Bill would scrap NC vehicle safety inspections

(WRAL) Lawmakers are making another run at eliminating the annual vehicle safety inspection requirement. North Carolina is one of 18 states, along with the District of Columbia, to mandate the inspections, but House Bill 59 would scrap the requirement. Some lawmakers say the move would cut back on bureaucracy and save drivers a little money. About 8 million cars and trucks are inspected each year, and the safety portion accounts for $13.60 of the $30 cost for an annual vehicle inspection, which also includes a check of the emissions system.

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Rules Commission OKs Religious Activities at NC Pre-K Schools

(Carolina Journal) A regulatory oversight panel Thursday rejected an effort by the N.C. Child Care Commission to ban religious instruction at schools held at religious facilities that participate in the NC Pre-K program. The Rules Review Commission, which oversees the regulation process for state agencies, voted 9-1 to reject the Child Care Commission’s proposal, which would have prohibited religious activity during the Pre-K class day. Rules commission members cited a state law forbidding the Child Care Commission from interfering with religious activities at such centers, and said that the Child Care Commission should take it up with the General Assembly if they wanted a change.

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Teen tanning ban stalls over dueling data

(WRAL) A proposal to keep North Carolina teens out of tanning beds was delayed Tuesday in the House Health Committee.

Rep. Mark Hollo, R-Alexander, is sponsor of House Bill 18, the “Youth Skin Cancer Prevention Act.” It would raise the state’s minimum age for using an indoor tanning bed from 14 to 18, unless the teen has a note from a medical professional.

“It’s a public health bill. It’s a public safety bill,” Hollo told the committee, citing a rise in the incidence of skin cancer since 2000. “Exposure is cumulative over your lifetime. The earlier the exposure, the greater your risk of skin cancer.”

The bill has the backing of the American Cancer Society, the North Carolina Medical Society, the North Carolina Pediatrics Society, the North Carolina Oncology Society, the North Carolina Dermatologists and the Child Fatality Task Force, which recommended the legislation.

Duke University Melanoma Center Director Dr. Kelly Nelson delivered a presentation with some graphic photographs of skin cancer – especially melanoma – among young patients who used tanning beds as teenagers.

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Businesses wary of wage hike

(Asheville Citizen Times) As a businessman, Marvin Thomas is concerned about President Obama’s pitch to raise the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour.

He’s one of the owners of Swannanoa Cleaners, a company with seven locations and 35 employees in Buncombe County.

“My initial reaction is we will have to figure out how to do more work with less people,” he said. “Unfortunately, a lot of these positions that will be affected are entry-level positions.”

Obama suggested increasing the federal minimum wage during his State of the Union address Tuesday and pushed it again Wednesday during a tour of the Linamar plant in Arden.

Obama told the crowd at the plant it is time to increase the minimum wage “because if you work full-time, you shouldn’t be in poverty.”

More than 15 million workers earn the national minimum wage, making about $15,080 a year. That’s just below the federal poverty threshold of $15,130 for a family of two

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Hagan plans bill that would encourage failing schools to improve

(Raleigh News & Observer) Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., on Wednesday said that she’ll introduce a bill in Congress next week that would reward high-poverty schools that improve their test scores and lower dropout rates. The bill, called the School Turnaround and Rewards, or STAR, Act, also would provide grants to the poorest-performing 5 percent of schools on the condition that they make major changes to improve. The STAR Act would provide $300 million annually for a school rewards program administered by states, and $600 million annually for the grants to turn around long failing schools. The funding levels would remain in effect for five years. “It’s needed because we have so many failing schools in our country,” Hagan said. They include high schools where the graduation rate is less than 60 percent, and elementary and middle schools where fewer than 40 percent of students are proficient in math and reading.

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Southern Baptists urge continued ban on gay Scouts

(Associated Press) The nation’s largest Protestant group is calling on members of the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America to uphold a ban on gay Scouts and leaders when it votes in May. The executive committee of the 16-million member Southern Baptist Convention passed the resolution Tuesday, stating that a proposal to alter the ban would “place the Boy Scouts organization at odds with a consistent biblical worldview on matters of human sexuality, making it an organization that would no longer complement, but rather contradict, our belief in God and His moral precepts that serve as the basis for our Christian faith.” The Scouts announced last month that they would consider a proposal to let the sponsor of each individual troop decide its own policy on gays.

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UNCA campus police required to wear body cameras

(The Blue Banner) The UNC Asheville campus police department enacted a new policy at the beginning of this month requiring all officers to record investigations and suspicious situations with body worn cameras, resulting in mixed reactions from faculty and students. The new policy of body worn video cameras, effective Feb. 4, requires officers to record suspicious situations, investigations of incidents, traffic stops and any interactions that supply evidential value to an investigation, according to the official policy and procedure of body worn video cameras. These small, portable cameras, attached either on the clothing of the officer or on a fixture worn on the head, provide an effective perspective on suspicious situations, Boyce said.

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TN bill to eliminate affirmative action in higher ed is delayed

(The Tennessean) A proposal to eliminate affirmative action initiatives from higher education institutions in Tennessee has been delayed another week. A vote was expected on the measure in the Senate Education Committee on Wednesday after being deferred for a week to work out language. The legislation would prohibit colleges and universities from granting preference “based on race, gender or ethnicity.” The main hangup appears to be what is meant by the term “preference.” Higher education officials, in particular, are concerned the current bill could run afoul of federal law and cost the state funding.

