The General Assembly spent several hours this week in testy debates on whether state employees should have to contribute more for their health insurance and whether there should be limitations on damages in medical malpractice cases. Two Republican priorities became law and two others fell into the shadows.

State Health Plan

Senate Bill 265, State Health Plan Appropriations and Transfer, passed the Senate and House this week and soon will be on its way to Gov. Bev Perdue. The bill would require teachers and other state employees to pitch in for their health care benefits in order to fill a $515 million hole and keep the State Health Plan solvent through 2013. For the first time ever, state employees would be asked to pay a monthly premium for their health insurance — about $20 for the best plan and $10 for a basic plan, or about 5 percent of the total cost of coverage. They also would have slightly higher deductibles and co-pays for office visits and prescription drugs.

A heated debate over the bill broke out on the House floor Thursday. Democrat Jennifer Weiss of Wake County said the bill would impose “draconian costs” on state employees, many of whom make between $30,000 and $40,000 per year. She suggested instead implementing a $1-per-package cigarette tax to close the budget gap.

“What part of ‘we are broke’ do you fail to comprehend?” Freshman Republican Glen Bradley of Franklin County asked House Democrats in a post on Twitter. He also tweeted that government employees were not a “special class” of citizens and noted that when he was in the private sector, he never made more than $32,000, and had to pay 50 percent of his health insurance costs.

The measure eventually passed, 66-53.

Tort reform

A House Select Committee on Tort Reform held a two-hour public hearing on House Bill 542, Tort Reform for Citizens and Businesses, on Thursday. The bill would put a $250,000 cap on non-economic damages — such as pain and suffering — in medical malpractice cases. The bill also provides that plaintiffs awarded damages in excess of $100,000 could keep only 25 percent. The remaining 75 percent would go into a state fund used for public schools. The bill’s primary sponsor is Rep. Johnathan Rhyne, R-Lincoln. The committee is scheduled to vote on the bill next week.

Ratified

The governor signed into law March 25 two measures that were Republican priorities — Senate Bill 22, APA Rules: Limit Additional Costs, and Senate Bill 109, Spending Cuts for the Current Fiscal Year. The first puts a moratorium on any new regulations that would impose a cost of $500,000 or greater on impacted businesses and individuals. Exceptions are made for regulations that address serious threats to public health, safety or welfare. The second requires the governor to make $500 million in cuts to the 2011-12 budget.

Pushed back

The vote on House Bill 61, Speaker/Pro Tem Term Limits, was postponed until next week.

House Bill 87, the Sunshine Amendment, ran aground when Republicans could not get the two-thirds majority needed to place the constitutional amendment on the ballot. H.B. 87 would have given constitutional protections to the state’s open-records law. Lead sponsor Rep. Stephen LaRoque, R-Lenoir, said he would reintroduce the measure as a statute next week.

On hold

Negotiations continue on Senate Bill 8, No Cap on Charter Schools and House Bill 351, the Voter ID bill, although neither bill has moved in more than two weeks.

Annexation

Senate Bill 27, Involuntary Annexation Moratorium, hasn’t moved in three weeks, but a new annexation reform bill is expected to be introduced next week.

Three local bills undoing annexations by Wilmington, Asheville, and Rocky Mount passed their second readings in the House Thursday and may win final passage in the House as early as Monday.

Other bills

A bill re-establishing the legislative Taskforce on Childhood Obesity — House Bill 218 — passed the House. In the 2010 legislative session, the task force recommended banning chocolate milk and whole milk and limiting juice consumption in preschools and daycare centers. The recommendation became law.

A bill making it legal to carry handguns in parks and restaurants serving alcohol — House Bill 111 — also passed the House.

House Bill 572 and Senate Bill 460, both of which set stricter criteria for nonprofits to be eligible for state funding, passed their first readings and have been assigned to committees.

House Bill 115, North Carolina Health Benefit Exchange Act, passed its first committee. The bill would be the first step in implementing the federal health care reform in the state.

House Bill 422, No High-Speed Rail Money from Federal Government, was debated in committee this week and will be voted on next week. The bill’s sponsor Rep. Ric Killian, R-Mecklenburg, said reducing travel time between Raleigh and Charlotte by 13 minutes was not worth the $431 million in construction funding the federal government would provide.

Bills filed this week

House Bill 495 and Senate Bill 473 would double the amount of solar energy utility companies currently are required to produce or buy.

House Bill 522 would give certified professional midwives the ability to become licensed and to attend home births. Currently, midwives who are not certified as nurses risk jail time if caught assisting women giving birth at home.

Senate Bill 440 would move North Carolina’s presidential primary from May to March, potentially giving the state more sway in the outcome of national elections.

House Bill 503 would remove soda from middle schools, reduce soda sales in high schools and set guidelines for what kind of snacks can be sold at all school functions.

Sara Burrows is an associate editor of Carolina Journal.