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LEGISLATIVE EFFORTS
Here's a complete list of bills that Rep. Lofton introduced during his second term in the state legislature.
**Bills sponsored by Rep. Lofton noted in italics**
HB 5 – Close the Medicaid Coverage Gap: Close the Medicaid coverage gap for families and individuals in North Carolina providing insurance for 500,000 North Carolinians.
HB 29 – Standing Up for Rape Victims Act of 2019: Require testing of all sexual assault examination kits.
HB 47 – School Calendar Flex/Charlotte-Mecklenburg: Provide flexibility for Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools in 3 adopting the school calendar.
HB 69 – Nonpartisan Redistricting Commission: Establish a nonpartisan redistricting process.
HB 102 – Enhance Permanency Innovation Initiative: Enhance the permanency innovation initiative and appropriate funds for that purpose.
HB 140 – The FAIR Act: Enact the fairness and integrity in redistricting (fair) act and to amend the constitution to establish nonpartisan redistricting criteria.
HB 145 – 15 Point Scale For School Performance Grades: Maintain a fifteen-point scale in the determination of school performance grade which has been used to evaluate our schools since the 2013-14 school year. Without this legislation, that scale will convert to a 10-point scale this upcoming school year. While the General Assembly has postponed such a conversion on a number of occasions, House Bill 145 would remove the uncertainty and keep our current 15-point scale.
HB 167 – Extend Deadline/Certain ID Approval/Voting: Extend the deadline by which the state board of elections is required to approve the use of certain forms of identification for voting.
HB 223 – Loan Origination/Late Payment Charge Changes: Modernize the loan origination fee for North Carolina banks and to adjust the late payment charge for certain loans.
HB 236 – Add World Languages/Teaching Fellows Program: Provide that teacher candidates pursuing licensure in the area of world languages are eligible for the North Carolina teaching fellows program.
HB 248 – Restore Longevity for Teachers: Restore longevity pay for teachers.
HB 251 – State Bd. Of Ed./Education Changes.-AB: Restore the state sales tax refund for schools; extend the state board of education rule making dates; provide for a rule making exemption for teacher licensure; expand the use of funds in the textbook and digital resources allotment to include electronic devices; and modify certain provisions related to class size, as recommended by the state board of education.
HB 269 – Enact the North Carolina Caregivers Act: Enacting the North Carolina caregivers act.
HB 271 – NC Adopt Equal Rights Amendment: Ratify the equal rights amendment to the constitution of the United States of America relating to equal rights for men and women.
More below...
COMMITTEES
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Agriculture
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Commerce
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Finance
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Judiciary
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Judiciary Subcommittee on Civil Matters
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State and Local Government
HB 273 – Add Members to NC Training Standards Commissions: Provide that the North Carolina police benevolent association can appoint one full-time sworn law-enforcement officer to serve on the North Carolina criminal justice education and training standards commission.
HB 296 – Respect for Families – LEOs/Firefighters/EMS: Allow county clerks of court to waive any costs or fees arising out of guardianship or incompetency proceedings made on behalf of law enforcement officers when the need for these proceedings arises out of injuries sustained in the line of duty.
HB 330 – Efficient Government Buildings & Savings Act: Save North Carolina taxpayer dollars by requiring reductions in energy and water consumption in public buildings by 2025.
HB 393 – Modernizing Sexual Assault Laws: Clarify the definition of the term "caretaker" used in the juvenile code to include an adult in a dating or romantic relationship with the parent, guardian, or custodian of the juvenile; to amend G.S. 14-401.11 to also prohibit the knowing distribution of a beverage that contains any substance that could be injurious to a person's health; to amend the definition for the term "mentally incapacitated" used in article 7B of 9 Chapter 14 of the general statutes; and to modernize the language used in certain sex offenses.
HB 431 – FIBER NC Act: Foster infrastructure for broadband expansion and resources in North Carolina by authorizing counties and cities to build and lease facilities and equipment of broadband services to increase adequate broadband services to attract investment in local economies, provide for educational and career opportunities, modernize farming technologies, and to provide for improved health care.
HB 457 – Restore Master’s Pay for Certain Teachers: Reinstate education-based salary supplements for certain teachers.
HB 510 – Reenact Nonpartisan Judicial Elections/Fund: Reenact nonpartisan judicial elections, make conforming 3 statutory changes relating to reenactment of nonpartisan judicial elections, and reestablish public financing for judicial campaigns.
HB 557 – Municipal Omnibus Bill: Make various changes to the laws affecting municipalities.
HB 564 – Create House Select Committee on Homelessness: A house resolution to create a North Carolina house of 2 representatives select committee on homelessness.
HB 588 – 2019 Governor’s Budget: Make base budget appropriations for current operations of state departments, institutions, and agencies, and for other 4 purposes.
HB 666 – DOT/Restore funds to SMAP: Restore funds to the state maintenance assistance program (SMAP) to support the operating expenses of urban transit systems operating fixed route services CATS lost more than $3,000,000 in funding due to cuts to SMAP. The proposed bill would help restore this vital support for transportation infrastructure as our city continues to grow.
HB 684 – Creating Relationships for Youth w/IDD/Funds: Appropriate funds to best buddies North Carolina.
HB 716 – Advisory Council for PANS(PANDAS): To establish an advisory council on pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome (PANS) and pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorder associated with streptococcal infections (PANDAS).
HB 732 – Nonprofit Mergers/Incr.Charit.Solic.Exempts: Passed the House unanimously to help PTAs and other small nonprofits spend more of their time and resources in service to our community. It clarifies and amends the nonprofit corporation merger statutes relating to mergers with qualifying limited liability companies and with unincorporated nonprofit associations and to provide that the requirement that a nonprofit corporation notify the attorney general of a sale or disposition of all its assets does not apply to the disposal of its assets in accordance with a properly adopted plan of dissolution and (ii) to raise the minimum total contribution threshold for a person to be exempt from charitable solicitation licensing requirements on the basis of total contributions received and to provide methods of establishing the amount of contributions received.
HB 751 – Reenact Film Credit: Reenact the credit for qualifying expenses of a production company.
HB 897 – Annual Review Broadband Service Competitive: Providing that the utilities commission shall annually determine whether broadband service in the state is sufficiently competitive
HB 986 — Restore LEA Sales Tax Benefit: Restore the sales tax refund authorized for local school administrative units. Currently, school districts are able to receive refunds for local sales taxes, but not those paid to the state resulting in the loss of millions of dollars to Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools.
HB 1021 — Require Veto Vote W/I 5 days of Calendaring: A house resolution to amend the 2019 house permanent rules to require veto override votes be held by a time certain.
HB 1139 — Local Boards of Education Budget Flexibility: This legislation helps school districts respond to the COVID-19 pandemic by granting them increased flexibility to transfer state funds between different allotments.