N.C. Senator Ellie Kinnaird's Newsletter

September 4, 2011 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Ellie Kinnaird

Greetings from the North Carolina Senate,

Last session a bill that required that any pig transported on public roads have an identification number and, if it did not have such a number, was considered feral and the person transporting the animal would be subject to a $5000 fine for each one. Frankly, we were mystified as to the purpose of the bill with lots of question marks over our heads and conjecture exchanged as to why this bill was before us. Last week the answer emerged. An op-ed in the N & O described a hunting practice in which feral swine (wild pigs) and wild boars are transported to various parts of the countryside and let loose so that hunters can then shoot for sport. The op-ed pointed out the great damage these loose pigs cause to gardens, farms, woods and forests. Hence the bill to stop the practice and reduce the large number of wild pigs in our state. Large swine farms already identify each of their animals so they are not affected. Under the new law, feral pigs and wild boars are no longer defined as Game, Big Game, or Wild Animals allowed for hunting and a hunter can no longer get a hunting license for wild boar or feral pigs. So, without the protection of a game animal, I guess they can be killed anywhere any time, but they can’t be brought in and turned loose for sport. A bit of history - the pigs were brought over by the colonists who used them for food, not having large confined hog farms as us modern folks do. I wonder if they also had arguments about which bar-b-que was better - English eastern or Spanish western.

A few years ago, the tourist and hospitality industry were able to change the starting date of public schools to make sure the school year didn’t interfere with the summer tourist season. It has been a contentious issue ever since. Every year one school system or another would get an exemption, mostly to make up snow days. This year a bill was introduced to study the current length of the school year and to determine who long it should be. All well and good and lots of folks were hoping this might get decided once and for all, but House didn’t pass the Studies Bill so the issue will still be on the table for the next legislature.

Meth labs are a continuing problem. Measures were put in place when the meth labs first appeared that required a purchaser of cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine products to list a buyer’s name and other identifying information. Apparently, that wasn’t enough to stop people from buying over the counter cold medicine from multiple stores and manufacturing the meth. This year, in one more attempt, the legislature introduced a bill that would have required a prescription for pseudoephedrine. The manufacturer of the product objected and instead an electronic record-keeping system is now required of all retailers which must submit all sales to the National Precursor Lox Exchange administered by the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators. But the system must be available to all retailers without a charge to access the system and the retailer must have Internet access with a subsidy to those convenience stores - mostly mom and pop outfits - that couldn’t afford the hard and soft ware on their own. A Stop Alert is generated and the information is forwarded to the State Bureau of Investigation weekly. We’ll see how smart and determined the criminals to get around this are one more time.

A bill expanding the immunizations pharmacists could administer was introduced and passed in the Senate. There was a great deal of opposition from the medical profession and the bill was stopped in the House. Many people feel this was a “turf” war (of which there are many in the legislature) and think that with proper oversight, pharmacists could help to reach more people with vaccinations to the benefit of public health.

I’ve written earlier about the Health Insurance Exchange that is required in the health care reform passed by Congress last year. The Institute of Medicine studied the issue for a year using an advisory committee of professionals and legislators who have worked on health care issues. The recommendations were rejected by the leadership and the Institute bill was never introduced. Now the federal government has awarded N.C. $12.4 million to set up an exchange. Not sure what will happen with either the money (which is a lot) or the recommended bill.

As we remember the tragedy that struck our country ten years ago, we add up the changes in our lives and in our country. Everything from recalling what we were doing on that day at that moment when we heard about it to the inconvenience at airports to the grievous loss of our freedom through the Patriot Act. In those ways, the terrorists won. And most of all, in the continuing wars in which this week eight more military people lost their lives. Peace on earth is our hope for this anniversary.

Paid for by Ellie Kinnaird for Senate • Campaign Address: PO Box 668, Carrboro, NC 27510 • 919-918-3432
Legislative Office Address: Room 628 LOB, 300 N. Salisbury St., Raleigh, NC 27603 •