Cary, NC — The latest legislative update from the blog of NC Representative Gale Adcock.

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A Short Session Faced with Pandemic, Unemployment and Public Protesting

The legislative short session kicked off on April 28, a date specified when the long session adjourned on January 14. When we adjourned in January there was every reason to anticipate a typical short session: budget wrangling, the passage of a few remaining bills, and adjournment with plenty of time to campaign for the November election.

But in the intervening 15 weeks, the world dramatically changed with the discovery of a novel coronavirus in a single Chinese province. Its global spread was rapid, soon reaching the definition of a pandemic. The first US case was diagnosed in Washington state in late January; NC documented its first case in early March.

The usual routines of schools, businesses and families have since been incredibly disrupted. Unemployment is at a new high. The need for online learning has laid bare the geographic and socioeconomic divide in the availability of broadband internet. Serious health disparities for people of color and those without access to health insurance (acknowledged as longstanding problems in our state before COVID-19) are the cause of higher rates of infection and death for these populations.

Fifty years after the civil rights movement, our country is facing protest marches, rioting in many cities, and widespread public outcry for criminal justice reform after the latest episode of extreme force used by police officers against people of color, particularly black men.

These are the conditions in which the General Assembly has engaged in a short session like no other.

Cary, NC — The latest legislative update from the blog of NC Representative Gale Adcock. A Short Session Faced with Pandemic, Unemployment and Public Protesting. The legislative short session kicked off on April 28, a date specified when the long session adjourned on January 14.

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The House Convenes Virtually, Making History

With health experts urging statewide actions to ‘flatten the curve’ of new COVID-19 cases and the resultant ‘stay at home’ executive order (now a ‘safer at home’ executive order), the House made history when the short session gavelled in, using Zoom to convene committee meetings and live-streaming floor sessions on YouTube with proxy voting allowed by new House rules.

In addition to protecting public health, an upside to this new world order is that citizens can easily tune in to committee meetings that previously required travel to Raleigh. House and Senate floor sessions can be viewed rather than just heard (although audio-only is still available). Access to each day’s legislative calendar; committee links with meeting times, agendas and documents; and video and audio links for each Chamber are available here.

April 28-May 2 was devoted to unanimously passing two COVID-19 response bills which Governor Cooper quickly signed into law. Session Law 2020-3 sets education, economic support, health and state operations policies. Session Law 2020-4 appropriates $1.4 B of the state’s federal CARES Act funds. Read the specifics on the NCGA webpage under Session Laws.

Major Bills Passed Recently

Some of the most noteworthy bills passed in recent days include:

The Second Chance Act (SB 562)
After 13 months of legislative inaction, the Second Chance Act passed the NC House unanimously on June 10 after passing the NC Senate unanimously in 2019. The Second Chance Act is an important step in improving expunctions in North Carolina. Expunctions help people who committed crimes a long time ago clear their records and improve their opportunities for jobs and housing. Some of the improvements include:

Provides automatic record clearing for charges dismissed or disposed of as “not guilty.”
Allows expunctions for people whose convictions are treated as juvenile offenses under the Raise the Age law.
Expands eligibility for expunctions for people who have been convicted of multiple nonviolent misdemeanors.

Read more about the bill in this WRAL.com article.

The ‘Gym’ Bill

HB 594 as originally written pertained to HOA bylaws when it passed the House in 2019. It was sitting dormant in a Senate committee when an Alamance county senator decided to strip the original language and use the bill as a vehicle to reopen gyms and fitness facilities. Stripping bills is a common occurrence in the short session since to be eligible for action most bills must have passed one Chamber in the long session.

The ‘new’ bill contained rigorous requirements for screening and distancing of employees and participants, for equipment cleaning after each use and for thorough daily facility cleaning, among other stipulations.

As a nurse practitioner, I understand and value the physical and mental benefits of regular exercise and wellness activities. In addition, many health & fitness facilities are small women-owned businesses.

I looked forward to voting for this bill and supporting the health & fitness industry and these small business owners.

New Language Would Strip Authorities from Governor and DHHS Secretary

Unfortunately, the same senator bill sponsor decided at the last minute to add verbatim the language of the recently vetoed bar bill – and new language that I could not support because I am a health care provider with a background in public health. The new language stripped the governor of his executive authority to close newly reopened bars if COVID-19 trends make it advisable to do so. It also stripped the Secretary of DHHS of her authority to close a business that threatens public health through its business practices (declaring it an ‘imminent health hazard’).

The new language required that the governor’s decision to close bars and a DHHS decision to declare a business an imminent threat would be ultimately decided by a vote of the 9 member Council of State. The Council of State are politicians elected statewide, including the Attorney General, the Commissioner of Agriculture, the Secretary of State and the State Auditor. They are all elected to do important jobs, but none involve issues of public health. Stripping away the power of the governor’s public health team would limit their ability to respond to illegal mass gatherings and to respond to changing COVID-19 conditions.

The new bill never received a House committee hearing; no amendments or changes were allowed on the floor. I was very disappointed to have to vote against it.

The bill passed 69 to 50 and now heads to Governor Cooper for his signature or veto.

Elections Bill Offers Safe Options for Voting

With health officials expecting the coronavirus to keep many people away from the polls this year, it was important for the legislature to act quickly to make sure that county boards of elections are prepared for more absentee ballot requests. While the bill was not perfect, it safely expands access to voting while making this year’s election more secure.

HB 1169 will make these changes for the 2020 election:

One witness instead of two for completed absentee ballots
Flexibility in the filling of positions for precinct officials
Allowing completed absentee ballot request forms to be emailed or faxed to county board of elections
Providing an additional two weeks for county boards to approve requests for absentee ballots
Requiring the State Board of Elections to create an online portal for submission of requests for absentee ballots by September 1, 2020

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