North Carolina lawmakers left some key issues unfinished last year, furnishing a road map for at least some of the business they’ll discuss when a new session starts Wednesday.
Medicaid expansion, which would bring federally funded health insurance to hundreds of thousands of North Carolina’s working poor, has momentum after a breakthrough last year, but there’s no guarantee it will pass.
The state budget is an annual priority, bringing with it conversations about teacher pay, general education funding and, particularly this year, state employee raises.
The legislature’s Republican majority
expanded in the November elections, and the GOP is one seat shy of a veto-proof supermajority in the state House. That, plus the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last year to overturn Roe v. Wade, opens the door for new abortion restrictions. State Senate leader Phil Berger says it would be “a failure” if nothing passes on the subject.
Lawmakers will also draw at least two new election maps before the 2024 campaign season, one for congressional elections and
one for state Senate races. They’ll likely rework the state’s voter identification law in the wake of
a state Supreme Court decision that struck down the current one.
Watch, too, for a potential push on mental health reforms, to address healthcare workforce shortages, and for health sector regulatory reforms in general. Some expect a push on housing affordability, which may mean rollbacks of building and environmental regulations, and less control over those issues for local governments.
The state continues to grapple with infrastructure needs, particularly in fast-growing areas, but also in rural ones that are losing population and struggling to keep water systems up to par. Significant funding for these issues already passed the General Assembly, and Cooper has said overseeing these projects is a top priority as he heads into the second half of his final term.
There’s also talk of reforming state laws governing credit unions. A new tax cut could be in the offing, and gun rights groups are pushing to loosen North Carolina’s gun laws.
But just what happens on these issues — and what others come up as lawmakers gather for the session starting Wednesday — is hard to say. Legislative sessions can be unpredictable: The General Assembly has 170 members — 50 in the state Senate and 120 in the House of Representatives. They get together each year for an undetermined amount of time. All of them can file bills and resolutions, and the average lawmaker files about a dozen.
Turnover in the chambers injects even more doubt. About 25% of the House is new. About 25% of the Senate is.
As they have for more than a decade, Republicans control both legislative chambers, 71-49 over Democrats in the House and 30-20 in the Senate. That’s a supermajority in the Senate, giving Republicans the three-fifths majority needed to override Cooper’s vetoes without help from Democrats. The GOP is one seat shy of a supermajority in the House, but since the override math is based on members present and voting on any given day, good attendance will be crucial if Democrats hope to block override attempts.
It's also possible a small number of Democrats will break with the governor, voting with Republicans on some issues. Speaker of the House Tim Moore has said he expects some to do so. Cooper has said he expects Democrats to hold the line.
Odd years, such as this year, bring “long” sessions, a reset of sorts in the legislative process where lawmakers convene in January and expect to meet for much of the year. Bills must be filed anew in the long session. Then they can survive for two years, extending into the next year’s “short” session.
This year’s session starts Wednesday at noon, but that will be a day for ceremony and organization. Under North Carolina law, the General Assembly must then immediately take a two week break, returning Jan. 25. Other than basic organizing measures, such as the rules the House and Senate will operate under, bills won’t be filed until after that break.
The start of session also triggers a partial fundraising ban, forbidding corporate political action committees, special interest groups and other entities that pay a lobbyist from contributing to lawmakers’ reelection campaigns. That’s why pre-session fundraisers are so common.
For example, House and Senate Republicans plan to gather Tuesday for a $600 minimum fundraiser, according to an invitation that circulated last week.
Here’s a rundown of some of the issues facing the legislature this year, based on past WRAL News coverage, interviews with state lawmakers and conversations with lobbyists who work at the General Assembly:
Medicaid expansion. For the first time in the 12 years since expansion was contemplated as part of the Affordable Care Act, there’s real optimism heading into a state legislative session. Even so, House and Senate Republicans left a wide gulf between their expansion proposals last year. Meanwhile, the state’s hospitals are
feuding with Senate leadership over regulatory changes the Senate wants in exchange for expansion, which would pump billions of dollars into the state’s health care system. Also at issue: There’s another $3 billion available through the federal Healthcare Access and Stabilization Program, which has been paired with expansion in some bills. The clock is ticking. To get the HASP money, the federal government would need to approve North Carolina’s plan by June 1. The federal review could take as long as 90 days, putting the state’s deadline in the late winter or early spring.
Education funding. How much North Carolina spends on public schools is a huge issue every, but this year there are more moving parts to the debate. The state’s long-running Leandro case, which argues hundreds of millions more funding is constitutionally required to improve the state’s public schools, came to a head after
the state Supreme Court ordered an increase. But the high court’s decision was a divided one and legal steps remain. Republican General Assembly leaders contend the courts can’t force the state legislature to spend money. Meanwhile, the November elections
flipped control of the state Supreme Court from a 4-3 Democratic majority to a 5-2 Republican one, meaning that if the case comes back before the state Supreme Court, justices may reach a different conclusion. The legislature also will grapple with a proposal to overhaul the way teachers are paid and licensed, which could mean significant salary boosts.
A plan to pilot those changes in an unknown number of school districts
passed the State Board of Education in early December, but it will be up to the General Assembly to decide what, if anything, moves forward.
State employee pay. State agencies are struggling to retain employees and legislative leaders have acknowledged a need to make state jobs more attractive. State government’s vacancy rate, calculated each July by the Office of State Human Resources, hit at least a 10-year high this year at 22%. Moore told reporters late last year that lawmakers have to do more to retain and to recruit employees.
