Bill Cook Legislative Update | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Press Release:


    Last week, the House passed their proposed $22.225 billion state budget, and we in the Senate have already begun meeting and crafting our version of the budget. Along with Senator Andrew Brock and Senator Trudy Wade we co-chair the Senate Appropriations on Natural and Economic Resources Committee. In essence, the committee represents the following agencies: N.C. Dept. of Agriculture & Consumer Services, N.C. Dept. of Environment Quality, N.C. Dept. of Commerce, N.C. Dept. of Labor, N.C. Dept. of Natural and Cultural Resources and the Wildlife Resources Commission. We are hopeful to have our version of the budget voted on within the first week of June. The goal of both chambers is to pass a final budget and send it to Governor for his signature by the end of June.


    North Carolina is blessed with a great maritime asset - our state has 320 miles of coastline and 19 inlets that are both a public trust and a significant economic resource to the state's economy. Therefore, I filed Senate Bill 871 (Encourage Marine Aquaculture) which expands upon the definition of aquaculture in North Carolina, and would allow for deep water fish farming operations in the state's coastal and ocean waters. In North Carolina there is a significant amount of potential for the aquaculture industry to become a greater source of income and economic prosperity. Currently our state does not enable open water fish farming operations. Aquaculture, "the farming of aquatic organisms, including finfish, shellfish, and aquatic plants," is a method of food production that is receiving global significance. Back in January, the first-ever federal permits for large-scale fish farming in the ocean were issued, opening a new frontier in the harvesting of popular seafood species. The new rules allow the farming of fish in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico, and we should do such farming in North Carolina Waters.


    Most recently, I received the 2016 Patient Champion Award from the N.C. Orthopedic Association for sponsoring legislation to reform Certificate of Need (CON) laws. In a report published by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University (Certificate-of-Need Laws and North Carolina: Rural Health Care, Medical Imaging, and Access) clearly delineates how CON laws in North Carolina are associated with decreased access to health care services and facilities. Another eye-opening finding is how States with CON laws have 30 percent fewer hospitals, including 30 percent fewer rural hospitals, than those that do not.


    North Carolina's unemployment rate fell to 5.4 percent in April, the lowest it's been in 8 years, according to data released by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. Additionally, North Carolina has tied with the state of Texas to take the #1 spot in the Prosperity Cup, as awarded by Site Selection Magazine. The Prosperity Cup is awarded based on ten factors of economic performance, including the total number of new and expanded facilities in the state, capital investment and total number of new jobs created. Since 2013, North Carolina has the #1 fastest growing economy in the nation, according to the latest data released by the U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Economic Analysis. Needless to say, the state's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has seen a 13.4 percent increase and the net creation of more than 260,000 private-sector jobs since 2013.


    Last week, the Senate passed a bill unanimously that would help prevent overdose deaths caused by heroin and some prescription narcotics, by making a medication that can reverse the effects of opioid overdose more easily accessible at pharmacies statewide. Under current law, a pharmacy can't dispense naloxone - and people cannot receive the drug - without a prescription or standing order from a doctor. The bill would make naloxone accessible to those experiencing overdose who do not have time to visit a doctor and obtain a prescription.

    According to the state Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), naloxone is safe, effective and harmless if administered to someone not experiencing an opioid overdose. More than 1,000 people died from overdose in North Carolina in 2015. But a 2013 law passed by the General Assembly increased access to naloxone for law enforcement and first responders - and a result, DHHS determined the number of overdose reversals actually surpassed the number of overdose deaths last year. If the bill becomes law, North Carolina would become the third state in the U.S. with this kind of standing order.

• Contact: Bill Cook
•     bill.cook@ncleg.net