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End of Session Wrap Up By Connie Wilson “The General Assembly wrapped up the 2009 legislative session Tuesday, adjourning after more than six months dominated by the recession and the state's budget troubles. The Legislature agreed last week on this year's state budget after rising unemployment, bankruptcies and struggling businesses caused the worst year-to-year decline in tax collections since at least 1970. The eventual $19 billion spending plan included about $2 billion in cuts, more than $1 billion in federal stimulus money, and nearly $1 billion in higher taxes and fees. More than 700 state workers were slated to lose their jobs. Democrats who run the House and Senate said the taxes forestalled deeper cuts to education, social services and public health.” Emery P. Dalesio, AP, 8/11/09 The previous Associated Press quote sums up the Long Session. It was long and arduous; it was the Legislature’s most difficult session in decades. And it looks like the pain is not yet over: since the budget was passed, Governor Perdue has requested another 5% reduction in spending. Rumor has it that state revenues are down 10% for July’s estimates. Senate and House leadership have agreed to bring back their Finance committees in the fall to look at options for expanded tax sources to stabilize the State’s revenue issues. For the business community, the long session was all about defense. Over 30 bills were filed that could hurt job creation in North Carolina. Fortunately, very few of these bills passed in their original form due to a strong coalition of business associations, including ECNC, and support from jobs sensitive legislators. Below is a list of bills pertinent to ECNC members and the business community. To see the bill in its entirety, please click on the bill number. HB2 An Act to Prohibit Smoking in Certain Public Places and Certain Places of Employment.This bill has become law and will be effective January 2, 2010. Employers will be required to have workers smoke outside their buildings. Smoking will not be permitted in enclosed spaces. HB23 An Act Amending Chapter 95 of the General Statutes to Protect the Health and Safety of Children by Increasing the Penalties for Violations of Child Labor Laws. ECNC worked with the Department of Labor to amend this bill and remove vague language that would increase litigation and paperwork required for employers. The current bill increases penalties for underage employees who are injured on the job. HB175 An Act to Provide for Automatic Adjustment of the State's Minimum Wage Based on Increases in the Consumer Price Index. Bill was not heard and is not eligible for 2010 short session. HB177 An Act Providing for Healthy Families and Healthy Workplaces by Ensuring that All Workers Have Paid Sick Days to Address Their Own Health Needs and the Health Needs of Their Families. This bill would require employers with more than 10 employees to provide 7 days of paid sick leave a year. The votes were not in the House Commerce Committee to pass this bill. It was subject to the crossover deadline and is not eligible for consideration during the 2010 short session. ECNC worked with a large coalition of associations to oppose this bill. HB212 An Act to Authorize the Establishment of One Health Insurance Pilot Demonstration Project to Provide a Model for Affordable Employer-Based Health Insurance; to Recognize Credentialed Health Care Providers of the State Health Plan and Other Existing Managed Care Plans for Rapid Demonstration Project Provider Network Development; and to Assure Network Providers' Continued Participation in the State Health Plan and Other Managed Care Plans, While Participating in the Demonstration Project Network. This bill is an Asheville Chamber initiative and has become law. HB419 An Act to Appropriate Funds for Customized Training Programs in the North Carolina Community College System. The final state budget has $4.5 million for vocational and technical educational programs at the community colleges. Funds may be used for faculty, equipment, or supplies in the following curriculum areas: Transportation, Engineering, Industrial, Military, Construction, and Green Technology Sectors. HB726 An Act to Provide that a Person's Record May be Expunged for a First Misdemeanor Offense Committed When the Person Was Less Than Eighteen Years Old Even Though the Person is Eighteen Years Old or Older at the Time of Conviction; to Provide that a Person's Record May be Expunged for a First Misdemeanor Possession of Alcohol Offense Committed When the Person Was Less Than Twenty-One Years Old Even Though the Person is Twenty-One Years or Older at the Time of the Conviction; to Require State and National Criminal Record Checks When Expunging Records; and to Provide that Any Person or Entity Required to Obtain a Criminal Record Check Would not be Deemed to Have Knowledge of Offenses Expunged Under the Statute. This bill would have dramatically increased the number of convicted criminals who could have their records expunged. ECNC worked closely with the Sheriff's Association and other education and business associations to modify the bill. It is not anticipated that this bill will have further action. But rumors are that there will be a big push in the 2010 short session for a controversial expunctions bill. HB750 An Act to Restore Contract Rights to State and Local Entities. This bill would lift the ban on collective bargaining that is currently in state law for public employees. The bill is supported by SEIU, the Teamsters and the AFL-CIO along with other unions and public employee