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Ex-senator Domenici reveals son after 30 years

(USA Today) Here’s a talker: Former senator Pete Domenici is acknowledging he fathered a son outside of his marriage 30 years ago — with the daughter of another senator, Paul Laxalt.

Domenici, a New Mexico Republican who was once the top budget expert in Congress, revealed his secret to the Albuquerque Journal. The Associated Press picked up the story Wednesday.

Domenici, who is now 80 years old, and Michelle Laxalt released statements to the Albuquerque paper saying Domenici is the father of her son, Las Vegas lawyer Adam Laxalt. “One night’s mistake led to a pregnancy 30 years ago,” she said.

The former senator and Michelle Laxalt indicated they were disclosing Adam Laxalt’s fatherhood “because they thought somebody might soon attempt to make it public, with her statement saying she thought someone would shop it to the media to smear Domenici,” according to the AP.

Michelle Laxalt also said they agreed to keep the fatherhood a secret because Domenici and her father, a Nevada Republican, were serving in the U.S. Senate at the same time.

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Guns-in-trunks heads to House floor

(Tennessean) A legislative panel ushered a “guns-in-trunks” bill to the floor of the state House of Representatives following testimony that the measure would not bar employers from setting policies on firearms.

The House Civil Justice Committee approved House Bill 118 on a voice vote after less than 14 minutes of discussion, most of which centered on employers’ right to fire workers who bring guns to work in their cars.

Lawmakers have offered different answers as the bill has moved through the legislature, but a staff attorney told committee members that, just as employers can bar drinking-age workers from consuming alcohol on the job, they will be able to fire workers who flout no-gun policies.

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Audit says Industrial Commission must ensure businesses carry workers’ comp

(Raleigh News Observer) The state Industrial Commission has failed in its responsibility to make sure businesses protect workers by carrying insurance to cover their injuries, according to a state audit released Tuesday.

Commission leaders vowed to do better, and said they were already acting on some of the audit’s recommendations.

The performance audit follows News & Observer reports last year that as many as 30,000 employers are breaking the law by failing to carry workers’ compensation insurance. The commission, which decides disputed workers’ compensation claims, did little to detect businesses openly skirting their responsibility to carry insurance.

Each year, many of the more than 300 injured workers whose bosses didn’t have insurance are pushed to the brink, often forced to rely on social services and relatives’ charity after they get hurt on the job.

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Nation’s parks face deep cuts

(Asheville Citizen Times) People traveling to National Park Service sites this spring would find fewer rangers on the job and reduced hours at visitors centers if the federal government enacts sweeping budget cuts.

Camping and hiking areas might also be closed when the park service cuts $130 million from its $2.6 billon budget under sequestration measures set to start at the end of March.

Internal estimates, and a memo from park service Director Jonathan Jarvis, were leaked to the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees.

The group published the documents on its website, and advocates have since pointed to them as evidence of damage from $85 billion in automatic federal cuts to reduce the national deficit, known as the sequester.

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Refunds for Mecklenburg reval may take 2-3 years

(Raleigh News Observer) State Sen. Jeff Tarte said Tuesday that refunds to taxpayers overbilled because of the flawed 2011 revaluation might have to wait two to three years.

The refunds would have to be delayed until Mecklenburg County “cleans up” a property database that hasn’t been updated in 17 years, Tarte said.

That would mean taxpayers overbilled by the 2011 revaluation could be owed four to five years of refunds.

“There’d be some large refunds,” Tarte said. “Something would have to be worked out so the county doesn’t take such a big hit all at once.”

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House gives tentative OK to tax bill that does not extend credit for working poor

(WRAL) The state House gave key approval Tuesday to legislation that would eliminate a state tax credit for low-income workers at the end of this year.

The demise of the earned-income tax credit was included in House Bill 82, which updates sections of the federal tax code for North Carolina taxpayers.

The bill passed 75-41 on second reading. A final House vote is expected Wednesday.

Democrats pointed to the bill as the latest example of what they call a “war on the poor” by the General Assembly, following recent bills to slash unemployment benefits and block Medicaid expansion.

“People say you do policy either with a carrot or a stick, and we have pretty much pulled the stick out pretty well during this session,” House Minority Leader Larry Hall said.

Rep. Deborah Ross, D-Wake, criticized the House for ending the EITC only one day before a committee considers legislation that would abolish an inheritance tax, which would benefit wealthier individuals and families.

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NC senators weigh public access to gun permit info

(Star News Online) North Carolina lawmakers began debating Thursday whether there’s a legitimate interest in the public having access to names, addresses and other identifying information of people purchasing pistols or who’ve obtained concealed weapons permits.

A bill filed by more than a dozen Senate Republicans would make identifying information about people who have obtained the permits confidential unless the records are opened through a court order. The records are currently public records, meaning anyone can access them.

“Are we going to protect the private information of people who are law-abiding citizens who have chosen to buy a handgun?” asked Sen. Warren Daniel, R-Burke, a co-sponsor of the bill. The measure wasn’t voted upon after state newspapers and Democrats raised objections, saying the bill was a solution searching for a problem that doesn’t exist.

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