This has certainly been the week of legislative
hostage-taking, unhappy people and bad feelings.
Although the Senate made a mid-week budget offer to the House that
looked promising to us, the House's lack of enthusiasm over it
does not bode well for adjournment. Aside from the public meetings
of the budget conferees most other conference committee reports are
being prepared away from public's eye, and even those of some
conferees. A conference committee report on criteria for NC's
Adjutant General of the NC National Guard was later
rejected by the House; we don't often
see a brokered agreement fail on a floor vote.
Many bills which have received considerable debate and input during
the session have now been yanked from floor calendars to wait it
out in Rules Committees, or even Ways and Means. But we're not
exactly sure what they're waiting for to spring these bills
loose. The House Rules Committee currently has about 130 bills
parked and the Senate Rules Committee has roughly double that
number.
A new adjournment resolution ending the 2014 session was
introduced with adjournment set for next Friday, July 26th but
it's the third session-ending bill we've seen this
summer.
Congress is preparing for its August Recess but Speaker Tillis,
Republican candidate for US Senate in the country's
"Senate race to watch" against incumbent US Senator Kay
Hagan is tethered to Raleigh. The outcome of this election may tip
the balance of power in Washington, yet legislative Republicans
aren't making his job any easier.
Jones Street was shocked to see Phil Berger Jr., candidate for US
House from the 6th District, popular District Attorney, and son of
powerful Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger lose his primary
election runoff. In a lopsided election, Mr. Berger, who led the
crowded Republican field in the May Primary Election lost every
county to his opponent, Mark Walker, who will face Democrat Laura
Fjeld in November.
If Democrats in Raleigh weren't so unhappy they would be
happy.
A few examples of the week's big ticket legislative
controversies are below:
LOCAL SALES TAX
On Wednesday the Senate rolled out a new PCS for HB 1224
- Economic Development Changes that added what local
government groups were expecting to be additional authority over
local taxes but was instead a limitation of those powers.
In additional to making changes to NC's JMAC economic
development funding tool, NC counties were expecting additional
local sales tax flexibility and instead were presented a new
bill section which contained a provision allowing
counties to increase local sales tax in increments of 1/4 %, by
referendum, to fund education OR local
transportation projects, but not both at the same time. The total
local sales tax in a jurisdiction must not exceed 2.5%, and the
funds cannot be shared with municipalities. This provision proved
to be very controversial and the bill was returned to committee for
further consideration. We understand that two counties already
collect 2.5% local sales tax and so their ability to levy even
a voter-approved tax increase would be curtailed.
View HB 1224 here: http://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2013/Bills/House/PDF/H1224v2.pdf
MEDICAID
The Senate budget position including reducing their proposed
trimming of the Medicaid rolls and leaving only $30 million between
House and Senate funding levels. Then Senators Hise and Pate rolled
out a new plan for the structure and operation of Medicaid and the
machine has screeched to a halt - and the screeching you hear is
doctors and hospitals objecting to the introduction of managed care
providers running our Medicaid system.
Under the proposal provider-led accountable care organizations or
managed care organizations would run the state's Medicaid
system and pay a flat per patient amount for all care for that
patient. A spokesperson representing physicians testified that the
additional administrative paperwork related to this approach,
should it be enacted, would certainly hurt access to medical care
for the poor. Currently nearly 90% of primary care physicians in
NC take Medicaid. Florida, which uses this managed care
approach have a much lower participation rate.
The House and the Governor have already voiced their opposition to
the plan. And we don't need to remind you that this brand new
proposal was unveiled two weeks after the Legislature
should have adjourned for the year.
Have a look at the Senate's plan here: http://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2013/Bills/House/PDF/H1181v4.pdf
BUDGET
Still no white smoke. And negotiations seem to now be in the hands of a few until the big items like Medicaid, teacher raises, teacher assistants and state employee pay raises are resolved.
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