State Lawmakers Begin Legislative Session

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Credit www.ncleg.net

North Carolina House of Representatives, North Carolina General Assembly

Aside from a few lobbyists checking their cell phones, the halls of the General Assembly were quiet and free of protestors Wednesday. But in the House, legislators wasted no time getting down to business. An unemployment insurance bill many are watching closely will be discussed in a committee meeting today. It seeks to lower unemployment benefits so employers won't have to shoulder insurance increases.

Democrats want more time to read through the measure, but Republican House Finance Chair Julia Howard did not think that would be necessary. “It is a 70 page bill,” he said, “but there's a lot of boilerplate information in the bill- I have a summary that I believe is very easy to examine and understand.”

Lawmakers also filed a number of other bills yesterday, including one that would prevent the state from expanding Medicaid to help fund the Affordable Care Act.