At a meeting held less than a week before the full
legislature's scheduled return,
a House panel on Thursday
advanced
a proposal regarding emerging water
contaminants. The draft bill came as part of state leaders’ ongoing response to
the GenX controversy. GenX is a chemical substance used in the manufacture of
Teflon, and it has been found in water wells both downstream and upstream from
the Chemours plant in Cumberland County, including public water supplies in the
Wilmington area. With the committee’s vote, the proposal may be considered by
the full House when it reconvenes for session on Wednesday.
Much of the legislative discussion and public comment at
Thursday's meeting focused on the merits of funding additional scientific
equipment and personnel in state agencies, though the bill draft did not contain
an appropriation. Instead, it directed numerous studies by state agencies and
universities, with reports back to legislators in April. In his opening remarks,
senior committee chair
Rep. Ted Davis recognized the need to
consider appropriating further funding to investigating contaminants like GenX
and others, which have not received extensive scientific study despite
preliminary linkages to adverse human health effects. Davis stated that he
foresaw a conversation about an appropriation at some point in the coming
months. For more, read
this WRAL report on the
committee meeting. Contact:
Erin WyniaOne of the legislature's most roundly supported bills of 2017, responding to a
major issue for cities and towns across the nation, went into effect with the
start of the New Year. HB 243 Strengthen Opioid Misuse Prevention
(STOP) Act includes, among other things, a requirement on prescribers and
pharmacies to check the prescription database before prescribing opioids and
allows local governments to support needle-exchange programs. The opioid abuse
crisis has been the center of attention for all levels of government as deaths
hit alarming rates and was a big focus of the National League of Cities' recent City Summit in Charlotte. The effects of this crisis
and other behavioral and mental health challenges as they affect municipalities
was also a major focus of League President Michael
Lazzara in his acceptance speech back in September. Nearly four people
die daily from opioid overdose -- soaring rate, from below 200 in 1999 to nearly
1,400 in 2016, according to a press release from
the governor's office. Reps. Greg Murphy, Ted
Davis, Chris Malone and Craig
Horn were chief sponsors of the bill, which enjoyed bipartisan support from
lawmakers along with Gov. Roy Cooper and Attorney General Josh Stein.
All 50 states in addition to Washington, D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands and
Puerto Rico opted into FirstNet -- the first nationwide broadband
network built specifically for public safety agencies -- by the 2017 year-end
deadline. North Carolina made the move to join in November (see Southern City's recent piece) on the federal
program geared for first responders to keep communication flowing during the
kinds of disasters that could hamper or disable other communication channels.
The League had a representative involved in the State Broadband Infrastructure
Office's review team that assisted in the plan toward joining FirstNet, which
according to the state could cover nearly all of North Carolina's population
within the first five years. AT&T will team with FirstNet to build and run
the network, which is 100 percent federally funded. Members are
not required to use the service or specifically use AT&T's FirstNet system
as there may be other offerings. FirstNet's website provides comprehensive
information.
Winter Storm Grayson pushed North Carolina well below freezing and complicated
travel with ice and snow this week in the eastern part of the state, with
emergency management officials warning that black ice and other cold conditions
may persist into the weekend. At least four deaths from vehicle mishaps were
attributed to the storm as of Thursday, according to news
reports. The State Highway Patrol alone had responded to more than 1,300
calls at the time, including 900 collisions, according to the governor's office. The
numbers do not reflect the many other calls that county and municipal responders
handled. “Our transportation crews, state troopers and other first responders
are doing a great job, but you can make their jobs easier by staying off the
roads unless absolutely necessary," said Gov. Roy Cooper.
