Opinion Roundup: Implementing fair voter ID, post-hurricane scams, Medicaid privatization and more

Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2018 -- A round up of opinion, commentary and analysis on: Lame-duck session could stretch on in Raleigh, lawmakers examine details of voter ID bill, veteran population in NC steadily declining, upcoming wildlife festivals, Medicaid privatization and more.

T. ANTHONY SPEARMAN: Photo ID still aims to suppress minority voters (Capitol Broadcasting column) -- We ask that you not use these last days of your unlawful time in "People's House" to make another attempt to put in place a plan of enacting a discriminatory photo ID that will suppress the vote of people of color.

GERRY COHEN: How to implement a fair voter ID law (Capitol Broadcasting column) -- While passage of the state constitutional amendment means that requiring photo ID is not unconstitutional as being an additional qualification to vote as some State Supreme Courts have held, any requirement in its actual application must not discriminate based on race.

LAURA LESLIE: Lame-duck session could stretch on in Raleigh (WRAL-TV reports) -- With a list of at least six action items, including a potentially controversial voter ID bill, state lawmakers could still be in Raleigh well into December.

GARY ROBERTSON: Lawmakers examine details of voter ID bill (AP reports) – N.C. lawmakers began examining the details of the latest voter photo identification proposal, a day before they return to work to fulfill a photo ID mandate that voters agreed this month to put in the state constitution.

RUSTY JACOBS: Legislative Committee Looks At Early Draft Of Voter ID (WUNC-FM reports) -- An early draft, modeled on a South Carolina law, would require county elections boards to issue photo ID cards free of charge. Certain UNC system-issued IDs also would be allowed. That raised questions for some committee members like Representative John Szoka (R-Cumberland). "You could have a foreign national as a student at any one of our constituent universities present a passport and they would receive a state university ID," he said. But applicants for such IDs would have to provide citizenship information.

PAUL A. SPECHT: Amid voter ID debate, NC may push for more uniformity in college IDs (Durham Herald-Sun reports) – Legislators reviewed a draft bill that would require voters to present photo ID at the polls. During a committee meeting, members of the public expressed concern about college IDs.

Lame-duck session addressing voter ID, Florence, boards (AP reports) -- The General Assembly is coming back to approve voter ID details, consider more Hurricane Florence spending and address legal fights with Gov. Roy Cooper over state boards and commissions.

LAUREN HORSCH: Session preview (The Insider reports) -- Lawmakers have their sights set on a half-dozen topics when they return today for their previously scheduled November session. First on their agenda is the implementing legislation for the voter ID constitutional amendment. Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, said the voter ID bill will be filed in both the House and the Senate, but will likely make its way through one chamber this week -- with the second chamber taking it up next week. "We want to make sure we give everyone an opportunity to be heard on that," Berger said.

SUZANNE POTTER: Civil Rights Groups Rally in Raleigh Against Voter ID (Public News Service reports) -- Hundreds of people are expected to fill the galleries in both houses of the state Legislature for the opening of the lame duck session - part of a rally called the Moral Day of Action in Raleigh. The groups are protesting the implementation of two constitutional amendments passed by voters in November on voter ID requirements and a cap on taxes.

LAUREN OHNESORGE: Public records show how legislators, Cooper responded when CSX's terminal plans were in doubt (Triangle Business Journal reports) -- Public records released by North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper’s Office show he played an active role in the effort to keep CSX’s interest in Edgecombe County amid uncertainty for the massive eastern North Carolina project.

SARAH KRUEGER & ALFRED CHARLES: Deferred deportation request denied for undocumented Durham man (WRAL-TV reports) -- Following a Monday protest outside the Wake County Detention Center, officials learned that the deferred deportation request for an undocumented man who had lived in the United States for more than 22 years has been denied.

JONATHAN DREW: US Reps: Deportation won't happen until man's claim is heard (AP reports) — U.S. Rep. David Price tweeted that he and fellow Democratic U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield received assurances from immigration officials that Samuel Oliver-Bruno won't be removed until his claim is settled. Price said he was pushing Homeland Security officials to release Oliver-Bruno immediately, saying his arrest Friday at an immigration office was "unacceptable."

