Greetings,
Action for Children NC is pleased to bring you this state and federal legislative update.
State:
Conferees Appointed and Conference Committees Started
Highlights of Senate Budget
Key Bills
Action Alerts
Federal:Medicaid Regulations: House Reaches Agreement with the White House
Senators Introduce JJDPA Reauthorization Bill
Conferees Appointed and Conference Committees Started
The NC Senate Appropriations Committee sent its budget to the Senate floor this week after hearing only six amendments, and the full Senate passed it on Thursday. The House did not concur with the budget, and both houses have appointed conferees. HHS conferees began meeting today (Friday) and will continue through the weekend and into Monday. Other committees will likely start on Monday. Advocates are getting the impression, though, that the controversial decisions like Health Choice funding are not likely to be decided in these public conference sessions, but instead by the big chairs closer to the middle of next week.
Please visit Action for Children’s website for a line-by-line comparison of the Governor’s, House and Senate budgets in the areas of Public Education, HHS, Justice and Public Safety, and
Housing.
Highlights of Senate budget
Action for Children Top Priority Items:
NC Health Choice: The Senate increased Health Choice by only $1.7M (compared to the House’s $10.4M) and mandated that enrollment be frozen in September. Enrollment can be unfrozen in April only if the federal government reauthorizes SCHIP and/or provides additional funding. Senator Hagan amended the bill to allow re-enrollment to begin as soon as more federal dollars are allocated to SCHIP (even if it’s prior to April 1), but still only 2.4 percent growth will be allowed this fiscal year (without the freeze, about 8 percent growth would be expected) and if the state does begin enrolling children again, the state share would have to come from existing resources within HHS.
A few key points:
A freeze in Health Choice is more harmful than you might think. Last time the program was frozen (in 2001), the rolls declined 18 percent over six months, and kept declining another 14 percent over four months even after the freeze was lifted. If that repeats itself, 36,000 children would be affected. A Sheps Center study (UNC Chapel Hill) found that the freeze caused financial hardship among affected families and children went without insurance, since parents could not afford premiums even when their employers offered insurance.
The Senate is trying to paint this as the federal government’s fault. It is true that SCHIP has not been reauthorized (though Congress tried twice and was vetoed by Bush), but every year Congress provides enough extra funds for “shortfall” states to cover their costs.
NC has been allocated enough federal money to keep Health Choice open until at least May 2009.
In order to stay open, however, the Senate needs to allocate the $10.4M state share to draw down the federal dollars.
Congress and health care advocates fully expect SCHIP to be reauthorized in March 2009 (or sooner) when a new administration is in place. (Congress—both liberals and conservatives—are 2-to-1 in favor of reauthorization and additional funding, and Governors across the ideological spectrum have been very vocal on the need to reauthorize and increase funding for SCHIP.) If for some reason Congress didn’t act in early 2009, the NC General Assembly is back in session in January and could begin acting then to freeze enrollment, as necessary.
All federal programs are reauthorized regularly, and the process is not usually used as an excuse for not allotting the necessary state dollars. No other state has issued a freeze warning on their SCHIP program. The Senate does not have to freeze Health Choice. Advocates will be working hard to move the HHS conference committee back toward the House proposal for children’s health insurance.
NC Kids Care: The Senate eliminated all the funding from NC Kids’ Care ($7M), citing federal obstacles to its implementation. They have pushed back the implementation date until July 1, 2009, which may not be legal and certainly is not workable. Advocates are working to get some funds back into the program this fiscal year, to get it up and running.
Child Care Subsidies: The Senate followed the House’s lead and allocated $9M in TANF funds for increased child care subsidies: enough to remove 1,100 children from the waiting list and prevent another 900 from losing their subsidies.
JCPC Funding: Like the House, the Senate reallocated recurring dollars to the Juvenile Crime Prevention Councils ($22.6M), but reduced the JCPC expansion funds from the House-proposed $1M to $200K. Advocates and JCPC service providers are working to move the JPS conference committee back to the House proposal.
Tax Package:
The Senate’s tax package was not included in the budget but considered separately. It includes an $18M tax break for the wealthy in the form of a repeal of the gift tax. It also includes a reduction on sales tax on propane fuel oil, which is used most often to heat lower-income homes. The Senate tax package does not increase the EITC percentage, and the budget does not include the House-recommended funds for EITC outreach. This will be a point of debate in conference committee.
Other Senate budget highlights include:
Public Education
More at Four: $41M in recurring funding (House: $23M nonrecurring);
Dropout grants: $8M (House: $15M);
Disadvantaged Student Supplemental Fund: $5M increase (House: $7M);
Per student funding for those with disabilities and the academically gifted: Increases similar to the House;
Child nutrition standards: $2M (House: $4M).
Learn and Earn: Increased funding for high schools equal to House, but cut online program more;
End of grade writing tests (4th, 7th, 10th grades): Eliminated, like the House.
Legislative Study Commission on public education funding formulas continued;
House programs not funded in Senate budget: Positive Behavior Support, Graduation Project, Transfer Center for 21st Century Skills, NC Science, Math and Technical Education Center, NC Humanities Council Teacher Institute Program.
HHS
Health Choice: $1.7M, which will force the program to freeze enrollment in September. Amendment passed on first reading to re-open enrollment upon receiving increased federal funding; growth cap of 2.4%. (House: $10.4M and increased growth cap.)
