak,” Scarborough said. “We were not given this opportunity.”
Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, issued a statement after the committee vote, saying: “Our diversity should be used to highlight our state’s strengths, not our political divisions. Republican legislative and university leaders who attack diversity at our public universities are failing in their duty to protect students while threatening our ability to recruit top scientists, researchers and innovators who power our economy.”
Under state law, lawmakers in the General Assembly — which has been under Republican control since 2010 — appoint all voting members of the Board of Governors.
Some groups, including the American Association of University Professors, have accused the board and the broader university system in recent years of being unduly influenced by conservative political connections.
The Board of Governors has also been criticized for its lack of diversity, with most members being white men.
Cooper in 2022 formed a bipartisan commission tasked with assessing how leaders are appointed to public university governance boards in the state and offer potential reforms. The commission was co-chaired by former UNC System presidents Margaret Spellings and Tom Ross. The commission completed its work last summer, issuing a report with a host of recommendations that included increasing the size and diversity of the system-level Board of Governors and campus-level Boards of Trustees.
“The bipartisan Commission on the Governance of Public Universities found that a lack of diversity among university leadership and governance boards is both a disservice to students across the UNC System and leads to the controversy and volatility that we are seeing threaten our public universities,” Ross said in a statement Wednesday. “Our universities should encourage diversity on their campuses and governance boards and have leaders, administrators, faculty and staff that reflect the extraordinary diversity of our amazing state.”
Read more here: UNC System board committee approves policy gutting DEI. Students say they were kept out.
Social Work Interstate Licensure Compact Bill
UPDATE: Nebraska is now the eighth law to pass the Social Work Interstate Licensing Compact Bill on April 15, 2024!
The Social Work Interstate Licensing Compact Bill has been signed into law in the seven states required for the Compact Commission to be established!
The seventh state to pass the Social Work Interstate Licensing Compact Legislation was Kansas on April 12, 2024. The first bill to pass the legislation was Missouri on July 7, 2023. The other bills where it is law are South Dakota, Utah, Washington State, Kentucky and Virginia. Thank you to the NASW chapters who took the lead in each of the states that have both ratified and introduced the compact in each of these states.
Additional states will be able to join the Compact Commission as soon as the legislation is passed in their state. The legislation has been introduced in 19 other states, including here in North Carolina. Senate Bill 718-Social Work Interstate Licensure Compact was introduced during the NC General Assembly Long Session in 2023 and is currently in the Rules Committee. NASW-NC has been working all year to ensure the Social Work Licensure Bill is passed during the short session which begins on April 24, 2024. Please be on the lookout for Advocacy Alerts & updates from us on how you can help us reach out to your legislators at the right time to help get it passed.
You can learn more about the Compact Bill by reading the NASW Press Release.
April is National Minority Health Month!
This #NMHM24,@MinorityHealth encourages everyone to Be the #SourceForBetterHealth for racial & ethnic minority populations. Learn how addressing social determinants of health can help eliminate #HealthDisparities. http://ms.spr.ly/6016cAgjo
April is #MinorityHealthMonth, and we are proud to support the wellbeing of racial and ethnic minority populations. See what SAMHSA is doing to help address health disparities and improve the behavioral health of all Americans: http://samhsa.gov/behavioral-health-equity… #NMHM
Black women in the U.S. are 3 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes. During #BlackMaternalHealthWeek & beyond, help raise awareness of this disparity.@FDAWomen has resources to help Black mothers remain healthy during & after pregnancy. https://fda.gov/consumers/womens-health-topics/pregnancy
American Indian and Alaska Native people have the highest rates of #ColorectalCancer. The good news is that it’s one of the most preventable types of cancer. Talk to a provider about screening: https://fda.gov/consumers/minority-health-and-health-equity-resources/colorectal-cancer… #NMHM2024 #ColorectalCancer
We’re celebrating National Minority Health Month with newly translated program resources! Health centers: check out these resources available in Spanish to learn more about health center compliance & how to resolve conditions: http://ms.spr.ly/6015cF9yc
Upcoming Advocacy Opportunities:
Community Spotlight Event: ENC’s Advocacy Day 2024
Equality NC is committed to advocating for policy changes, social reforms, and cultural shifts that dismantle systemic barriers and empower LGBTQ+ individuals to live authentically and without fear of discrimination or violence. One important way we do this is through our annual Advocacy Day. Join us in Raleigh on May 30th, 2024, to meet with your representatives and discuss the importance of policies that uplift and protect the LGBTQ+ community. Register by May 16th to ensure we can schedule a meeting with your representative!