Tear gas for the caravan: A predictable product of an inhumane policy (Charlotte Observer) — It should be far from surprising that U.S. agents fired tear gas Sunday on hundreds of migrants — including toddlers — at a border crossing in Tijuana, Mexico. For almost two years, their boss the president has treated immigrants — both legal and illegal — as something less than worthy of humane treatment.

GILBERT BAEZ: AG: Don't fall victim to post-hurricane scams (WRAL-TV reports) -- Hurricane Florence impacted people in 34 of the state's 100 counties. On Monday, N.C. Attorney General Josh Stein said those affected could become victims again - of post-hurricane scams.

JAY PRICE: Veteran Population In NC Steadily Declining (WUNC-FM reports) N.C. is home to two of the world’s largest military bases — the Army’s Fort Bragg and the Marine Corps’ Camp Lejeune — but the state’s population of veterans is steadily declining.

DAVID BORNSTEIN: A Call to Modernize American Philanthropy (New York Times column) – Edgar Villanueva, who has held leadership positions in philanthropy, and is an enrolled member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, argues that philanthropy in the United States continues to transmit a “colonizing virus” by remaining “top-down, closed-door and expert-driven.” “Writing this book, I started from a place of pain,” Mr. Villanueva said. “I was angry. But there’s plenty of books that criticize. What would I do differently? I felt like I had to push through to a place where I’m offering a different way of thinking.”

PAUL WOOLVERTON: Bill Hurley left city a better place (Fayetteville Observer reports) -- The former Fayetteville mayor and state lawmaker passed away Monday at age 85

Rules of the road (Greensboro News & Record reports) — After a temporary exile, e-scooters will be allowed to return to the streets of Greensboro … with conditions. The new rules, approved last week by the City Council, are fair and reasonable. They rightly place an emphasis on safety first, but also obviously recognize the affordability, convenience — and undeniable popularity — of the smartphone-activated scooters.

ANNA JOHNSON: She pleaded guilty to embezzling while in office. Now she’s suing to keep her pension (Durham-Herald Sun reports) — Laura Riddick, the former Wake County Register of Deeds who pleaded guilty to stealing more than $926,000 while in office, is suing NC to keep her pension. The state, her attorney argues, “exceeded its authority” and acted in error when it ordered $126,290.28 in pension payments since her retirement March 31, 2017, be repaid to the state, according to a court petition.

CASSIE COPE: Duke Energy has expanded buyouts to more departments in the company (Charlotte Observer reports) — Duke Energy confirmed on Monday that it has expanded buyouts to more departments, including legal, human resources and power generation. Depending on how many employees accept the voluntary severance, the company could also have layoffs, a Duke spokesman said on Monday.

RICHARD CRAVER: DHHS updates Medicaid waiver status; state to serve as national pilot (Winston-Salem Journal reports) -- The complexity of N.C.’s Medicaid waiver request has led to the state serving as a national pilot, state health officials told legislators. Federal health regulators on Oct. 15 approved key elements of the request. The waiver permits the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services to integrate physical and mental health care, along with pharmacy benefits — a strategy that had been sought for several years. The waiver covers Jan. 1, 2019, through Oct. 31, 2024.

JOHN MURAWSKI: Medicaid privatization (The Insider reports) -- With a federal go-ahead finalized last week, North Carolina is moving ahead with privatizing its Medicaid program. Starting next year, North Carolina will become the 39th state where Medicaid is handled by private insurers and health care companies, as opposed to a state agency.

‘Carolina Cares’ shouldn’t be partisan (Winston-Salem Journal) — Helping people in the state who lack adequate medical insurance ought to be something that everyone can agree on. That’s especially true since funding to expand Medicaid coverage is available. NC is one of only 14 states that still have not accepted the federal dollars made available through the Affordable Care Act.

COLIN CAMPBELL: River flooding (The Insider reports) -- Eastern N.C. now has a one in six chance of a major flooding event in any given year -- the same odds of UNC winning a national basketball championship, according to Martin Doyle, a professor of river science and policy at Duke University. Doyle was among the presenters at the initial meeting of the Joint Select Committee on Storm-Related River Debris/Damage.

SAM BLAND’s Field Notes: Wildlife Festivals Ahead (Coastal Review column) -- As thousands of the tundra swans converge on Lake Mattamuskeet, the National Wildlife Refuge and the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission organize a daylong festival of activities to celebrate their arrival. Known as Swan Days, the event is held annually on the second Saturday in December, this year set for Dec. 8.