North Carolina Legislative Report Card 2017–2018 Session
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
LIBERTY WATCH North Carolina Legislative Report Card 2017–2018 Session About Liberty Watch The ACLU of North Carolina’s legislative report card, Liberty Watch, shows how state lawmakers voted on key legislation affecting civil rights and civil liberties during the 2017-2018 legislative session. This report documents the final recorded votes on six pieces of legislation that concerned, respectively, LGBTQ equality, voting rights, privacy rights, juvenile justice reform, and immigrants’ rights. The ACLU of North Carolina took a position on every piece of legislation covered by this scorecard, including those receiving votes in the full House and the full Senate. About the ACLU of North Carolina Since 1965, the ACLU of North Carolina has been our state’s guardian of liberty – working in courts, the General Assembly, and communities to protect and advance civil rights and civil liberties for all North Carolinians. A nonprofit, nonpartisan organization with more than 30,000 members across the state, the ACLU of North Carolina is a state affiliate of the national American Civil Liberties Union. Visit acluofnorthcarolina.org to learn more. 2 LGBTQ EQUALITY House Bill 142: “H.B. 2 Replacement” ACLU position: Opposed Status: Became law, signed by the governor Widespread public backlash, economic boycotts, and a legal challenge from the ACLU and Lambda Legal forced legislators to rewrite House Bill 2, the notorious 2016 law that targeted transgender people for discrimination and prevented state and local governments from extending nondiscrimination protections to LGBTQ people. Unfortunately, the rewrite, H.B. 142, was nothing more than an effort to sidestep criticism, avoid political retaliation, and get back in the good graces of big business and sports organizations. The new language of H.B. 142 created uncertainty about whether transgender people are subject to criminal or other penalties if they use restrooms and other facilities in public spaces. H.B. 2 blocked cities and counties from being able to pass policies that protected LGBTQ people from being discriminated against at their job or when they enter businesses open to the public, like hotels or restaurants. Under H.B. 142, they can’t pass those protections until December 2020. Although numerous bills were proposed that would have cleanly repealed H.B. 2 and returned North Carolina to the pre-H.B. 2 landscape, none passed either chamber. Instead, legislators passed a bill that perpetuated anti- LGBTQ discrimination. 3 VOTING RIGHTS House Bill 1092: “Voter ID Constitutional Amendment” ACLU position: Opposed Status: Became law, will appear on November 2018 ballot This bill placed a constitutional amendment on the November 2018 ballot that, if approved by voters, will require North Carolinians to show a photo ID in order to cast a ballot in future elections. State lawmakers will get to decide which types of IDs would be allowed and what exceptions, if any, would be granted. The last time the General Assembly tried to enact a voter ID law, in 2013, a federal court struck it down as unconstitutional, finding that legislators had written the law with “discriminatory intent” and targeted Black voters “with almost surgical precision.” The law allowed forms of ID disproportionately used by white voters, but not those disproportionately used by Black voters. State records show that there are hundreds of thousands of qualified voters—particularly those who are Black, rural, working class, transgender, disabled, or elderly — who lack or face challenges to getting a DMV-issued ID. If this amendment is approved by voters, North Carolina would have the most extreme voter ID law in the country, and would be the second state — after Mississippi — to enshrine that law in the state's constitution. The ACLU of North Carolina believes that lawmakers with a history of voter suppression should not be given a blank check to rewrite our laws in a way that will place hurdles in front of eligible voters, silence their voices, and undermine a fundamental right. 4 VOTING RIGHTS Senate Bill 325: “The Uniform and Expanded Early Voting Act” ACLU position: Opposed Status: Became law after governor’s veto was overridden Despite its title, this bill actually limited early voting options for North Carolinians. It eliminated the popular last Saturday* of early voting, when more than 100,000 voters and a disproportionate number of Black voters have historically cast their ballots. It also made it more difficult for local elections officials to keep more early voting sites open by requiring that every early voting site must be open for 17 days and have uniform 12-hour days. Many smaller counties with smaller budgets have relied on previously allowed flexibility to open satellite sites only part-time, when demand for them is highest, because it’s a cost-effective way to make voting accessible to more rural residents, those with disabilities, and those without transportation. *A subsequent bill that became law restored the last Saturday of early voting for the 2018 elections. 