2024 Aging Advocacy Day- May 7th 2024
This event, which is sponsored by major aging advocacy groups in the state, provides the opportunity to make your voice heard by sharing information with our lawmakers about the growth in our state’s older population and the need to plan for this significant demographic change. It will be the first opportunity to introduce state House and Senate members to the newly developed Multi-Sector Plan on Aging (All Ages, All Stages NC) and invite them to learn more about this Plan.
More specific details will be forthcoming, but mark your calendar now and register for this important event. An orientation to the Advocacy Day, which will include a review of plans and instructions for the day, will be provided at the monthly NC Coalition on Aging Membership meeting on:
Friday, April 26, at 10:00 a.m.
Zoom Link.
Or One tap mobile+13092053325,,5051031304# US
Passcode: NCCOA.
Join us for Advocacy Day 2024!
One of NAMI NC’s primary missions is advocacy - speaking out about mental health issues in front of legislators, policymakers, and influential decision makers so that real change happens. A primary goal of our advocacy efforts is to provide people living with mental illness, their families, and those passionate about mental health the information they need to become effective advocates for better mental health services and public policies.
Our Advocacy Day events for 2024 are designed to do just that - provide information and helpful tips on speaking to legislators about mental health in NC. We will prepare participants with three informative webinars before visiting the General Assembly in Raleigh at the culminating event on Tuesday, April 30, 2024.
April 30, 10:00am - 2:00pm - Advocacy Day 2024
This event, held at the Legislative Building in Raleigh, allows mental health advocates to hear from government officials and legislators, tell their stories about mental illness, and let their voices be heard.
Questions about Advocacy Day? Please contact Lillian M. Davis, Director of Public Policy, at ldavis@naminc.org or by calling (919) 235-4749.
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR NAMI'S ADVOCACY DAY EVENTS
Join us on April 30th in Raleigh! Second Chance Lobby Day is a time for all who believe in second chances to come together to speak to our NC lawmakers about the criminal justice + reentry issues impacting our communities. #IAMFORSECONDCHANCES
Moms Demand Action Event -LAST CHANCE!!!
First Presbyterian Church (meeting place)
112 S Salisbury St
Raleigh, NC 27601
When: Thursday, April 25, 9:00 AM
The most important day for Moms visibility and mission in NC is our Advocacy Day. Make a plan to join us on April 25 in Raleigh, where we will urge our lawmakers to support common sense gun safety laws we can LIVE with. As constituents, that is our right, and as Moms Demand Action, that is our goal. Join your Moms from all over the state on this exciting, empowering day.
NC Black Alliance -LAST CHANCE!!!
NC Black Summit : April 25-26, 2024
Raleigh, NC
Mark your calendars for the 18th Annual NC Black Summit in Raleigh on April 25-26, 2024. Hosted by the North Carolina Black Alliance, this year’s theme, “Igniting Progress, Demanding Equity,” perfectly aligns as we approach the pivotal 2024 election—one of the most critical in our lifetime, with implications extending far beyond this year.
With over 20 positions on the ballot, both in NC and nationally, the 2024 Summit offers a unique opportunity for Black elected officials, public policy advocates, community stakeholders, strategic partners, and advocates from across the state to strategize on mobilizing voters to the polls and safeguarding OUR voting rights. We will explore solutions to issues affecting OUR community and collaboratively work towards building a more just and equitable North Carolina.
Find More Information & How to Register CLICK HERE!
NC Budget & Tax Center
Our Dollars, Our Future 2024
Thursday, May 2, 2024 from 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM ET
Join the North Carolina Budget & Tax Center on May 2 in Raleigh for a day of advocacy to take the budget back to the people. We will be requesting meetings with legislative leadership to demand a more transparent and equitable budget process, and joining together to discuss how we can organize to ensure future budgets fund the services and programs our state needs so every North Carolinian — from Boone to Wilmington and all parts between — has what they need to thrive.
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
