Despite being the minority in both the state House and Senate, North Carolina Democrats have started the short session strong by filing a plethora of bills that put North Carolina families first. Last year, Democrats held a press event that acted as a “funeral” for the 700 bills they filed across chambers that were killed in committee, meaning they were never read out or voted on in any committee.
The lack of support from their Republican colleagues did not stop these lawmakers from continuing the fight for legislation that would support schools, improve government transparency, and assist in economic relief for the people they serve. Below are a few noteworthy bills that Democrats filed despite the odds.
Families First
Families are experiencing turbulent times, and Democrats are coming to the table with possible solutions and remedies. In the House, we see HB 1066: Child Care Stabilization and Affordability Act, filed by a number of Democrats in the House. The bill would bring much-needed funds to childcare services in an attempt to stabilize the field. It would also reenact the child care tax credit and expand the early childhood education workforce.
Additionally, Democrats in the Senate filed bills to combat changes to SNAP made at the federal level, which could leave families in North Carolina without access to food, as well as sources of food insecurity. SB 904: Save SNAP Act. aim to allocate appropriate funds to the Department of Health and Human Services to cover the loss of federal funds for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). SB 944: Keep Families Fed Act, however, aims to tackle food insecurity by providing the Office of State Budget and Management with six million dollars to distribute to non-profits that provide food for families in need.
Economic Relief
With North Carolinians feeling squeezed by rising prices for gas and groceries, Democrats filed several bills to help provide some economic relief to families. Representative Lindsey Prather filed HB 1059: Fair Minimum Wage Act. North Carolina’s current minimum wage matches the federal minimum wage at just $7.25 an hour. Prather’s bill would raise the minimum wage and adjust for inflation, in an attempt to keep up with the rising cost of living. Meanwhile, in the Senate, SB 835: Surveillance Pricing Ban, put forward by Senator Lisa Grafstein, would outlaw businesses selling essential goods from participating in surveillance pricing; the practice of varying the prices of consumer goods or services on the same business day based on demand.
In response to soaring utility bills and Duke Energy seeking to raise rates even more, Democratic Senators filed bills to rein in rising energy prices. Senator Woodson Bradley filed SB 844: Affordable Energy Omnibus, which would require utility companies to provide a thoroughly detailed breakdown of every bill sent to customers, prevent ratepayers from paying more due to large load facilities like data centers, and require such facilities to undergo an adequate environmental document study of the environmental impacts of a proposed large-load facility before being built. Senators DeAndrea Michael, Salvador Micael Garrett, and Lisa Grafstein introduced SB 1045: Utility Profit Oversight Act. The Senators’ bill would require the General Assembly to approve any retail electric rate changes that would increase an electric public utility’s authorized rate of return on equity. Currently, that power lies in the utilities commission.
Education
With North Carolina being over a year late in passing a budget, teachers have been without much-needed pay raises. Additionally, the state Supreme Court recently struck down the long-standing education lawsuit known as “Leandro,” which aimed to fully appropriately fund North Carolina public schools.
With these factors, Democrats put forward bills to support public schools and the teachers who serve them. Senators Sophia Chitlik and Michael Garrett filed SB 946: Keep Our Schools Standing Act to address infrastructure needs. The bill would allow voters to decide whether lawmakers would contribute fifty billion dollars for the repair and renovation of public school facilities. SB 850: Pay Teachers What They’re Worth Act, filed by Senator Woodson Bradley, would tackle teacher pay, raising teacher salaries and reinstating education-based salary supplements for educators.
Government
Democrat lawmakers also put forward bills that would affect them as legislators, hoping to increase integrity and transparency in the work they do. Senator Woodson Bradley put forward SB 804: Fair Maps Act. This comes after North Carolina passed a gerrymandered congressional House District map at the request of President Donald Trump. In the state House, several Democrats filed HB 1153: Budgeting Accountability and Transparency, which aims to “introduce greater accountability and transparency into the budget process” and allow more public involvement.
Additionally, with Republican leaders in both chambers failing to pass a budget so long after the deadline, Senators Lisa Grafstein, Woodson Bradley, and Terence Everitt filed SB 806: No Budget, No Pay Act. This bill, as the title suggests, would prevent lawmakers from receiving paychecks when a budget has not been passed for the current fiscal year.
These bills filed by Democrats could be life-changing if Republicans put aside party politics and pass them. However, they are unlikely to be heard in the Republican led General Assembly, despite the overwhelmingly positive impact they would have on the people of the state. These Republicans have prioritised passing legislation that gives them more power, like the gerrymandered map they drew and passed at the behest of President Trump, rather than passing bills to empower the people they serve.
The short session just began under a month ago, and Democrats have shown where their priorities lie. Many of the bills filed, such as raises for teachers and raises to the minimum wage, have been filed by Democrats in prior years only to be left untouched in committees. Regardless, Democrats are putting these issues forward with hopes of change. Whether it’s lowering utility prices or preventing unfair price changes on consumer goods, building up schools, or paying teachers and all North Carolina workers a better wage, Democrats in both the House and Senate are putting their constituents first.
