NC Legislative Update-Bills of Interest Today-Senate and House

Today will be a busy day at the General Assembly.  

Budget:

First a quick update on the budget.  Last report is that differences are still being worked out.  It is beginning to look more like next week before a vote on the budget will happen. That said, things change quickly in politics.  We will keep you informed.

Bill of Interest for Today:

HB 1366: School Violence Prevention Act

Yesterday, House Judiciary 1 recommended to not concur with the Senate version of House Bill 1366 School Violence Prevention Act (The Bullying Bill).  The vote was 8 in favor of not concurring and 6 in favor of concurring.  Today HB 1366 will be on the House floor for a vote to not concur.  The Arc of North Carolina and many coalition advocacy groups have been advocating to have the enumerations placed back into the bill.  It is not to late to help with this effort.  Please call or email your Representative and ask them to not concur with the Senate version of this bill.  (See the Action Alert from Monday).

HB 12: STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES AND SPECIAL EDUCATION CHANGES.
(Senate Committee Substitute) (3rd Edition)

This bill passed the Senate last week and is headed back to the House for concurrence today. The Arc of North Carolina and the Special Needs Federation with many other advocates worked very hard on this legislation.  We appreciate the hard work and dedication of Representative Rick Glazier who brought together multiple voices to find common ground.

This important legislation will protect unidentified, eligible students with disabilities from long-term suspensions when schools fail to identify them and their performance and behavior clearly established the need for such services. We are expecting the Governor to sign this bill next week.

In Committee Today:

Senate  Health Care 11:00 AM 544 LOB
HB 2523 Autism Committee Recommendations

This bill passed the House last week.  The bill contains three sections. Two deal with creating training tools for law enforcement and court personnel in how to communicate with a person who has autism.  The first section would remove the age limit on the Silver Alert system.  The Senate version of this bill passed the Senate last week also.  

Senate Transportation 11:00 AM 1027 LB
HB 93 Transport of Individuals in Wheelchair Study

This bill would study safe transit for people who use wheelchairs.  The Arc of North Carolina supports this bill.