Initiation of claim submission
Lawmakers returned to Raleigh this week, officially opening a window for members to start drafting and submitting legislation. Since Wednesday, dozens of bills have been introduced by members of both the House and Senate. Democrats quickly made abortion protection a top priority, and related bills were introduced in both houses of Congress.Signed by the entire Senate Democratic Caucus SB 19: Codify protections for Roe and Casey. The bill would codify access to abortion procedures in North Carolina previously protected in Roe v. Wade. Unlike Texas and Arkansas, North Carolina still allows abortions up to 20 weeks’ gestation.
Also sponsored by 32 Democrats in the House HB 9: Fairmap Act This would require parliamentary, legislative, and independent, nonpartisan commissions to determine local electoral districts. North Carolina now monitors local constituency boundaries if legislators map the legislature and legislature and choose to intervene.
Republicans, who control both houses of Congress, also introduced a slew of bills this week. The first bill to be introduced was by Senate Ruler Bill Lavon (R-Brunswick) to legalize medical marijuana. invoice, SB 3: NC Compassionate Care Act, similar to the bill that passed the Senate with bipartisan support last year but failed to gain support in the House. The bill is tightly tailored to allow marijuana to be prescribed for specifically named conditions such as cancer, Parkinson’s disease, PTSD, and other terminal illnesses. The bill would establish a Medical Cannabis Manufacturing Commission to approve, suspend, or revoke the licenses of medical cannabis suppliers. The Commission can issue up to 10 supplier licenses that can operate up to 4 medical cannabis centers.
In the House, Republicans reintroduced a bill requiring local law enforcement to work with federal immigration officials. invoice, HB 10: Request Sheriff to cooperate with ICE filed by House Rule Speaker Destin Hall (Rep. Caldwell), if the citizenship status of a person in custody who is accused of certain crimes cannot be immediately verified, the sheriff may contact the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE). A similar bill passed Congress in 2019 in line with party policy, but was rejected by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper. who called the bill He said it was “unconstitutional” and “undermines law enforcement by requiring sheriffs to do the work of federal agents.”
A number of other bills were also introduced this week. These include bills from the House Select Committee on North Carolina’s Education System for the Future held last year and from the House Select Committee on Advancing Women in STEM Fields. Many of the bills are based on direct recommendations presented to selection committees such as: HB 8: Computer Science. Alumni.requirement This requires high school students to complete a course in computer science in order to graduate. HB 4: Increased involvement in STEM grant programs It establishes programs within the Department of Public Education that provide grants to public schools and partner with vendors to provide students with opportunities to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics educational subjects. However, some of these bills could significantly change the current structure of public education in North Carolina.Most notable HB 17: Elect SBE/SPI as SBE Chair It would amend the state constitution to elect members of the state board of education in districts elected by the state legislature and make the public education supervisor the chairman of the state board of education. Currently, the governor appoints a majority of the state school boards, and state school board appointments do not require legislative approval.
Congress will return to Raleigh next week, with the first committee in session scheduled for Tuesday.