associations. The votes were not in either chamber to pass the bill this year. It is eligible for consideration next year since it has an appropriation requirement. HB805 An Act to Provide that an Employer's Contributions to an Employee's Retirement Accounts are Included in the Calculation of 'Average Weekly Wage' Under the Workers' Compensation Act. The bill was scheduled several times to be heard in House Commerce, but was not heard because the votes were not there to pass it. The bill is no longer eligible for consideration in the short session. HB831 A House Resolution Expressing Opposition to the Enactment of the 'Employee Free Choice Act' or Similar Legislation. This resolution was filed, sent to the House Rules Committee and never heard. Rumors in Washington are that healthcare reform will be the only major bill Congress considers this fall, which would push Card Check into 2010 for consideration. HB843 An Act to Require the Attending Physician of an Employee to Select the Health Care Provider and the Diagnostic Services Center to Administer and Analyze Any Diagnostic Tests Authorized by a Physician Under the Workers' Compensation Act. This bill was scheduled several times for consideration by House Commerce. The votes were not in the committee to pass it so a vote was never taken. Subject to the crossover deadline, the bill is no longer eligible for consideration in the short session. HB877 An Act to Provide that an Individual will not be Denied Unemployment Compensation Solely Because the Individual is Seeking Only Part-Time Work, to Remove Disqualifying Conditions Related to Separating from Work for Compelling Family Reasons Including Domestic Violence, Illness, or Disability, and to Repeal the Two-Week Disqualification for Unemployment Compensation Benefits as a Result of Leaving Work to Accompany a Spouse to a New Place of Residence for Work in a Different Location and to Make Those Benefits Nonchargeable to the Employer. The Employment Security Commission supported this bill because it would allow North Carolina to draw down approximately $134 million in unemployment funds. The bill is law. HB1022 An Act Relating to the Duration of the Compensation for Temporary Total Disability Under the Workers' Compensation Act. This bill was filed at the request of ECNC. It places a limit on the length of time long term disability benefits can be received. The bill passed House Commerce, but was not heard in Judiciary II before the crossover deadline. It is no longer eligible for consideration in the short session, but a study of the issue has been authorized in HB945, The Studies Act of 2009. HB1033 An Act to Provide Payroll Deductions for Certain Employee Associations. This bill is promoted by the Teamsters and other unions. It would require local governments to collect association dues from payroll. If passed, this bill would guarantee a revenue stream for the unions. The bill was not heard in committee and is not eligible for the short session. HB1055 An Act to Increase the Minimum Fee for Copying and Searching Medical Records. This bill did not pass before the crossover deadline, but it may be still eligible for the short session. HB1090 An Act Amending the Definition of Total and Partial Unemployment Relating to the Treatment of Severance Pay Under the Employment Security Laws of North Carolina. This bill requires that unemployment benefits be paid simultaneously with severance benefits. Prior to this bill becoming law, unemployment benefits were not paid until severance was exhausted. Hundreds of our ECNC members across the state shared their opposition to the bill in its original form. Their concerns were shared with the bill sponsor and the ESC which resulted in two changes to the bill. The increased payment of unemployment benefits in conjunction with severance would be non-charging to the individual employers UI account. The law will sunset in two years to give ESC the ability to gather the cost data for the policy change. HB1169 An Act Enacting the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of North Carolina to Provide that North Carolina Workers Receive Ninety Days Advance Notice of Mass Layoffs and Plant Closings. This bill was on the House Commerce Committee Calendar twice, but was never heard. The votes were not in the committee to pass the bill. Since it did not pass by the crossover deadline it is ineligible for consideration during the short session. HB1292 An Act to Amend the Law Regarding the Dismissal, Demotion, or Suspension of Noncertified School Employees. Although this bill only deals with non-certified public school employees, it was being pushed by the Teamsters Union to make inroads into the 'at will' employment status of those employees. After compromise language was passed in the House version, a controversial amendment was added in Senate Education. The bill was pulled from the calendar the last day the Senate met to debate bills, but it is rescheduled for May 19, 2010. SB9 An Act to Clarify that a Private Detective or Private Investigator Who Engages in an Activity that is Unlawful Under G.S. 14-202 Which Prohibits Secretly Peeping into a Room Occupied by Another Person is in Violation of that Law and is not Protected by the Claim that the Detective or Investigator Was Engaged in the Legal Discharge of His or Her Official Professional Duties. ECNC and private investigators from across the state opposed this bill. The bill did not pass before the crossover deadline and is ineligible for consideration for the short session. SB14 An Act Enhancing Worker Safety in North Carolina by Creating the Employment Safety and Security