2008 Legislative Agenda

his legislative agenda reflects the consensus of over 150 organizations and individuals representing more than one half million members who collaborate to influence public policies that will result in better lives for the children and youth of North Carolina. The Covenant invites all North Carolinians to join with us in working toward the following policy agenda.

Covenant Revenue Reform Plan*

• Business taxes – Broaden the corporate income tax base and ensure a meaningful effective tax rate by closing loopholes and adopting a ”combined reporting“ collection format. Apply the franchise tax to all types of businesses. Eliminate ineffective corporate income and franchise preferences.
   

• Sales taxes – Broaden the tax base by including services related to tangible personal property and capping sales-tax refunds to very large non-profit organizations. New revenues from these measures should be used to lower the sales tax rate to offset the effect on low- and moderate-income taxpayers.
   

• Income taxes – Continue to rely on a progressively structured income tax as the state’s primary source of revenue. Maintain the top personal income tax rate of 8%on individual taxable income above $120,000 and married taxable income above $200,000. Enact a refundable State Earned Income Tax Credit equal to at least 10%of the federal credit.
   

• Property and wealth-related taxes. Continue to protect North Carolina’s gift and estate taxes from federal changes, and if necessary adopt stand-alone state taxes to preserve this progressive revenue source. Increase the real estate transfer tax by $1 per $1,000 of home value.

* This plan was developed with the expertise of the staff of the North Carolina Budget and Tax Center. More detailed descriptions of the plan’s elements can be found in the Center’s 2005 report entitled “A 21st Century Revenue Plan, Funding State Government in a Fair and Sustainable Way”.

Child Welfare

       Annually in our state, over 111,000 children are investigated as abused or neglected by county departments of social services. In 2006, 34 children were killed by parents or caregivers. In addition, North Carolina has over 10,000 children in foster care. Almost 1,400 children were adopted last year. All of North Carolina’s children deserve safe, permanent, nurturing families.

• Support foster/adoptive parents and their children through an increase in the Foster Care Room and Board Rate and state match to fully secure Chafee Funds;
   

• Increase funding for the recruitment and retention of qualified child protective services workers through expansion of the Child Welfare Collaborative;
   

• Enact legislation to establish a statute to create the criminal offense of endangering a juvenile; and
   

• Provide $1.8 million in recurring funds to the NC Div of Public Health to expand the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative.

Early Childhood

     Achieving quality child care with high standards is essential to the economic well-being of families and the healthy development of young children.

• Adequately fund the key early childhood initiatives –  Smart Start, T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Project, and child care subsidies – that ensure young children’s readiness for  school, provide qualified early childhood teachers, and support low income working parents. Due to changing requirements and increasing need in the above noted programs, there are severe waiting lists for North Carolina’s working families. Additionally, inadequate reimbursement rates for services undermine the quality that will adequately prepare children for success in school. The T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Project has not had an increase since 2000. The rising cost of tuition and textbooks, coupled with changing standards, has dramatically increased the demand for scholarship assistance.
   

• Support the full cost of More at Four classroom spaces by increasing the reimbursement rate to reflect the true cost of quality preschool education as defined by the program standards. The current reimbursement rate requires local communities to cut funding to one eligible population to serve another, thereby increasing the wait list for child care subsidies and reducing other needed services. Additional slots should be added after reimbursement rates are addressed.
   

• Increase appropriations for the Early Intervention Program so that the program can respond efficiently and effectively to the increasing demands for the earliest possible diagnostic and treatment services for young children with developmental concerns.

Economic Security

     For families to thrive in North Carolina, they must be able to access sufficient income and government supports and services to achieve economic security. Public assistance and economic policies must enhance family well-being, respect human dignity, be fair and reward work. Government and economic policies must also enable parents to improve family economic security through education and training opportunities.

