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Gun Tragedy in Chapel Hill
Tailei Qi, an applied physical sciences major from China, made his first court appearance in Orange County Court, where he was charged with first-degree murder and ordered held without bond.
Qi, 34, was shackled in an orange jumpsuit and relied on a Chinese translator. He was also charged with possession of a gun on an educational property, which is expected to be upgraded from a misdemeanor to a felony.
His public defender made no public statement after the hearing. A probable cause hearing was scheduled for Sept. 18.
The murder charge carries a punishment of a life sentence without parole. Jeff Nieman, the district attorney for Chatham and Orange counties, said after Tuesday's hearing that he would not seek the death penalty.
So far police have not said why Qi is believed to have targeted Zijie Yan, an associate professor in the applied sciences department since 2019.
Aidan Carter Scott, 22, a computer science major, said Yan had been one of the suspect's advisers.
A vigil in honor of Dr. Yan was held on Wednesday.
Read More at https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/unc-chapel-hill-graduate-student-charged-murder-fatal-shooting-faculty-rcna102303
Wake County Schools Consider Cash Incentives for Bus Shortages
The Wake County School Board hopes more money up front will help bring in new bus drivers. Board members are discussing incentives to try to ease the bus driver shortage that’s affecting thousands of students.
New drivers would be looking at the same amount of money, but this would change when it would be paid.
A shortage of bus drivers means some children get to school well after the bell rings. Others don’t leave school until an hour and a half after classes end. School district leaders hope a change to the incentive program for new bus drivers and a new incentive for returning drivers will help them hire and keep more drivers.
Currently, there’s a $1,200 new driver incentive but drivers have to wait for it, receiving $400 after the first three months and another $800 after the first year of work. The new proposal would give out the entire $1,200 on the first available payroll when someone is employed as a permanent driver.
It would also offer a $1,000 incentive to returning drivers, paid in mid-September.
Christina Spears, President of Wake NCAE, says getting money up front is something many drivers have asked for, but she says increasing the hourly wage may be even more important.
“The thing I’ve heard from bus drivers, even more, is increasing the hourly wage, of course, to be competitive with drivers from private companies and GoRaleigh and things like that,” she said.
Some board members noted that the hourly wage is dependent on the state budget, which hasn’t been passed yet.
School board members seemed supportive of the driver incentive proposal during Tuesday’s work session. There will be a final vote on Sept. 5.
NC Speaker says House Budget will be delayed
A final North Carolina state budget won't be enacted until September, the House's top leader said Monday. That could scuttle efforts by Gov. Roy Cooper's administration for Medicaid expansion to begin in early fall.
House and Senate Republicans are whittling down dozens of outstanding spending and policy issues within a two-year spending plan that was supposed to take effect July 1.
The top leader in the North Carolina House warns that a final state budget won't be enacted until September
House and Senate Republicans are whittling down dozens of outstanding spending and policy issues within a spending plan that was supposed to take effect July 1
GOP legislators are still aiming for a budget agreement in August, but House Speaker Tim Moore said Monday that the actual passage won't happen until September given the outstanding issues and legislators' schedules
Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper could veto the budget bill, leading to override votes
The delays could scuttle efforts by Cooper's administration to begin Medicaid expansion Oct. 1
While some big-ticket items like tax cuts and worker raises have been settled, other details remain unresolved. Add travel and other activities by rank-and-file lawmakers and the narrow GOP veto-proof majorities in the General Assembly, and House Speaker Tim Moore said the periods during which formal business can be conducted in Raleigh are limited.
Sen. Ralph Hise, a Mitchell County Republican and one of the chief budget negotiators, told reporters that votes on a budget agreement could happen in two weeks if differences can be worked out in a reasonable time. Any final budget could be vetoed by the Democratic governor, with override votes to follow.
When asked later Monday to describe the chances that a final budget could be carried out by the end of August, Moore replied: “Zero.”
“Just with some absences I know that the Senate has on their side, and with just some of the logistics that have been talked about at this point ... you’re talking about a September date for actual passage — signing (the bill) into law and all that,” Moore said.
A separate law that Cooper signed in March would expand Medicaid to potentially 600,000 low-income adults, but it can't happen until a state budget law is enacted.
Cooper health Secretary Kody Kinsley unveiled a plan last month by which the expanded coverage would begin Oct. 1 as long as his agency received a formal go-ahead by legislators to accept expansion by Sept. 1. Otherwise, Kinsley said, implementation would be delayed until at least Dec. 1.
Legislative leaders have refused to permit the implementation of expansion without the budget's passage, as Cooper has sought. His administration has said the state misses out on more than $500 million in federal funding for each month that expansion isn’t implemented.