Commission and by Transferring to that Commission the Functions of the Occupational Safety and Health Division of the Department of Labor and Certain Other Statutory Powers and Duties of the Commissioner of Labor Relating to Employee Safety. This bill was not heard during session and it does not appear to have leadership support for the short session. SB32 An Act to Require that Employers in this State Use the Federal E-Verify Program or a Similar Verification of Work Authorization Program; and to Appropriate Funds to Establish and Support a Position to Assist in the Implementation and Execution of this Act. The bill sponsor was able to get this bill passed through Senate Commerce near the end of session with no amendment, even though he admitted the bill had many problems. An attempt to pass it through the Senate Appropriations Committee failed. The bill is still alive for the short session. ECNC is not specifically opposed to E-verify, but we support a change in the penalties and judicial process in the bill. SB178 An Act to Repeal the Prohibition on Contracts Between Governmental Entities and Labor Organizations for the Purpose of Collective Bargaining. This bill would allow public employees to enter into collective bargaining agreements with the State. It was not heard this session, nor were there votes in the Senate to pass it this year. It is no eligible for consideration in the 2010 short session because it does not contain an appropriation. SB262 An Act to Clarify that an Order to Expunge an Individual's Record Shall be Forwarded by the Clerk of Court to All Applicable State and Local Government Agencies, to Require a State Government Agency to Forward Notice of Expunction Orders Received by the Agency to Any Private Entity that Disseminates Criminal History Records for Compensation that is Licensed by the Agency to Access the Agency's Criminal History Record Database, and to Provide that a Private Entity that Disseminates Criminal History Records for Compensation Has a Duty to Update Those Histories Before Disseminating Them and is Subject to Civil Liability. SB427 An Act to Restore Contract Rights to State and Local Entities. Another public employee collective bargaining bill that was not heard in the Senate this year. It is eligible for consideration in the short session next year because it contains an appropriation. SB491 An Act to Provide for the Expunction of Convictions for Certain Nonviolent Criminal Offenses Upon Application and a Fee, to Allow Disclosure of Expunged Information to Law Enforcement Agencies and Other Specified Agencies for Employment and Licensing Purposes and to Require Those Agencies to Maintain the Confidentiality of the Expunged Information, and to Make Conforming Changes to Existing Expunction Statutes. This bill is still eligible for the short session. SB504 An Act Amending the Charter of the City of Durham to Grant the City Manager the Authority to Include the City's Anti-Sweatshop Requirements in the Specifications for City Contracts. SB534 An Act Providing for Healthy Families and Healthy Workplaces by Ensuring that All Workers Have Paid Sick Days to Address Their Own Health Needs and the Health Needs of Their Families. This bill to require seven days of paid sick leave was heard in Senate Commerce but no vote was taken. It is not eligible for consideration during the short session because it does not contain an appropriation or fee. SB639 An Act to Clarify the Deadline for Filing Claims with the Insurance Guaranty Association for Benefits Under a Workers' Compensation Insurance Coverage. This bill was not heard before the crossover deadline and is not eligible for consideration during the 2010 short session. SB701 An Act to Increase the Minimum Fee for Copying and Searching Medical Records. This bill was not considered during the long session, but may be still eligible for the short session. SB781 An Act to Honor the Patient's Choice of a Physician When the Patient is an Employee Entitled to Compensation Under the Workers' Compensation Act. This bill had 22 co-sponsors out of 50 senators. It did not pass before the crossover deadline and is not eligible for the short session. SB930 An Act to Create a Presumption that Certain Infectious Diseases, Respiratory Disease, Hypertension, Heart Disease, and Certain Cancers are Occupational Diseases for Firefighters Employed by Units of Local Government that are Covered by the Workers' Compensation Act. This bill was not passed before the crossover deadline and it is ineligible during the short session. SB975 An Act Relating to the Duration of the Compensation for Total Disability Under the Workers' Compensation Act. Sen. Apodaca filed this bill at the request of ECNC. It did not pass before the crossover deadline and is ineligible for the short session. This subject has been added to HB935 for study in the interim. SB1016 An Act to Provide for Automatic Adjustment of the State's Minimum Wage Based on Increases in the Consumer Price Index. This bill did not pass before the crossover deadline and is not eligible for the short session. SB1025 An Act to Increase and Extend the Sunset for the Credit for Small Business Employee Health Benefits, to Enact the 'Healthy NC” Program to Facilitate the Availability of Affordable Accident and Health Insurance Coverage to Small Employers and Self-Employed Individuals; and to Appropriate Funds for the Implementation of this Act. Although this bill did not pass before crossover, it is still eligible for consideration in the short session because it contains an appropriation. Archived Newsletters 
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