Tag Archive for: #repterrygarrison

Schools Still Looking For Teachers To Fill Vacancies

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As students return to classrooms for a new school year, many are finding understaffed schools. Schools across Vance, Granville and Warren counties also are experiencing vacancies.

There simply are not enough teachers to fill openings, and Rep. Terry Garrison cited recently released statistics that underscore the challenge that schools face.

Garrison said in an email dated Aug. 31 that Vance County Schools have 26 vacancies, Warren County Schools have five vacancies and Granville County Public Schools has 56 vacancies.

Zooming out to school districts across the state, Garrison’s office cited a recent survey from the North Carolina School Superintendents Association which counted at least 11,297 teacher and staff vacancies in North Carolina, including:

  • 3,619 K-12 teachers
  • 1,342 bus drivers
  • 850 special education teachers
  • 354 counselors, social workers and psychologists
  • 70 assistant principals
  • 698 central office employees
  • And more than 4,362 other support staff

Those numbers are low estimates, since only 98 of 115 school districts responded, according to Garrison’s press statement.

“The General Assembly needs to act quickly to ensure that students have teachers in their classrooms,” Garrison said. “There are solutions available to us. We could revisit the policy used during the pandemic of allowing retired teachers to come back, for example. Our state also has billions of dollars in reserves that could help recruit more teachers in districts that are understaffed.”

Contact Garrison by phone at 919.733.5824 or by email at terry.garrison@ncleg.gov.

Terry Garrison

Henderson Gets $5.4 Million For Water, Wastewater Projects

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An additional $5.4 million is set to flow into the City of Henderson to target drinking water and wastewater projects, most of which will go to fund the Sandy Creek Basin Sewer Rehab project.

The money comes from the American Rescue Plan Act and the state Water Infrastructure Authority approved funding for the local projects, according to information from the office of Rep. Terry Garrison, who serves District 32 – Vance, Granville and Warren counties.

In addition to $5 million designated for the Sandy Creek project, two allotments of $200,000 each were awarded to the city to conduct asset inventories and assessment planning for both water and wastewater.

“I am happy to see this critical funding come from the Department of Environmental Quality to Henderson,” Rep. Terry Garrison said. “Clean water is essential for every North Carolinian. This money is going to help Henderson ensure that everyone has access to clean, safe water.”

City Manager Terrell Blackmon told WIZS News Friday that this money will be used to address excess water that flows into sewer pipes from groundwater and stormwater, known as “infiltration and overflow.”

The $5 million is added to $2.5 million, zero interest loan the city got last year from the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality, Blackmon said.

“The other $400,000 will be used to perform a water study centered around inspecting our water lines…(to) help us better map our system,” he added.

Granville and Warren counties also received chunks of money for improvements to their water systems, Garrison’s office noted.

The City of Oxford got more than $9.5 million to fund sewer system improvements and the South Granville Water and Sewer Authority was awarded $150,000.

Warren County got money for three projects totaling $745,000. The breakdown includes two planning grants: a $189,500 planning grant for a regional elevated storage tank and a $400,000 pre-construction planning grant for the Eatons Ferry sewer extension and $155,500 for the Pleasant Hill pump station replacement.

Terry Garrison

Rep. Terry E. Garrison Co-Sponsors Bill to Expand Medicaid in NC

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-Information courtesy Rep. Terry E. Garrison, District 32, NC General Assembly

Yesterday, Representative Terry E. Garrison co-sponsored House Bill 5 (HB 5), a proposal to expand Medicaid in North Carolina and increase access to affordable health care for more than 500,000 North Carolinians, including approximately 1748 in Vance County; 759 in Warren County; and 1,672 in Granville County alone.

“I am proud to co-sponsor HB 5 which would expand Medicaid and increase health care coverage for families combined across District 32. This bill would help more than 4179 families in District 32 gain access to coverage, but the full effects would be felt by our entire community. North Carolinians shouldn’t be forced to put the health of themselves and their families on the back burner because they can’t afford insurance. We can and should ease that burden this year,” said Representative Garrison.