Abortion. North Carolina currently bans abortion after 20 weeks, except in cases posing a major risk to the life of the mother. Republican legislative leaders expect to approve a more restrictive law early next session but Berger and Moore have said they need to consult with other Republican lawmakers, including new members, about what that will look like. Berger, R-Rockingham, has previously said he favors a 12-week ban. Moore, R-Cleveland, supports a six-week ban, sometimes called a heartbeat bill. Cooper has promised to veto any new restrictions, but the pressure on moderate Democrats to back a Republican bill may prove intense. Likewise, moderate Republicans may be nervous about some restrictions, which tend not to be popular in suburban districts. Moore told reporters late last year that lawmakers will “try to be bipartisan, reach broad consensus, and tackle what has been clearly a tough issue facing this entire nation for 50 years” with a goal of getting backing from a handful of centrist Democrats.
Gambling. Supporters of legalized mobile sports gambling, including North Carolina’s professional sports franchises, are optimistic about their chances in 2023. Legislation to let fans wager on games through their phones or other mobile devices passed the Senate but failed by a single vote in the House last year, with opponents concerned about the societal costs and moral implications of adding unfettered access to sports gambling. Sports gambling is currently legal at three tribal casinos in the state.
Medical marijuana. A bill legalizing medical marijuana for serious medical conditions passed the state Senate last year, but it didn’t advance to a vote in the House. Sponsors plan to try again this year, though it’s difficult to predict the bill’s fate. Sen. Bill Rabon, who sponsored last year’s bill, said last month that he doesn’t plan to change its language. Rabon, R-Brunswick, also said he couldn’t predict how changes in House’s membership from the November elections would affect the bill’s chances. Nor could Moore when reporters asked him about it last month.
Voter ID and mapmaking. Recent court decisions left lawmakers with at least three changes to make in state voting laws. They must draw and pass a new state Senate map, which may again be challenged in court. They’ll draw a new congressional map, which may also be challenged. And they’ll write a new law requiring voters to show identification at the polls — something that’s passed several times in various forms over the last decade but failed to survive court challenges. These issues are typically hotly debated, generating partisan disagreements. Map making in particular is key to power, since maps can be drawn to favor one political party’s candidates over another’s. GOP lawmakers hope a pending U.S. Supreme Court decision will give them more power to draw maps as they please with less court oversight.
Energy. State lawmakers
passed major climate change and energy legislation in 2021. The regulatory plan that resulted from that bill
came out last month. Still, newly passed federal tax incentives for clean energy programs, and the unplanned Christmas Eve blackouts that affected half a million people in the state, may lead to renewed policy discussions. Also,
shots fired last year on a pair of Moore County substations generated some calls for new security regulations. There likely will be a push to boost penalties for damaging grid infrastructure.
Public defenders. Mary Pollard, executive director of the North Carolina Office of Indigent Defense Services, plans a push this year to expand the number of public defender offices in the state. Sixty-one of the state’s 100 counties don’t have a public defender, relying instead on private attorneys the system pays to represent indigent defendants. Those rates run $65 to $100 an hour, which is lower than what many private lawyers make. That has made it more difficult for the courts system to recruit contract attorneys to take on cases in many parts of the state. Pollard hopes to phase in increases over the next several years.
Affordable housing. Fast-growing communities are running out of affordable homes, and some state lawmakers see a legislative solution. Last year Sen. Paul Newton offered Senate Bill 349, which limited local regulations on homebuilders. But the effort never got traction. Newton, R-Cabarrus, said last week that it’s “to be determined” whether he runs that bill again, but he said the legislature should look at affordable housing issues this session. Home and commercial developers, Newton said, need relief from state environmental and local government building regulations, he said, and “can’t possibly keep up with demand.” Newton said he’s had good conversations about this with the state’s Department of Environmental Quality and that he wants to “exhaust the department’s remedy” before passing new laws.
Transportation funding. Last year state lawmakers voted to phase in
a shift of state sales tax dollars to transportation funding, which typically relies on the state’s gasoline tax. That will put an extra $600 million into transportation funding come 2025, but lawmakers say more funding will be needed long-term. “We hit the low-hanging fruit [from last year],” said Sen. Mike Woodard, D-Durham. “What’s the next one?”
Mental health. State Rep. Donny Lambeth, a former hospital executive and a leader on health care issues, said he plans to offer a mental health reform bill early in the session that will try “to resolve some of the challenges families face caring for these family members.” Lambeth, R-Forsyth, said he’s researching best practices from other states and focusing on programs that will increase access to care for young people, including increased funding for psychologists in high schools.
Health care workforce. Lambeth, R-Forsyth, said he also plans legislation to address workforce shortages in the healthcare industry. “We have a crisis in all areas of health care that we need to provide some relief and vision to change the culture to make these jobs more interesting and rewarding,” he said.
Guns. With an expanded Republican majority there likely will be a push to loosen state gun laws. Grass Roots North Carolina, a particularly active group seeking to loosen restrictions, sent GOP leaders an open letter on New Year’s Day reminding lawmakers of its efforts in the November elections. It asked for several changes, including an end to the state’s pistol permitting system,
something Cooper vetoed in 2021. Credit union rules. The state’s credit union regulations haven’t changed since the 1970’s, and there will be a push this year to overhaul them. By law, credit unions can only take deposits from certain people. The State Employees’ Credit Union, for example, serves state employees and their families. There will be a push to expand this “field of membership,” in part to allow credit unions to fill holes in rural communities where traditional banks have closed branches, according to Pat Ryan, a consultant working on the issue. Banks are likely to take a keen interest in the matter.
WRAL Sports Investigative Reporter Brian Murphy contributed to this report.
