Town Halls + Budget Season

Hello,

The past few weeks at the General Assembly have been busy but there has not been a lot passed, and no new bills signed into law by the Governor.

The most talked about bill in the House for most of that time was an anti-DEI measure that would be unnecessary and create a hostile work environment for our state employees at a time where we have record vacancies already. Too much attention in Raleigh is given to the culture wars out of Washington; instead, we should be focused on how to improve lives for North Carolinians. But after appearing on the calendar a number of times, the bill was not voted on. We may end up having a vote this week or next, but that remains unclear. You can listen to some of my remarks to press after the vote was pulled a second time earlier this month.

A different policy was our major focus last week: a book banning bill. That was just another example of national political fights being dragged into North Carolina instead of focusing on what we can do to actually make improvements here. Rather than talk about how we should be investing more in teacher pay, in more resources for classrooms and for improvements to school buildings, we were debating censorship. 

You can read some coverage of that bill and the debate around it below:

• Associated Press: North Carolina advances bill on book bans in public schools

• WRAL: NC House passes bill that would remove challenged books from school libraries

• Paige Masten: NC Republicans say their new bill is not about banning books. Yes, it sure is

I was proud to speak at a rally where Moms Demand Action were opposing the push to repeal permitless carry in North Carolina. We have commonsense gun measures in place to help save lives. It is unnecessary to repeal those laws in order for 18 year olds to get concealed handguns with no training and no permit from their local sheriff. You can watch my brief remarks here.

Over the past few months there has been a lot of attention paid on the impact that federal cuts will have on the nation and in North Carolina specifically. This is a pressing concern of mine and many of my colleagues. I believe that as a representative, it is incumbent on us to go to our communities and hear from our constituents. Many Members of Congress disagree right now. Over the past few weeks I have attended three town halls. Below are some details on each of those.

First, I attended a town hall with Sen. Natalie Murdock and local community leaders in Siler City. We heard from Chatham County residents about issues they were concerned about. Melissa Driver Beard, Executive Director of CORA, and Anna Tuell, Executive Director of Chatham Habitat for Humanity, joined us. I appreciated everyone who came out and look forward to more opportunities to hear from you. You can see a full gallery of photos from the event here, courtesy of Greg Stewart.

Earlier this week, I attended a town hall put on by Rep. Valerie Foushee. Chatham County Commissioner Karen Howard also participated. Rep. Foushee helped describe what was going on in Washington right now and how we can stand up and push back.

You can read coverage of that town hall from NC Newsline and IndyWeek.

Finally, I was elated to join the People’s Town Hall series, a town hall series crisscrossing the United States. Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy and Florida Representative Maxwell Frost are leading the charge, traveling to congressional districts where the Members of Congress are not holding town halls in person for their constituents. This was held in Saxapahaw in Alamance County at the Haw River Ballroom. It was an at-capacity crowd and there was a ton of energy in the room. I appreciate everyone who attended. Photos courtesy of Matt Ramey. You can watch a replay of the town hall here.

Next up in the General Assembly, the House will begin the budget process. That will likely happen sometime after the Crossover Deadline which is May 8th. That is the point at which the majority of legislation needs to pass one of the two Chambers to be considered. While there are ways to get around that rule, most of the legislation that becomes law this year will need to pass at least one Chamber in the next two weeks. 

The Senate budget proposal was anemic, with paltry raises for teachers and state employees. It also has some policy proposals I do not agree with, like ending the Historically Underutilized Business program that the state has in place to ensure varied businesses have a chance to do work for the state. It also guts funding for the Innocence Inquiry Commission, the only state level commission of its kind in the nation. Just recently, the Commission helped a wrongfully convicted man get his conviction overturned. 

Coming up as well is a new report from nonpartisan economists that will tell us whether the state is on track to hit a fiscal cliff. After tax returns are collected, they will have an idea of where the revenue situation stands for the state. We have warned that the continued push to zero out taxes for corporations and the wealthy is going to leave the state unable to meet its obligations. That revenue forecast may inform how the House version of the budget process plays out. In any case, we are likely months away from a final budget given how recent years have gone. With potential federal cuts on the table, programs that hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians rely on like Medicaid expansion could be at risk. North Carolina needs to be prepared to step up and fill some of these gaps.

Thank you for your continued trust in me as your representative. 

CBS17: Investigation into NC State’s Poe Hall shut down due to federal cuts, chancellor says

NC Health News: Older and disabled Medicaid recipients, advocates ‘extraordinarily worried’ about potential Medicaid cuts

NOTUS: ‘A Lot of Excuses’: Trump’s FEMA Uncertainty Is Frustrating Officials Navigating Hurricane Recovery

NC Newsline: Judges side with Stein in lawsuit over control of NC elections board, striking down GOP-led law

CBS17: Ad calls on Judge Griffin to concede November election, former NC Governor McCrory speaks out

CAP: How Federal Funding Cuts Could Unravel Medicaid Expansion in 12 States

NC Newsline: U.S. Education Department to restart defaulted student loan collections