Read More at https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nc/charlotte/news/2023/08/08/north-carolina-state-budget-won-t-become-law-until-september--house-leader-says
The Fight Begins to Replace Tim Moore as Speaker
North Carolina's embattled House Speaker Tim Moore, the longest-serving speaker in state history, has made it clear that this term will be his last as head of the Republican-led chamber.
Moore's exit from the position has long been anticipated by political observers, igniting a race to replace him that has been playing out behind the scenes for months.
Why it matters: North Carolina's House speaker, though not elected by the general public, is one of the most powerful politicians in the state.
The speaker has the authority to determine what bills ultimately become laws, what state agencies and programs are funded — and given the ability to carry out their mission — and who is granted power over the influential state boards and commissions, like the UNC System Board of Governors and the state's utilities commission.
Details: On the shortlist to replace Moore are two of the most powerful people in the chamber:
House Majority Leader John Bell, who has served in the legislature for six terms and is the longest-serving House majority leader in state history.
House Rules Committee Chair Destin Hall, a 30-something who quickly ascended to become a Republican leader and Moore's right-hand man when he was appointed to the position nearly three years ago.
Though Bell has already made clear his plans to run for speaker, Hall confirmed for the first time to Axios Friday that he also plans to campaign for the position.
Read More at https://www.axios.com/local/raleigh/2023/07/21/nc-state-house-race-house-speaker-power-tim-moore-destin-hall-john-bell
Concerns mount about Overreaching of Legislature
Senate Bill 512 takes appointments held now by Gov. Roy Cooper and shifts them to the General Assembly. Nine boards would be affected, and the governor would still have at least some appointments to each board.
Here are the nine boards in the bill and a brief description of what would change:
N.C. Utilities Commission: Add two members for a total of nine, with four appointed by the General Assembly, four by the governor and one by the state treasurer. The governor currently appoints this full board, which regulates Duke Energy and other public utilities.
Economic Investment Committee: Add two members for a total of seven, with three members of the executive branch serving with two General Assembly appointees and two legislators. This committee decides economic incentive grants.
Environmental Management Commission: Currently the governor appoints nine members and the General Assembly six. The bill would give the governor seven appointments, the General Assembly six and the state’s commissioner of agriculture two. This commission sets pollution regulations.
Commission for Public Health: Right now the governor appoints nine members and the N.C. Medical Society, a doctors group, elects four. The bill would leave the governor five appointees, give four to the General Assembly and let the Medical Society elect four.
Board of Transportation: Now the governor appoints 14 members and the General Assembly appoints six.
The bill flips that, giving the legislature 14 appointments and the governor six. The Secretary of Transportation, appointed by the governor, would continue to serve as a non-voting board member.
Coastal Resources Commission: Right now the governor appoints nine members and the legislature four. The bill would give the General Assembly six appointments, the governor six and the state’s insurance commissioner one.
AG Stein says that this is a powergrab that violates Separation of Powers...
Fowell Concerned that Rising Health Care Costs May Affect State Workers
Since becoming North Carolina’s treasurer in 2017, Dale Folwell has energetically asserted that rising health care costs could significantly impact the State Health Plan.
It’s gotten to the point that lawmakers are considering a request from Folwell to force hospitals to cut what they charge the plan — or face shutdowns.
The plan, which Folwell’s office oversees, serves roughly 740,000 state employees, teachers, retirees and their dependents.
Adequate funding for it matters because it helps keep premiums low, co-pays at bay and benefits robust, he told The News & Observer.
If health care costs keep rising without adequate funding, Folwell said his office won’t be able to “hold the dam in terms of freezing family premiums and deductibles or copays,” which he said has been a priority for him.
Nationally, health care costs have increased faster than those in almost any other economic sector, according to the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker, which monitors the U.S. health system. From 2000 to 2021, health spending tripled, to $4.3 trillion, according to the tracker.
About half of that growth in spending can be attributed to hospital costs.
Is there a funding shortfall?
The revenue for the State Health Plan mostly comes from premiums paid by employees and contributions paid by employers, including state agencies, school systems, universities and community colleges.
The state, via the budget, funds the employer contributions for active state employees and qualifying retirees.
The State Health Plan had a cash balance at the end of May of $796.6 million. This was well above the target stabilization reserve, set at $359.9 million. This reserve is meant to tackle any unexpected costs and hiccups.
If the plan’s revenue increases by more than 18% from this year to 2027, and health care expenses grow by over 28%, there would be a nearly $1 billion deficit.
Read More at https://www.aol.com/news/rising-health-care-costs-might-090000079.html
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