By introducing a bill to expand Medicaid as the first bill of the 2019 legislative session, state Democrats are signaling their number one priority is helping working families. In addition to making health care more affordable for hundreds of thousands of our people, this proposal would boost our economy and create jobs. According to an analysis prepared by the Center for Health Policy Research at George Washington University, if Medicaid expansion had occurred by 2016, then its impact by 2020 would have been:

• Created 86 jobs in Vance County; 24 jobs in Warren County; 80 jobs in Granville County
• Created $79.9 million in new business activity for Vance County; $11.6 million in new business activity for Warren County; and $87 million in new business activity for Granville County.
• Created $52.1 million in new county revenue for Vance County; $7.1 million in new county revenue for Warren County; and $49.7 million in new county revenue for Granville County.

According to state estimates, expanding Medicaid will overwhelmingly be paid for by the federal government. Any remaining costs would be funded by a small assessment on hospitals and other health care providers.

“Expanding Medicaid is good for our people, good for our economy, and good for our Rural Veteran families or those struggling with addiction, and I look forward to speaking with people across my district about why this is such a critical step we must take together,” Representative Garrison concluded.

Rural North Carolina has the most to gain from Medicaid expansion. Rural hospitals are struggling. Since 2010, five rural hospitals in North Carolina have closed and two have lost critical services like maternity and labor wards. But rural hospitals located in states that have expanded Medicaid are 84% less likely to close. Expanding Medicaid will keep the doors open on rural hospitals, providing vital health care to our communities.

NCGA Passes Six Constitutional Amendments for Midterm Election Ballot

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-Information courtesy the June 2018 newsletter of Rep. Terry E. Garrison (Dem)

The 2018 session of the North Carolina General Assembly (NCGA) convened on May 16 and adjourned on June 29, 2018. The General Assembly is scheduled to reconvene on November 27, 2018.

The NCGA passed the following six Constitutional Amendments, which will now be placed on the ballot for the upcoming midterm elections on November 6, 2018:

Strengthen Victim’s Rights

SB 551 amends the NC Constitution and expands the rights of crime victims to guarantee that victims receive the right to be treated with dignity and respect; reasonable, accurate, and timely notice; be present at any proceeding; be reasonably heard at certain proceedings; to receive restitution in a timely manner; to receive information upon request; to reasonably confer with the prosecutor.

SB 551 also directs the General Assembly to create a procedure for a victim to assert the rights provided.

This was the only amendment not vetoed by the Governor.

Bipartisan Ethics & Elections Enforcement

HB 913 amends the NC Constitution to remove the Governor’s authority to appoint members to the State Board of Elections and gives powers to Legislators to control those appointments. This bill also determines how those appointments are to be made: Four from the House with two nominations each from the majority and minority leaders and; four from the Senate with two nominations each from the majority and minority leaders.

Judicial District Changes

SB 814 amends the NC Constitution to change how judicial vacancies will be filled. Currently, when a judge leaves office before their term has ended, the Governor appoints a replacement to serve until the voters can fill the seat in the next election. This has been the law for decades through Democratic and Republican Governors.

The bill forms a Merit Commission to rate interested judicial candidates as “qualified” or “not qualified.” The Merit Commission then submits the list of candidates with the label of qualified or not qualified to the General Assembly. The General Assembly considers all candidates and narrows its selection to two persons. The two named persons are then sent to the Governor. If the Governor fails to make an appointment within 10 days after being presented with the candidates, the General Assembly shall elect in a joint session, an appointee to fill the vacancy.

Require Photo ID to Vote

HB 1092 amends the North Carolina Constitution to require every voter to show a photo ID. The details are left to legislators to figure out later.

This law may create hardships for North Carolina citizens who do not have such an ID. They are typically among our youngest, oldest, and poorest citizens. Further, the Voter ID requirement is likely to produce lower voter turnout.

North Carolina’s elections are already fair. There is no evidence of substantial voter ID fraud to justify the need for voter photo ID.

Income Tax Cap

SB 75 amends the North Carolina constitution to cap the tax rate on income for individuals and corporations. SB 75 would raise the previously proposed cap from 5.5 % to 7%. Currently, the constitutional cap is 10% for individuals and corporations.