NC Kids’ Care: Eliminated for this fiscal year (House: delayed start until April 1, 2009);
Child care subsidies: $9M from TANF, same as House;
Foster care and adoption rate increases: Same percentage increase as House (30%), but appropriation is $140K lower;
Mental Health/DD/SA: $93M cut from community support programs (House: cut $86M), offset by a $36M one-time reserve for phase-in of community support reductions;
Medicaid: Freezes provider rates at 75% (House: freezes at 50.5%);
Health Net Grants: $2.8M (House: $3.8M);
Smart Start: $1M (House: $500K);
Child Welfare Collaborative: $900K, same as House (to fund more child welfare education in 4 universities);
Adolescent pregnancy prevention programs: $325K (House: $75K), plus a new $400K line-item. In addition, the Senate did not put the program on continuation review, like the House did. Over $1M has been cut in the last few years from these programs, even though teen pregnancy is the leading cause for girls dropping out of high school.
Juvenile Justice
JCPC funding restored: $22.7M, same as House;
JCPC expansion funding: $200K (House: $1M);
Additional positions in DJJDP: $726K, same as House (detention staff, nurse, psychologists);
Street Gang Prevention Act funding: $10M, same as House;
Support Our Students program: $200K cut, same as House.
JCPC-related studies included in House and Senate budgets:
Sentencing Commission: JCPC program effectiveness;
JCPC Funding Formula study: To propose a more current formula.
Housing
Home Protection Pilot Program: $3M, to expand statewide (House: $2M);
Housing Trust Fund: $2M, same as House;
Housing 400 Initiative for disabled persons: $7M, same as House.
Key Bills
Juvenile Justice:
HB 2492: Amend Release of Juvenile Escape Info was returned to the House Judiciary III committee and amended to include only adjudicated youth, not those simply alleged of committing a crime, lessening the negative impact of the bill somewhat. The bill then passed the full House.
SB 1358: Street Gang Prevention Act has passed the Senate and House.
Child Maltreatment:
HB 2339/SB 1860: Amend Child Abuse will be heard in House Judiciary I Committee on Tuesday.
HB 2338/SB 1733: Hospital Report Child Injuries will be heard next in House Judiciary II Committee.
Safety:
HB 2340: Transporting Children in the Open Bed of a Vehicle will be heard in House Judiciary I Committee on Tuesday.
HB 2487/SB 1891: Change Format of Drivers’ Licenses. Different versions of the bill have passed both houses. The House version will likely be taken up in the Senate.
HB 2341/SB 1736: Child Passenger Safety Technician Liability. Different versions of the bill have passed both houses. The House version will be taken up in Senate Judiciary I Committee.
SB 132: Protect Children from Sexual Predators Act expands scope of pornography laws, increases penalties for sexual exploitation of a minor, makes it illegal for registered sex offenders to access social networking sites online and forbids them to get name changes. The bill passed the Senate and House.
HB 2471/SB 1924: Require Carbon Monoxide Detectors. Passed House Insurance Committee and will go to House Judiciary II next.
Health:
HB 2254/SB 1669: Community Colleges/Tobacco Free. Passed Senate and first reading in the House and went to House Committee on Health.
HB 2253/SB 1686: Smoke-Free State and Local Bldg Grounds. Passed Senate.
Action Alerts
Health Choice
Please contact key Representatives and Senators who will be deciding which Health Choice proposal to go with over the next few days.
In the House: England, Insko, Alexander, Michaux and Earle
In the Senate: Basnight, Rand, Nesbitt and Dalton.
Message in the House: Stick to your original proposal. The Senate proposal does not make sense and is based on the falsehood that NC does not have enough federal funds to run the program this year.
Message in the Senate: Go with the House proposal. Mention the points outlined above:
A freeze is very harmful and has widespread negative repercussions, and
There is sufficient federal money now to fund the program almost to the end of next fiscal year, and everyone is expecting Congress to reauthorize and increase funding for this program before then (at least by March 2009). Many federal programs go through reauthorization processes: states don’t stop participating while that process is going on.
Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Percentage Increase(Alert from our friends at the NC Justice Center)
The House’s tax package includes an increase in the EITC percentage from 3.5 percent to five percent of the federal EITC. The Senate does not support this proposal, instead proposing a tax break for the wealthy: the elimination of the gift tax, which already applies only to gifts above $12,000 given to an individual person (spouses and nonprofits exempt).
Please contact your Representative and Senator to let them know you support tax credits for low-income working families, not tax breaks for the wealthy.
Juvenile Crime Prevention Councils Funding
The Senate and House have agreed to restore JCPC funding ($22.6M) but differ on the amount of expansion funding.
Please contact Senate and House leadership, as well as JPS Committee conferees in the House and Senate, to encourage them to fund the full $1M House-proposed expansion. These programs have not had an increase in almost a decade; as the state’s population grows, they are serving more children with the same amount of resources.
FEDERAL
Medicaid Regulations: House Reaches Agreement with the White House
House negotiators have reached an agreement with the White House on an emergency supplemental package that, if enacted, would provide a temporary 13-week extension of unemployment benefits for those who have exhausted their benefits and an extension of the moratoria on six of the seven Medicaid regulations (the one exception is the outpatient moratorium). The House approved the package, which now goes back to the Senate for action, likely next week.
Senators Introduce JJDPA Reauthorization Bill
Sens. Specter, Leahy and Kohl introduced legislation to reauthorize the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, increasing funding for prevention, intervention and treatment programs to reduce the incidence of juvenile crime. The bill urges states to make key juvenile justice system improvements and establishes some guidelines, procedures and restrictions. It funds mental health and drug treatment programs for juvenile offenders and encourages states to address minority overrepresentation in the system. Improvement grants help states bring their systems into compliance with the Act.
Thank you,
Action for Children North Carolina
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