VOLUME 4 ISSUE 7
Sports
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WWW.NSJONLINE.COM |
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2019
Hurricanes return to postseason, B1
Masters take the course Tiger Woods and Fred Couples exchange a fist bump after they both hit their tee shots close to the cup on the par-3 No. 12 hole during a practice round for the Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Ga., Monday, April 8, 2019. The grand slam tournament begins Thursday at Augusta National Golf Club and will air on CBS. CURTIS COMPTON | ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION VIA AP
the Wednesday
NEWS BRIEFING
Optional motorcycle helmet bill fails in committee An effort among some N.C. House members to make motorcycle helmets optional for people 21 and over has failed to advance out of committee. The House Transportation Committee failed on Tuesday to advance legislation pushed by Rep. John Torbett (R-Gaston) to alter the state’s mandatory helmet requirement for all riders. A motion to recommend the measure failed in a 10-10 vote.
Bank of America raising hourly minimum wage to $20 Charlotte-based Bank of America is raising its starting pay to $20 an hour over a two-year period, starting with a hike next month. The company said it is raising its minimum hourly wage to $17 on May 1 and will continue to increase pay until it hits $20 an hour in 2021. Bank of America raised its hourly minimum wage to $15 in 2017. It says wages have increased since then, though it didn’t release details of those increases.
Democrat’s campaign reports $1.6 million for 9th District Democratic congressional candidate Dan McCready says he has raised more than $1.6 million in campaign funds for a special election that was forced after last year’s race was voided by a ballot-collection scandal. McCready’s campaign said Tuesday the candidate ended the year’s first quarter with $1.46 million in cash on hand.
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JOURNaL ELEVATE THE CONVERSATION
Bill expands eligibility rules for opportunity scholarship program By A.P. Dillon The Associated Press RALEIGH — Senators Deanna Ballard (R-Watauga), Ben Clark (D-Hoke), and Todd Johnson (R-Union) have filed a bill that will expand the eligibility requirements for a program that offers scholarships for low-income students to attend private K-12 schools. “Parents, not politicians, should choose which school is the best fit for their children. No student should be denied the best possible education because of family income, ZIP code, or color,” said Senators Ballard and Johnson in a joint statement. “These programs ease or eliminate the financial barrier and support and empower parents themselves to help their kids find success.” Senate Bill 609 is titled K-12 Scholarship Changes and will expand the state’s Opportunity Scholarship program in four ways with no additional costs involved. The bill removes the 40 percent cap that requires new opportunity scholarship recipients to be kindergarten or first grade students. Income eligibility guidelines for opportunity scholarships require an applicant to live in a household with an income that does not exceed 133 percent of the amount required to qualify for the federal free or reduced-price lunch program. The bill raises that threshold to 150 percent. Using an example of a family of four, that 133 percent translates
to an income of under $63,359 per year. The proposed bill raises the threshold to 150 percent or $71,457 for that family of four. Senate Bill 609 also expands access for children with disabilities by updating eligibility requirements for Children with Disabilities grants to match eligibility criteria set out for education savings accounts. Additionally, four-year-olds deemed to be ready for early entry to kindergarten would be eligible for Children with Disabilities grants, the Opportunity Scholarship program and education savings accounts. Around 11,426 students are currently utilizing one of these three school choice options. “Parents are the ultimate accountability check regarding the overall efficacy of the educational experience provided to their children,” Sen. Clark said. “These programs mitigate financial barriers to parents with limited fiscal flexibility and empowers them to seek and choose alternatives for their kids to match them with the optimal educational environment for achieving success.” “We’ve heard from families across North Carolina who could benefit from these proposed changes,” said PEFNC President Mike Long in a statement. “The time is right to take these important steps forward to strengthen our choice programs, which are providing thousands of families in our state with access to the See SCHOLARSHIP, page A2
Chairs of major political parties at center of insurance scandal ance from 2009 until 2016, when he lost an election to the current DOI commissioner, Mike Causey. When Causey took over leadership of the department in 2017, he said employees quickly made him aware that Lindberg’s companies had been treated differently under Goodwin. Causey told North State Journal in an interview that it was “common knowledge” within DOI that one of the commissioner’s deputies had approved an unusual arrangement that allowed Lindberg to invest 40 percent of his company’s assets into other associated businesses, when insurance regulators often limit invested assets in affiliated companies to 10 percent.
With GOP chair indicted, attention turns to Dem chair
By David Larson North State Journal RALEIGH — As the N.C. Republican Party deals with the reality of the indictment of their chairman, Robin Hayes, interest is turning to the state’s current Democratic Party chairman, Wayne Goodwin. Information continues to surface showing Goodwin’s long association with Greg Lindberg, the billionaire insurance company owner at the center of the growing controversy. Goodwin was commissioner of the Department of Insur-
See INSURANCE, page A2
Folwell, hospitals spar over state plan pricing Providers back bill that would stop treasurer’s reforms By David Larson North State Journal RALEIGH — Legislation that would halt N.C. Treasury Secretary Dale Folwell’s plan to implement cost savings on the State Health Plan passed the House on April 3. The bill, H.B. 184, passed 75-36 with bipartisan support, but Senate leaders are already signaling it is unlikely to move in their chamber. Folwell’s plan was to pursue reforms that other states, like Montana, have used successfully to reduce their health costs for state employees. With “reference-based pricing,” the State Health Plan would require providers to pin their prices relative to the Medicare reimbursement rate. In this case, State Health Plan costs would average 182 percent of those rates. Analysis by the nonpartisan Fiscal Research Division at the legislature found that H.B. 184, by failing to implement Folwell’s reforms, would cost between $63 million and $264 million annually, depending on the year. H.B. 184 creates a committee to study the issue of how providers and the State Health Plan should work out pricing. See FOLWELL, page A2