• Ensure that working and unemployed parents receive adequate education and training to obtain employment, that employment pay a living wage and benefits and that assistance be available to fill the gap left by low wages. Specifically, implement a State Earned Income
  Tax Credit and increase the state minimum wage.

• Preserve, protect and strengthen programs and services providing resources families need to achieve economic independence including Work First, Unemployment Insurance, employment and training programs, foreclosure and eviction prevention assistance and the Housing Trust Fund, for those unable to work, and for those losing their jobs.

Education

     The Covenant supports the ruling of the Supreme Court in the Leandro case and believes that the state must quickly implement comprehensive remedies that provide every child with a meaningful opportunity to receive a Sound Basic Education as required by the state constitution. Additional funding needed to comply with the Leandro decision should not come from existing children’s programs but from new revenues or other discretionary spending programs. Further, the State must end the racial achievement gap, ensure that students are not excluded from the education process, and implement policies that reduce high stakes testing of students.
 

• Leandro details students’ rights to high quality teachers, high quality administrators, and adequate resources. To move NC closer to those goals, funding should be increased for teacher pay, the low-wealth supplemental fund, and the disadvantaged student supplemental fund.
   

• Establish positive discipline programs, professional development policies and programs that encourage children to stay in school and receive needed mental health and specialized services. Provide appropriate education and support services for all students recommended for long-term or multiple short-term suspensions so that, to the maximum extent possible, there is no interruption of the student’s education.

Health

      All children and their families in North Carolina should have access to affordable, high-quality health care. We also strongly support other efforts that prevent disease and promote healthy behaviors among all our children.

• Guarantee every child in North Carolina access to health insurance that includes dental care. In North Carolina, only 11% of children still lack health insurance. Children are the least expensive group to insure. To insure the last few kids left out of the system, allow parents to buy children’s Medicaid and Health Choice health coverage at sliding scale premiums based on income.
   

• Prevent disease and promote healthy behaviors:
       A. Raise NC’s cigarette tax by $1 and devote the proceeds to a state earned income tax credit directed at lower-income working families. This would cause a significant reduction in tobacco use and mean: (a) a 17% decrease in youth smoking; (b) 108,500 fewer future youth smokers; (c) with fewer pregnant women smoking, over the next five years 14,050 newborns will have significantly reduced risks of low birth weight, serious illness and death, saving the state $20 million in health care costs.
        B. Create a 100% smoke-free environment for children on school grounds, in businesses and at home through both legislation and public information campaigns.

Juvenile Justice

The Covenant encourages policymakers to enact laws for the Department of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention, by concentrating more on Delinquency Prevention.

• Invest an additional $10 million in juvenile delinquency prevention by providing non-categorical funding to the Juvenile Crime Prevention Councils (JCPCs).
   

• Implement public policies that will prevent crime by juveniles and young adults, including raising the dropout age, addressing the increasing rate of short and long-term suspensions in public schools and enacting H1084 (Expunge Nonviolent Felonies/Young Offenders).

MH/DD/SA Services

     All children and their families in North Carolina should have access to timely, affordable, high-quality, comprehensive, appropriate, and evidence-based mental health, developmental disability and substance abuse services.
 

• Fully fund the Coalition 2001 budget request for mental health, developmental disability and substance abuse services and supports as it pertains to children and families. This budget request addresses major areas of need including crisis services, preventive care, early intervention, and community supports across a broad spectrum of services in a time of great change.
   

• The state of North Carolina should require that both private insurance and public programs offer mental health and substance abuse treatment benefits equal to benefits provided
  by physical illnesses.

Safety

     Enact laws and policies to protect our children from preventable injuries and death and provide adequate resources for the education, enforcement and prosecution of these laws and policies.

• Prevent motor vehicle related injuries and death by enhancing seatbelt use by passengers and banning mobile phone use while driving by graduated driver’s license holders.

• Protect student health by reducing exposure of children to hazardous contaminants in schools (School Children’s Health Act,H1502).

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