On Monday, the North Carolina Senate passed House Bill 10, which, aside from myriad budget adjustments, also includes requiring sheriffs to cooperate with ICE, as well as funding Opportunity Scholarships waitlist. The Senate passed the measure 27-17, and it was referred to the House Rules Committee.
The House Rules Committee will convene Wednesday Sept. 11 to discuss the bill, and leaders expect the legislation will be brought to the House floor for a vote later that same day.
“I don’t think we need to yell about this one; we all know the severity of what’s is going on at our border; we know what kind of sex trafficking, drug trafficking, and everything else that is pouring into this country,” said Sen. Danny Britt, R-Hoke, on the Senate floor before the vote on Monday. “We know that as state legislators, there is little we can do other than voting for the right person in November. What we can do something about is our sheriffs who are not complying with immigration, our sheriffs who are releasing folks back into the community who are violent individuals charged with violent crimes that are here illegally. That is all this bill does. This bill does not round people up who are not charged with crimes. This bill does not send law enforcement into the homes of people who are not charged with crimes.”
The relevant provisions of HB10 require sheriffs to hold for at least 48 hours those illegal aliens who are charged with certain enumerated violent crimes and violent misdemeanors before releasing them back into the community.
Beyond ICE cooperation, the bill includes funding adjustments for the following items:
- $248 million nonrecurring to clear the Opportunity Scholarship waitlist for the current school year;
- $215.5 million recurring for scholarship awards in 2025–26 fiscal year;
- $24.7 million recurring to clear the ESA+ waitlist for children with disabilities;
- $64 million recurring for Community College enrollment growth;
- $95 million recurring for K-12 enrollment growth to ensure schools have the necessary operating expenses to support students and teachers; and,
- $277 million recurring and $100 million nonrecurring for Medicaid.
The legislation also includes $55.1 million for infrastructure improvements to support economic development in Chatham County and $150 million for major transportation improvements at the Randolph County megasite. The Economic Development Project Reserve funds both of these projects.
In fully funding the Opportunity Scholarships Program, clearing the waitlist, lawmakers address a critical shortfall for families exercising school choice across the state. Approximately 50,000 families were left hanging when OSP funds were quickly exhausted following the expansion and promotion of the program.
HB 10 also authorizes a new program to expand high-speed internet in rural communities. According to Section 10.1 (a) of HB 10 (pg 9), in addition to funds appropriated to the Department of Information Technology from the State Fiscal Recovery Fund and the Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund, an additional $190 million has been appropriated to expand broadband access. Both of these reserve funds are funded with federal tax dollars, rather than state tax revenues.
Monday’s senate session also included the induction of Sen. Bob Brinson, R-Beaufort, who was appointed on July 30 to fill Sen. Jim Perry’s seat after his resignation earlier this year.
Additional business conducted by the Senate included voting to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s vetoes of HB 155, 556, and 690; all three bills passed 27-17 and effectively became law notwithstanding the objections of the governor.
Senate Bills 166 and 445, also veto overrides, passed the senate 27-17 and were sent to the House for reconsideration.