The General Assembly’s crossover deadline was Thursday, meaning any bills that did not come to a vote in their house of origin are effectively “dead” for this session. Understandably, there were many votes in both the House and Senate during the week.

Here is a look at how local representatives voted on a number of pieces of legislation.

Senate:

SB609: K-12 Scholarship Changes — This bill would expand access to North Carolina’s Opportunity Scholarships, which provide funds for students to attend private schools. It raises the income level to qualify for the scholarships and expands availability for students attending kindergarten and first grade. It also expands access to Opportunity Scholarships, Special Education Scholarships for Children with Disabilities and Personal Education Savings Accounts to 4-year olds. Sen. Don Davis (D-Greene) voted against the bill. Sen. Jim Perry (R-Lenoir) voted for it. It passed the Senate on a 27-18 vote. The lone Democratic supporter was one of the bill’s original sponsors, Sen. Ben Clark of Cumberland County. Read the text of the bill here.

SB584: Criminal Law Reform — This bill makes some changes to how offenses against local town or county ordinances are treated. It provides that, after Dec. 1, 2020, violation of local ordinances would not be considered a crime. Currently, those violations are Class 3 misdemeanors. Violators would still be subject to civil penalties. Perry and Davis both voted in favor of the bill. It passed on a 29-19 vote. Four Democrats voted in favor, and four Republicans voted against the bill. Read the text of the bill here.

SB562: Second Chance Act — This bill would allow people who were convicted of misdemeanors or low level felonies for crimes committed when they were under 18 to have those convictions expunged once any prison sentence, probation and post-release supervision are completed and any restitution is paid. It also streamlines the process for expunging the record of charges which were dismissed or for which the verdict was not guilty. It would also make the process of expunction automatic for dismissed charges and not guilty verdicts after July 1, 2020. The bill passed the Senate on a unanimous 44-0 vote, with Perry and Davis voting in favor. Read the text of the bill here.

SB522: Various Changes to Charter School Laws — This bill makes changes to the renewal standards for charter schools. It would require the state to renew a school’s charter if its performance is within five percent of the performance of the district in which it is located, instead of requiring charter schools to match the district’s performance. It would also lift the cap on enrollment in the state’s two pilot virtual charter schools. Davis voted against the bill, while Perry voted in favor. It passed on a 25-18 vote. Read the text of the bill here.

House:

HB410: Require Generators/Nursing & Adult Care Homes — Rep. John Bell (R-Wayne) was a cosponsor of this bill to establish a House Select Committee on Emergency Electrical Service for Nursing and Adult Care Homes. The Committee would study the feasibility of requiring all nursing and adult care homes to have generators for backup in case of natural disasters or other emergencies, and report back to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services by March 1, 2020. The bill passed the House on a unanimous 116-0 vote, with all local representatives voting in favor. Read the text of the bill here.

HB144: Hands Free NC Act — The House passed a trimmed down version of the distracted driving bill cosponsored by Rep. Chris Humphrey (R-Lenoir) and first discussed by Neuse News here. The final version of the bill removed much of the specific language, but makes it unlawful to operate a vehicle while using your hands to engage in a behavior that distracts you, including using a cell phone. The fine for an offense would be $100 and court costs. The bill passed on a 92-23 vote. Reps. Bell and Humphrey voted in favor. Rep. Pat McElcraft (R-Carteret) voted No. Read the text of the bill here.

HB138: Damage Jail and Prison Fire Sprinkler/Penalty — The House voted on this bill to increase the penalty for damaging sprinklers or any fire control or alarm system in any jail or prison to a Class H Felony. The law already established that damaging fire control or alarm systems or creating a false fire alarm anywhere, not just in prisons, is a Class 2 Misdemeanor. The bill passed on a 75-42 vote. All local representatives voted in favor of the bill. Read the text of the bill here.

Check back with Neuse News next week for more updates on the General Assembly.