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7 <br /> 1 d) Provide additional revenue options, including a statewide bond and lottery proceeds, to <br /> 2 equitably address statewide public school and community college capital challenges and meet <br /> 3 identified needs. <br /> 4 <br /> 5 Expansion of Medicaid Program — Support legislation to increase access to the Medicaid <br /> 6 program to make health insurance available to approximately 500,000 more North Carolina <br /> 7 residents and as additional support for rural hospitals. <br /> 8 <br /> 9 Minimum Wage Increase— Support legislation to raise the minimum wage to enhance people's <br /> 10 economic security, improve access to safe and secure housing, boost the economy with <br /> 11 increased spending, decrease dependence on government assistance programs, and improve <br /> 12 the lives of families. <br /> 13 <br /> 14 Mental Health Funding — Seek legislation that: <br /> 15 a) provides adequate State-funded mental health, developmental disability, and substance <br /> 16 abuse services and facilities at the local level, accessible and affordable to all residents and that <br /> 17 sufficient state resources fund service provision costs inclusive of sufficient crisis intervention <br /> 18 and treatment, and to structure appropriate county participation in governance; and <br /> 19 b) provides funding to develop and implement a plan to reduce the number of people with <br /> 20 mental health issues in county jails (See EXHIBIT A— National Association of Counties (NACo) <br /> 21 Stepping Up Initiative); <br /> 22 <br /> 23 Non-Partisan Redistricting Process for Elections — Support legislation to establish a process <br /> 24 for an independent, non-partisan redistricting process after each United States Census for the <br /> 25 election of representatives from North Carolina to the United States House of Representatives, <br /> 26 the North Carolina House, and the North Carolina Senate; <br /> 27 <br /> 28 Criminal Justice Reform/Juvenile Jurisdiction — Support legislation to develop and fund a <br /> 29 plan to: <br /> 30 a) help reduce unnecessary charges and arrests by expanding the use of pre-arrest diversion <br /> 31 and the issuance of citations or summons, replace reliance on money bail with non-financial <br /> 32 conditions of release such as written promises to appear, or the least restrictive available <br /> 33 conditions, and restrict detention to the small number of people for whom no condition or <br /> 34 combination of conditions can reasonably assure appearance in court and public safety, reduce <br /> 35 disparity within the pretrial justice system; support the collection of local data regarding pre-trial <br /> 36 release outcomes; and increased funding for pre-trial release supervision programs that utilize <br /> 37 evidence-based best practices; and <br /> 38 b) address developmentally inappropriate limits on juvenile court jurisdiction, demographic and <br /> 39 geographic disparities, inadequate representation in juvenile court, unnecessary juvenile <br /> 40 detention, lifelong collateral consequences stemming from juvenile court involvement, and <br /> 41 punitive school policies and practices that push students into the court system. <br /> 42 <br /> 43 Other Orange County Legislative Interests <br /> 44 In addition to Orange County's Priority Legislative Issues, other legislative items of importance <br /> 45 to the County for 2019 are as follows: <br /> 46 <br /> 47 1) Child Care - Seek legislation to reverse changes made to the childcare subsidy program <br /> 48 available to working families, including establishing eligibility for all children at 200% of the <br /> 49 federal poverty level, to help many working parents who are trying to become more financial <br /> 50 self-sufficient, and to prorate fees for children attending based on the hours attended; <br /> 51 <br />