5 PRIVACY RIGHTS Senate Bill 616: “Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Enforcement Act” ACLU position: Opposed Status: Became law, signed by the governor S.B. 616 gives local law enforcement sweeping, unprecedented power to look through a person’s entire history of prescription drug use at the pharmacy if they are under investigation for any drug crime, even possessing a tiny amount of any controlled substance. It also eliminates the requirement for law enforcement to obtain a court order, a crucial protection for our constitutional right against unreasonable searches and seizures, before searching someone’s prescription records in the state’s Controlled Substance Reporting Database. When devising strategies to address our state’s opioid crisis, lawmakers should focus on public health solutions endorsed by the medical and treatment communities. Giving law enforcement officers more power to violate people’s privacy rights and trample on our civil liberties is never the answer to a public health crisis. 6 JUVENILE JUSTICE REFORM House Bill 280: “Juvenile Justice Reinvestment Act” ACLU position: Supported Status: Passed by the House, became law as part of state budget North Carolina was, until this year, the last remaining state in the nation to treat every 16- and 17-year-old charged with a crime as an adult. This 100-year-old policy meant that young people charged with even minor offenses, like shoplifting, would face adult sentences, be housed in adult jails, and face a lifetime of consequences. After years of advocacy by the ACLU-NC and others, the General Assembly finally “raised the age” of juvenile jurisdiction so that, beginning in December 2019, 16- and 17-year-olds charged with misdemeanors and low-level felonies will no longer be automatically treated as adults in the criminal justice system. This hard-fought victory was achieved after more than a decade of advocacy by the ACLU-NC and partner organizations. Under the new law, most 16- and 17-year-olds charged with a crime will be directed to the juvenile justice system, rather than adult jails, and will receive more effective services and rehabilitative support in a safer environment among their peers. They’ll also avoid the lifetime consequences of a permanent criminal record, which makes it difficult if not impossible to go to college, get a job, find housing, and serve in the military. 7 IMMIGRANTS’ RIGHTS Senate Bill 145: “Government Immigration Compliance” ACLU position: Opposed Status: Passed by the Senate, did not become law This sweeping anti-immigrant bill would have directed state police to participate in the federal government’s deportation force, punished local governments that enact their own policies related to immigration, and defunded any University of North Carolina institution that limited its role in the enforcement of federal immigration law. The bill, which was approved by the Senate but not voted on in the House, would specifically have: • Compelled the UNC system to disclose the immigration status of students to law enforcement upon request, a practice that could violate privacy protections in the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. • Removed the ability of local law enforcement to use local or community IDs to determine a person’s residency or identity. • Required the N.C. Department of Public Safety to enforce federal immigration laws through the 287(g) program, creating the only statewide program of its kind in the country and turning Highway Patrol officers into immigration agents. • Punished local governments that choose to limit their role in the enforcement of federal immigration law. This extreme proposal would trample on people’s rights, spread fear and confusion, waste government resources, and fuel the federal government’s deportation machine. State lawmakers should not be in the business of telling local officials to target and single out undocumented North Carolinians who work, go to school, and contribute to our communities in countless ways. 8 SENATE VOTES supported the Senator County District HB 142 HB 1092 SB 325 SB 616 SB 145 ACLU-NC’s LGBTQ Voter ID Early Voting Privacy Rights Immigrants’ position Equality Constitutional Rights opposed the Amendment X ACLU-NC’s position Sen. John M. Alexander, Jr. Wake 15 absent (R) X X X X X Ab NV no vote Sen. Deanna Ballard Alleghany, 45 not applicable (R) Ashe, Avery, N/A Ab Ab Caldwell, X X X Watauga Sen. Chad Barefoot Franklin, 18 Ab Ab (R) Wake X X X Sen. Dan Barrett Davie, Iredell, 34 N/A N/A (R) Appointed 8/23/2017 Rowan X X X Sen. Tamara Barringer Wake 17 Ab (R) X X X X Sen. Phil Berger Guilford, 26 (R) Rockingham X X X X X Sen. Dan Bishop Mecklenburg 39 (R) X X X X Sen. Dan Blue Wake 14 Ab Ab (D) X X Sen.