Opinion Roundup: HB2 settlement; legislator's cyberstalking; Medicaid expansion efforts and more

Wednesday, July 24, 2019 -- -- A round up of opinion, commentary and analysis on: HB2 settlement; legislator's cyberstalking plea; Medicaid expansion efforts and more.

DAN LEVIN: N.C. Reaches Settlement on ‘Bathroom Bill’ (New York Times reports) -- A federal judge approved a settlement that prohibits the state government from banning transgender people from using bathrooms in state buildings that match their gender identity, ending a years-long legal battle that prompted a divisive cultural debate.

JONATHAN DREW: Agreement affirms N.C. transgender restroom rights (AP reports) -- A federal judge approved a legal settlement Tuesday affirming transgender people's right to use restrooms matching their gender identity in many North Carolina public buildings.

STEVE ALMASY: Settlement allows transgender people in NC to use certain bathrooms matching gender identity (CNN reports) -- Transgender people in N.C. may use certain public bathrooms as they relate to their gender identity, according to a settlement approved by a federal judge.

MICHAEL HEWLETT: State law can’t prohibit transgender people from using bathrooms of their choice, settlement says. GOP leaders raise objections (Winston-Salem Journal reports) -- A federal judge signed a legal agreement that could end a long-simmering legal fight over which restrooms and other public facilities can be used by transgender people. U.S. District Judge Thomas D. Schroeder signed the agreement, known as a consent decree. That agreement makes clear that state law does not prohibit transgender people from using whichever bathroom or other public facility they want.

WILL DORAN & TED ARMUS: NC law doesn’t ban transgender people from bathrooms matching their identity, judge says (Durham Herald-Sun reports) -- N.C.s years-long legal fight over transgender people and bathroom access came to an end when a federal judge approved a settlement that the governor and LGBT rights groups had proposed. The settlement says state agencies and universities can’t ban transgender people from using the bathroom of the gender with which they identify. It applies only to public restrooms and similar facilities in state government buildings.

Settlement in NC lawsuit opens more public bathrooms to transgender individuals (WRAL-TV reports) -- Transgender individuals can use bathrooms matching their gender identity in many government buildings in North Carolina under a settlement approved by a federal judge.

BEN FINLEY: School lawyer says despite birth certificate, Grimm still female (AP reports) --  Gavin Grimm, the transgender man who sued after being barred from using boys bathrooms in high school, remains female today, no matter what his birth certificate or a Virginia judge might have said, a lawyer for the school board argued in federal court.

FRANK TAYLOR: GOP Rep. Henson pleads guilty to cyberstalking, won’t resign (Carolina Public Press reports) -- NC Rep. Cody Henson, R-Transylvania, pleaded guilty to one count of cyberstalking in Transylvania County court, accepting an agreement with the NC Department of Justice for deferred prosecution and 18 months of probation. As part of the agreement, Henson will have to obtain a mental health assessment and follow up treatment, complete a domestic violence abuser treatment class and complete a substance misuse assessment and follow up treatment. He will also be denied access to firearms throughout his probation. He already is under a domestic violence order of protection that prevents him having continued contact with his estranged wife, Kelsey Henson. Prosecutor Boz Zellinger said that in one case Henson had screamed at Kelsey and thrown a full beer can at her in front of their son while she was pregnant. He told her that he was a trained killer, referring to his military experience, and bragged that he would have a team of lawyers behind him due to his political clout.

GOP State Rep. Henson pleads guilty to cyberstalking (AP reports) -- A Republican state lawmaker is pleading guilty to cyberstalking his estranged wife, a misdemeanor that will be dismissed if he completes 18 months of probation.

RUSTY JACOBS: Some Democrats Want House Speaker To Move A Medicaid Expansion Bill With Bi-Partisan Support (WUNC-FM reports) -- A bill in the state House would expand Medicaid coverage to more low-income people, though it would include work requirements and premiums, provisions opposed by Gov. Roy Cooper and fellow Democrats. Still, a group of Democratic representatives held a news conference Tuesday to urge House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) to allow a debate and vote on the measure to proceed.

LAURA GERALD & SUSAN FITZGIBBON SHUMAKER: Medicaid expansion would be a lifesaver and job creator (Greensboro News & Record column) -- N.C. is facing alarming health challenges. The opioid epidemic is still raging. Steep racial disparities are driving unacceptable differences in life expectancy. The state’s infant mortality rate is higher than the national average. And clinics and small hospitals, especially in rural regions, are closing or operating on life support. As the leaders of health foundations, we are tasked with helping our state’s most vulnerable residents thrive. We know there is no magic elixir to accomplish this task. But there is a policy that is putting many states on the path to progress: expanding Medicaid eligibility.