The change will make it very difficult to pay for schools, healthcare, and other public services. The income tax is the biggest source of revenue for the state budget.

The bill will limit budget flexibility to pay for needed public services. It may also threaten our AAA bond rating. The AAA bond rating is important because it allows the state to borrow money at lower interest rates.

Protect Right to Hunt and Fish

SB 677 amends the NC constitution to merely reinforce a right of the people to hunt, fish, and harvest wildlife. It will be submitted to the voters of the State at the mid-term election to be held on November 6, 2018.

Please note that a Constitutional Amendment on the ballot for the November 6, 2018, mid-term election will not become law unless approved by the voters.

Garrison Provides Comparisons of the State’s Proposed Vs. Adopted Budget

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-Information courtesy the June 2018 newsletter of Rep. Terry E. Garrison (Dem)

SB 99 or the Appropriations Act of 2018 is the adjusted budget for the State of North Carolina. Every biennium, the General Assembly produces a budget for all North Carolina department divisions. The budget is a document that reflects the authorized expenditures for the department heads by which they determine their program allocations. Governor Cooper vetoed this bill because he felt the budget did not do enough to ensure the welfare of all North Carolinians.

The legislative short session typically has allowed all legislators an opportunity to review the budget and provide input for budget changes or adjustments. However, that did not happen this past session. Budget adjustments were made by a joint conference committee comprised of few Republicans from both the Senate and House. However, all Democrats and many Republicans were not involved with making budget adjustments. Thus, the general legislative body had but one option – to vote either “Yes” or “No” for approval of the budget.

This bill was vetoed by the Governor and his veto was overridden by the General Assembly on June 12, 2018.

Below are some comparisons of the budget that was put forth by the Governor and North Carolina General Assembly (NCGA):

Cooper’s Proposed Budget – Provided $20 million to expand broadband in underserved areas                                          NCGA’s Adopted Budget – Provides $10 million

Cooper’s Proposed Budget – Provided $12.2 million in rural economic development grants                                              NCGA’s Adopted Budget – Does not include statewide rural economic support grants

Cooper’s Proposed Budget – Provided $9 million in community mental health funding to fight opioid use disorders   NCGA’s Adopted Budget – Does not provide statewide funding to combat opioid use disorders

Cooper’s Proposed Budget – Recommended expanding Medicaid to cover 670,000 additional people                            NCGA’s Adopted Budget – Does not expand Medicaid eligibility to close health care coverage gap

Cooper’s Proposed Budget – Invested $28 million to improve safety & security of prison facilities                                    NCGA’s Adopted Budget – Provides $15 million w/no funding for correctional officer training

Cooper’s Proposed Budget – Provided $14.5 million to tackle water quality concerns                                                            NCGA’s Adopted Budget – Provides $10.3 million but spreads it around several entities

Cooper’s Proposed Budget – Provided an additional $2.5 million to our state’s HBCU’s                                                          NCGA’s Adopted Budget – This budget does not increase investment in HBCU’s

Garrison Provides Updates on Recent NC General Assembly Session

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-Information courtesy the June 2018 newsletter of Rep. Terry E. Garrison

The 2018 session of the NC General Assembly convened on May 16 and adjourned on June 29. The General Assembly is scheduled to reconvene on November 27, 2018.

This short session of the NC General Assembly included adjustments to the 2017-19 Biennium Budget and passage of a flurry of bills allowable under rules of the General Assembly including six bills placing constitutional amendments on the ballot for the upcoming midterm elections in November 2018.

Some major items on the agenda considered:

  • Appropriations Act 2018 (Budget)
  • Teacher Pay
  • Principal Pay
  • NC Schools
  • State Employees Pay
  • Retirees Pay
  • Rural Broadband
  • Strengthening Safety Guidelines for Correctional Officers
  • Constitutional Amendments – Judicial Redistricting, Election Law Changes
  • Income Tax Cap
  • Farm Act
  • Clean Water

To stay up-to-date on NC General Assembly happenings, please visit the official website at www.ncleg.net