The Raleigh Report by Representative Phil Shepard – March 18, 2013

The House Elections Committee held an additional meeting on Wednesday, where the committee heard from individuals with specific knowledge of voter identification issues.

A convincing majority of North Carolinians support photo voter ID legislation. House Republicans are following a deliberative, transparent approach that gives citizens the opportunity to voice their opinion and brings all stakeholders to the table. Our end goal is to pass legislation that stands up in a court of law, addresses legitimate concerns about voting access, and moves North Carolina to a photo identification voting system.

This week, the North Carolina House of Representatives continued our efforts to protect our most vulnerable citizens: our children. House Bill 75, otherwise known as “Kilah’s Law,” passed the House unanimously on Tuesday. This bill, introduced by Representatives Craig Horn, Sarah Stevens, Dean Arp, and Rick Glazier, is a common sense piece of legislation that increases penalties for child abuse and requires that any criminal record of the abuser indicate that that the conviction involved child abuse or domestic violence.

Named after a three-year-old who suffered severe injuries after she was beaten by her stepfather, Kilah’s Law also strengthens the sentences for those convicted of child abuse. Under current law, the maximum is 15 years. This law would raise the maximum penalty to 33 years.

This measure comes on the heels of the unanimous passage of Caylee’s Law (HB 149) last week. That measure increases the penalties for concealing the death of a child, and protects people from criminal or civil liability if they mistakenly report a child as missing.

On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed House Bill 45, which calls on the State Board of Education to establish standards for digital classroom learning. The bill, introduced by Representatives Craig Horn, Linda Johnson, Jason Saine, and Joe Tolson, also directs the SBOE to inventory public school internet access needs, including wireless capabilities. The resulting report will inform legislators on the best way to move forward in ensuring that every school has internet access and many have wireless signals.

This bill is another example of the priority House Republicans have made education in the 2013 session. Earlier this week, the Senate passed House Bill 23, which empowers the Board of Education and North Carolina community colleges to provide more teacher and administrator training in science, arts, technology and other areas of study.

Other education bills introduced in the House this week include HB 291, which would provide start-up loans to Charter Schools, and HB 273, requiring careful accounting of all funds going to charter schools.

This past week I met with the Sturgeon City Proposal and discussed their concerns regarding the possible state funding for the Sturgeon City Civic and Environmental Education Center. I enjoyed having the opportunity to talk to them about this issue and discuss ways in which we can help them improve education in our area.

As always, please feel free to contact my office with any questions, comments, or concerns that you might have. I enjoy hearing your input as I continue to make decisions to help all of the people of North Carolina. If you wish to stop receiving this newsletter email us back and let us know so that we can take you off of our mailing list.

God Bless,

Rep. Phil Shepard