Rep. Floyd’s long-shot compromise on Medicaid is worth a look (Fayetteville Observer) -- The nonprofit National Bureau of Economic Research released this month a sobering study that estimates about 15,600 more people have died than otherwise might have if Medicaid had been expanded to all 50 states, as the Affordable Care Act originally intended.

Rollback of regulations on new health care facilities gets preliminary OK in Senate (WRAL-TV reports) -- The Senate gave preliminary approval to a rollback of the Certificate of Need regulations that restrict the expansion of new health care facilities.

LAUREN HORSCH: Education bills (The Insider reports) -- A trio of rewritten education bills cleared the House Education -- Universities Committee, after being tied to appropriations in the now-vetoed state budget. House Speaker Tim Moore, who was on hand to introduce the bills, said two of the three bills would help students One would allow the UNC Board of Governors to adopt a policy allowing schools to accept an Advanced Placement test score of 3 (instead of just 4 or 5) for course credit. The other requires the BOG to study possible funding streams for undergraduate summer school and its impacts on overall outcomes from students. A third bill  allows the president of the N.C. Community College System to reorganize the system office.

LAUREN HORSCH: CON law (The Insider reports) -- The Senate tentatively passed a watered-down version of a Certificate of Need law changes after amending it to include technical changes and remove language that impacts dialysis centers.

TAYLOR KNOPF: Some NC lawmakers want hemp classified as marijuana, farmers push back (N.C. Health News reports) -- Law enforcement officers say they can’t tell the difference between hemp and marijuana, so they want it banned. Farmers are finally profiting from the legal crop and don’t want the ban. State lawmakers will take up the now-contentious Farm Act Wednesday.

Lawmaker proposes scrapping ABC stores, allowing other retailers to sell liquor (WRAL-TV reports) -- The bill would mean more stores and cheaper liquor for restaurants, but it's far from passage.

School safety measure nears passage (WRAL-TV reports) -- A bill to make schools safer in N.C. is one vote away from going to Gov. Roy Cooper after passing the House unanimously.

Higher NC hunting, fishing license fees have support at legislature (WRAL-TV reports) -- Hunting, fishing, taxidermy and other license fees would increase, raising another $2.4 million a year.

EMERY DALESIO: N.C., feds end look into voting-machine ownership (AP reports) -- Federal authorities found nothing troubling after looking into voting-machine makers largely owned by private equity firms that don't disclose their investors, so state elections officials said they're ready to certify which can do business in the state.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg review board calls for change in use-of-force policy (AP reports) -- A Charlotte-Mecklenburg citizens review board is calling on a police department to make changes in its use of force policy.

GINGER LIVINGSTON: Restaurant owner continues fundraiser for immigration group, also adds local charity (Greenville Daily Reflector reports) -- The co-owner of a Greenville restaurant is happy his effort to raise money for a national immigration group became a positive counterpoint to criticism of the community based on chanting crowds at last week’s campaign rally for President Donald J. Trump.

'Shut them up’ no better than ‘Send her back’ (Wilson Times) -- Both the right and the left need a limiting principle. For the former, love of country and pride in citizenship are admirable, but nativism and distrust of foreign-born Americans is unacceptable. For the latter, denouncing opponents’ message is fine, but silencing them is not. The remedy for bad speech is more speech, not suppression. “Shut them up” and “Send her back” are both un-American messages. Let’s abandon them.

DAN KANE: NC State and Highway Patrol withhold report on trooper promotions (Durham Herald-Sun reports) -- NC State University is citing federal education privacy law as part of its decision to withhold a report into how a trooper promotions test became compromised.

Sexual assault victims file suit against New Hanover County school district (AP reports) -- The victims of sexual assaults by a former North Carolina teacher are filing a class action lawsuit against the New Hanover County school district.

JENNIFER ALLEN: NCDOT Gets OK for Short-Term Erosion Fix (Coastal Review reports) -- After losing more than 70 feet of shoreline in the past year, NCDOT has been granted special permission to install sandbags in ways not generally allowed by state rules.

UNC study: Flooding from hurricanes, storms is ‘off the charts,’ driven by climate change (WRAL-TV reports) -- A “regime shift” defined as “large, persistent changes in the structure and function of social-ecological systems, with substantive impacts on the suite of ecosystem services provided by these systems” appears to be underway for coastal North Carolina with precipitation levels in recent storms being “off the charts,” say researchers at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Lorry Williams named executive editor of The Fayetteville Observer (Fayetteville Observer reports) -- She is the first woman to lead the 203-year-old publication’s newsroom.

Henderson man says 'million dollar dog' helps him win $1 million lottery prize (WRAL-TV reports) -- Moises Duarte, of Henderson, claims his shih tzu is the reason he won the $1 million lottery prize Saturday.