To: NC Senator Neal Hunt [neal.hunt@ncleg.net, nealh@ncleg.net]
Subject: Personal Response & Request to Meet Re: Neal Hunt News
Dear Senator Hunt,
Thank you for you including me in your recipient list with the informative newsletter regarding the many successful accomplishments and challenges overcome by the North Carolina legislature to improve the lives of the citizens of this State.
As a parent of two young children, I applaud your efforts toward improving the quality of education for our youngsters and for making environmental protection a priority. As the wife of a small business owner, I appreciate your plight in tax reduction and putting our State's budget in check. --Not unlike most parents, my greatest desire is to instill in our precious children a healthy respect for life, knowledge and nature and to see them grow to one day become productive, compassionate leaders who shall make the world a better place for generations to come.
At least that is my hope for Liam, our happy, healthy, typically-developing 5 year old son.
Liam's 14 year old sister, Isabel, however, will never "grow up," never attend college, and never live independently. In fact, she may never verbally speak nor progress beyond the cognitive capabilities of a toddler, and we've been potty-training for over a decade. You see, Isabel is a child with profound special needs and developmental disabilities, born with a one of a kind genetic rearrangement never documented prior to her birth. She is also a Medicaid Waiver / CAP recipient who, along with her family members, will be critically and detrimentally affected by the implementation of NC House Bill 916's new 1915(b)(c) Innovations Waivers in its current design.
As a parent with extensive Medicaid and CAP services experience, I will be among the first to admit that change was long overdue, however, I cannot help but feel that in the race to alleviate historical abuse of the system and establish a self-sustaining managed care solution, the human element has been sorely lost in this process. Though the train has left the station and there is no turning it around now, I am confident that the final destination can be greatly improved. --The best ideas usually come from the best of intentions, though when poorly executed... well, you know what they say about paving those roads.
As your constituent, I am responding to your email to respectfully request an opportunity to meet with you to discuss my concerns as a parent, stakeholder, and citizen of the State on behalf of my little girl and all special populations.
For your convenience, I have attached in this mail my previous letter and enclosures to Governor Beverly Perdue outlining in more detail concerns shared by many families across the State, copied to all members of the General Assembly on February 25th.
I will be contacting your office in the days following to schedule an appointment. I look forward to the opportunity to meet with you in person at your earliest convenience.
Thank you in advance for your time and attention on this most important issue vital to so many - the most vulnerable of North Carolina's citizens, and the families who love them.
Kind regards,
--
Crystal J. De la Cruz - Hopper
Mother, Advocate & Concerned Citizen
contact info...
When we allow the value of human life to be determined by capital gain, when we sacrifice the well-being of the most innocent among us to compensate our own shortcomings, and when we judge the worth of our most fragile, not by their character nor intention, but rather their abilities – We Are in Crisis.
"The moral test of government is how it treats those who are in the dawn of life . . . the children; those who are in the twilight of life . . . the elderly; and those who are in the shadow of life . . . the sick . . . the needy . . . and the disabled."
--Hubert H. Humphrey
On Wed, May 9, 2012 at 1:40 PM, Sen. Neal Hunt <Neal.Hunt@ncleg.net> wrote:
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LEGISLATIVE NEWSLETTER
K. NEAL HUNT
308 LEGISLATIVE OFFICE BUILDING
District 15, Wake County
May 9, 2012
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Legislature 733-5850
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Business 781-3464
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In one week the legislature will convene for the “short” session which meets during even years. The primary purpose of the upcoming short session is to make needed budget adjustments to the two year budget which we passed in 2011. The adjournment resolution from the 2011 long session stipulated that only budget amendments, noncontroversial local bills or bills that had passed either the House or the Senate can be considered. Typically the short session does not last very long as politicians want to go home to run their campaigns for reelection.
I thought it might be helpful to outline the accomplishments of the “long” session which ended July 1, 2011. As you may be aware, the new leadership of the Legislature found many challenges when we took office in January 2011. We had an approximately $3 billion budget hole left for us by the previous leadership. Excessive government spending, termination of federal stimulus dollars and loss of revenue due to the recession were the causes of this huge shortfall. We were able to fulfill our promises. To summarize last year’s session:
Actions Promised - Actions Accomplished:
- HB-200 passed Bipartisan Balanced Budget – Reduced spending by over $1 billion and avoided a tax increase (we already had the highest taxes in the southeast). As Co-chair of Senate Appropriations, I can attest to many long days and nights to get the budget balanced. Governor vetoed…Legislature over-rode.
- SB-689, SB-283, H-777 passed fair and legal Redistricting Maps for Congressional, State Senate and State House districts. Received US Department of Justice pre-clearance approval. Legislative attorneys are currently in court defending against lawsuits brought by the Democrat Party and the NAACP.
- SB-33 passed Medical Malpractice Liability legislation. Helped to make health care affordable and available while reducing the cost of health care by eliminating the need for the practice of defensive medicine.Governor vetoed…Legislature over-rode.
- HB-709 passed Workers’ Compensation Reform Legislation.
- SB-781 passed Regulation reform legislation to make North Carolina businesses more competitive and to insure that our state’s regulations do not overburden those businesses.
- HB-2 passed legislation to exempt North Carolina citizens and businesses from the high cost of National Health Care proposed by President Obama (Obamacare). Governor vetoed…Legislative over-ride pending.
- SB-709 passed Energy Jobs Act legislation to study the possibility of “fracking” and off shore oil drilling. Job creation and energy independence are the goal if this energy production can be done with no environmental damage.Governor vetoed…Legislative over-ride pending.
- HB-351 passed Voter (photo) ID legislation to promote and ensure honest and fair elections. Governor vetoed…Legislative over-ride pending.
- SB-532 passed Employment Security reform legislation to reorganize, improve operation efficiency, and set on a pathway to solvency. Governor vetoed…Legislature over-rode.
- Education Reform – Passed Education Reform to re-direct education funding into the classroom, added 1,100 new teachers, eliminated Charter School Cap, and required all third grade students to be reading proficiently before advancing to fourth grade.
- As you can see, we had a busy agenda, but with hard work and strong leadership, we delivered on our promises to the people of this great State.
These actions are just the beginning of our effort to create a business-friendly environment and energize the private sector economy to help create jobs in North Carolina
In 2013 our plan is to present a comprehensive North Carolina tax modernization proposal which will allow our state to be competitive in a 21st Century global economy. Our goal is to produce a tax system that is transparent, simple, and promotes economic growth and prosperity for all.
Your comments and thoughts are welcome.
Neal
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