African-American Legislative Agenda
2005 North Carolina General Assembly
Regular Session

The Triangle Urban League presents the following agenda on behalf of North Carolina’s African-Americans for the 2005 regular session of the North Carolina General Assembly:

BUDGET

**Raise pay of teachers and state employees

**Consider extension of temporary taxes which are set to expire.

**Consider tax increases on tobacco, beer and wine.

**Defer lowing of the overall corporate income tax rate from 6.9% to 5.9%.

**Review the overall tax structure for equity.

**Lower the tax rate for small businesses.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

**Provide incentives to corporations that create jobs and that use small businesses headquartered in North Carolina.

**Create job training or apprenticeship programs targeting the unemployed in depressed urban inner cities and rural communities with high unemployment.

**Support organizations that facilitate and advance economic development especially in the African American and distressed communities.

HEALTH CARE

**Pass the Health Care Fundamental Right Bill.

**Provide more resources for HIV/AIDS risk reduction, prevention, counseling and testing.

**Authorize community based programs for clean syringe-safe exchange services.

**Support the Community Focused Eliminating Health Disparities Initiative.

EDUCATION

**Pass SB 113 and HB 224, which provide support to low performing school systems.

**Support North Carolina’s HBCUs with their building, program, and maintenance needs.

MORATORIUM ON EXECUTIONS

**The House should give prompt consideration to the moratorium on executions bill (HB 5).

MANDATORY MINIMUMS/HABITUAL FELON LAWS   

**Reconsider many of the modest 2003 recommendations of the North Carolina Sentencing and Policy Commission.

**Give further consideration to House Joint Resolution 789 (2003-2004 Session), which offers intensive rehabilitation for substance abusers as an alternative to incarceration.

SCHOOL SUSPENSIONS AND EXPULSIONS

**Enact H 1135 (2003-2004 Session), which would create a committee to ensure that “students recommended for long-term suspension receive a free and appropriate education.”

**Support the House panel’s recommendations that would require all school districts to: offer appropriate alternative settings for the long-term suspended; increase the number of counselors at alternative schools; and require that teachers take classes in diversity training, anger management, and conflict resolution. 

**Support policy recommendations that encourage students to remain in school until graduation requirements are completed and that they pursue a rigorous academic course of study. 

YOUTH GANGS

**Adopt a balance between prevention and punishment as it considers the Street Gang Prevention Act (HB 50).

ELECTORAL REFORM

**Support proposals of the Joint Select Committee on Electronic Voting Systems which would bring more uniformity and provide a paper trail of cast ballots. 

LOTTERY

**Allow the people of North Carolina to express their opinion about the lottery via a ballot measure.

The Triangle Urban League urges individuals and organizations, especially stakeholders in the African American community, to engage members of the North Carolina General Assembly to support this agenda.

TRIANGLE URBAN LEAGUE

Keith A. Sutton
President/CEO
150 Fayetteville Street Mall, Ste. 220
Raleigh, NC 27601
919-834-7252
919-834-5717 fax