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