Is bipartisanship alive? Charlotte’s legislators are betting on these proposals in 2022
CLT Politics is a new weekly analysis of political news and events in Charlotte and across the region published Thursday by The Charlotte Observer.
If the legislative session goes as some legislators hope, it could be legal after this year for North Carolinians to bet on sports from the comfort of their homes.
As mostly members of the minority party, Mecklenburg’s Democratic lawmakers will craft some legislation with little to no chance of getting through the committee process — let alone through their respective chambers. But bipartisanship isn’t completely dead, and there’s potential for compromise on some big-ticket items.
I asked the Charlotte area’s delegation what their priorities were over the next few weeks. Of the items that will get the most interest, sports betting has to be near the top.
Rep. Welsey Harris, who represents the area around Pineville, said in an email he’s optimistic that a sports betting bill will pass. Currently, people are only allowed to wager on sports in-person at the state’s Cherokee casinos. Senate Bill 688 would open it up considerably, including to betting apps on people’s cell phones.
Regulating sports betting has received substantial bipartisan support over the past several years in North Carolina. Gov. Roy Cooper has signaled his support for the bill in the past, as have North Carolina’s three major professional sports teams. The bill would allow for the construction of physical betting locations outside of tribal lands, and allow people to legally use online applications to place wagers.
Proponents say industry could bring significant revenue to the state, and that people who want to bet on sports electronically are already doing it illegally. Its opponents have argued that legalizing the activity would make it too accessible, particularly for children.
Harris said he’s also passionate about expanding Medicaid and regulating medical marijuana, but he’s not optimistic about the future of either of those in the House. A Medicaid expansion bill passed one of its two Senate votes Wednesday. Expanding Medicaid would open up health coverage to half a million people.
Here’s what some of the rest of the Charlotte-area delegation said they’re most focused on:
▪ Sen. Jeff Jackson, a Democrat representing southern Mecklenburg County and Matthews, said his top priority is Medicaid expansion. He’s also the primary sponsor on a bill aimed at preventing opioid overdose deaths, though it has no Republican co-sponsors. Senate Bill 831 would dedicate $350,000 for local health departments to buy opioid overdose-reversing drugs such as Naloxone.
▪ Sen. Natasha Marcus, a Democrat who represents northern Mecklenburg, including Cornelius and Huntersville, has several bills on her top priority list. At the top is codifying protections established in Roe vs. Wade. While the bill has unanimous support of the Senate Democratic Caucus, it is almost certainly going to fail or find itself stuck in a committee. Marcus is the primary sponsor of a bill Senate Bill 779, which would give $150,000 to studying and finding solutions for cases of ocular melanoma in Huntersville, Cornelius and the surrounding area. Local officials have worried for years about what they say is an unusually high number of cases of the rare eye cancer. That bill has the support of Republican Sen. Vickie Sawyer.
▪ Rep. John Autry’s office sent six priority bills, including House Bill 1123 for a solar energy tax credit and House Bill 1142, which would revise motor vehicle emission laws. Autry is a Democrat who represents the area just southeast of uptown Charlotte. None of the six bills have Republican co-sponsors. HB 1142 would prohibit making modifications to diesel-powered vehicles that allow them to exceed emissions limits. It would define and criminalize “coal rolling” or “rolling coal,” which is when a vehicle, typically a diesel truck, is modified so that it can release a large cloud of black smoke from the exhaust.
▪ Sen. Joyce Waddell’s proposed legislation includes bills to provide free breakfast and lunch for K-12 students (Senate bills 855 and 856), give $50 million to build an adolescent mental health facility at UNC Chapel Hill (the primary sponsor for Senate Bill 844 is a Republican), and allocate funding for school social workers and psychologists (Senate Bill 866). Her office said they were unsure if any of the bills were likely to become law. Waddell is a Democrat representing eastern Mecklenburg County.
▪ Rep. Mary Belk, a Democrat who represents the area just southwest of uptown, said in an email she was “more hopeful than ever for the prospects of Medicaid Expansion this year.” She also has House Bill 1081, which would restore the state’s road funding to both Charlotte and Raleigh, which were cut and then frozen at that reduced level over the past few years, she said. Another bill of hers would make it easier for light rail projects to get funding. Currently, highway, bridge, and toll road projects get a higher priority.
This story was originally published June 2, 2022 at 1:50 PM.
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