Governor Easley signed into law two of Rep. Martin's bill that help veterans to serve in state employment.  House Bill 1412: “An act to clarify veterans preferences with state departments, agencies and institutions" and House Bill 1413: “An act providing for the designated appointment of a veteran of the armed forces to the State Personnel Commission” were two of the top priorities this year of a coalition of veterans groups.

Read more about the new laws at WNCT-TV's website.

In its "Heroes and Zeros" column, The Independent Weekly newspaper highlighted Grier's efforts to bring about campaign finance reform:

"Two Triangle legislators, Wake County Democrats Deborah Ross and Grier Martin, were among the primary sponsors of a bill the House approved on July 28 that would provide public financing for the superintendent of public instruction, the insurance commissioner and the state auditor—three of the nine positions on the Council of State. House members voted 59-57 in support of the measure, which, much like the public financing already in place for appellate judges, would provide at least $300,000 in public money to candidates who raise a minimum amount of small contributions. The bill could become effective for the 2008 elections, but only if the Senate acts on it before adjournment this week—and Easley signs it after that."

Read the story here.

Governor Easley today signed H1634, Rep. Martin's bill to protect the child custody rights of servicemembers.

A May 29 Charlotte Observer article highlighted the troubles servicemembers face in an article about a mother serving in the National Guard facing loss of custody of her children ("Mom's choice: Her country or her child").  The Observer also reported on H1634 here.

The Winston-Salem Journal wrote an editorial in support of the bill, noting that "When duty calls and those in the military are deployed, they risk life, limb and the loss of considerable income. They shouldn’t risk losing custody of their children, too."

Budget negotiations continued this week with the House and the Senate working to find a common ground.   When we are not negotiating, my colleagues and I continue to work on other legislation in committees.  It’s too early to say when we’ll come to an agreement.  The main sticking point seems to be what to do about Medicaid.  Both the House and Senate are committed to easing the burden our counties bear of these costs, but we haven’t yet come close to agreeing exactly how to get it done.
 
HB 1634, “Custody/Visitation/Military Orders” unanimously passed the Senate this week and is now on its way back to the House for us to concur in a few minor changes.  I am very proud of the support that this bill has received and that it may very soon become law.  This bill will go a long way towards ensuring that servicemembers do not lose custody of their children as a result of their service.

At their annual convention in Raleigh, the NC Department of the Disabled America Veterans gave Grier Martin their Legislator of the Year Award "In recognition of outstanding leadership, devoted service and unwavering dedication to build better lives for the disabled veterans and their families of this great state and nation".

After several busy weeks preparing the budget and handling the last of the bills that needed to pass before a key deadline, we’ve had a chance to slow down here, But, the break won’t be for long.  My counterparts in the Senate finished work on their version of the budget recently.  The House and Senate will now sit down together to work out a compromise.   I have been appointed as one of the House conferees, and will be involved in these negotiations.  In particular, I will be focusing on transportation budgetary issues.
 
Staying Busy
 
May 23 was “Veteran’s Lobby Day at the Legislature”.   I was very proud that many of the veterans visiting the legislature attended my Homeland Security, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee meeting. This gave me the opportunity to introduce other members of the committee who also served in the Armed Forces.
 
On Memorial Day, I was honored to speak to The Heritage of Raleigh, a senior living community, about the meaning of Memorial Day and my own experiences while serving in Afghanistan.
 
I spoke to the convention of the North Carolina Chapter of Disabled American Veterans on May 31 and was very humbled to be the recipient of their “2007 Legislator of the Year Award”.
 
Work continues on the effort to implement a renewable energy portfolio standard (RPS or REPS) in North Carolina.  This effort will result in an increase in clean, renewable energy here and also bring many high paying jobs to the state.  Rep. Pricey Harrison (D-Guilford) wrote a letter to the editor of the Charlotte Observer that you can read here.

Rep. Martin's bill to protect servicemembers' custodial rights (HB1634) unanimously passed the House of Representatives last week.  It now goes to the Senate for consideration.

The Charlotte Observer highlighted the bill in today's edition ("N.C. bill protects military custodial rights"), accompanying an article about a mother serving in the National Guard facing loss of custody of her children ("Mom's choice: Her country or her child"). 

Read the article on the bill here and the article on the mother here.

A bill outlawing unfair and predatory life insurance sales practices targeting military servicemembers unanimously passed the House yesterday. Grier introduced H773 as a result of some of the scams he saw when stationed at Fort Bragg several years ago.

Click to read more in the Fayetteville Observer.

Click to hear a story on WUNC

Legislative Update
We in the House of Representatives have been extremely busy the last two weeks as we finished up our budget.   The North Carolina Constitution requires that our budget be voted upon on two separate days.  So, after many hours of debate, we had our first vote at around 10:30pm Thursday and the second vote at just after midnight on Friday morning!
 
Education remains a top priority and I’m glad that protection of the environment receives good support.  The budget also does some good things for our military servicemembers and their families.  No budget is perfect; I voted against a budget two years ago when I believed the good in it was outweighed by the bad.  But, I was very pleased to support this year’s budget.
 
HB 1634- “Custody/Visitation/Military Orders” was unanimously approved by the House yesterday.  This bill will ensure that parents serving our country do not have to worry about losing custody of their children when they return from war.  The bill now goes on to the Senate.
 
Staying Busy
On April 27, I was excited to attend the 18th Annual Kids Festival at Wake Forest/Rolesville High School.  This festival provided activities planned by the high school students in a collaborative partnership with Wake Forest Elementary School to celebrate “serving” children in the community.

Grier appeared on the WRAL evening news May 8th.  He discussed the role of the NC National Guard in fighting wars and protecting us from natural disasters here at home. 

You can view video here and text here.

Grier is a sponsor of HB77 that would increase the amount of renewable energy produced by NC's utilities.  The News & Observer recently featured an article on the efforts to get this bill passed.  You can read it here.

Legislative Update
When our nation is at war, our warriors and their families bear the greatest burden.  In past newsletters, I’ve talked about some of the things we’re doing here to ease that burden.  But, war can also burden others connected to the warrior.  Small businesses that employ reservists can suffer if these employees are called to active duty.  And, frequent mobilizations can make employers reluctant to employ reservists.  I’m proud to report that Rep. Hugh Holliman (D-Davidson), Rep. Van Braxton (D-Lenoir), and Ray Warren (D-Alexander), and I have introduced a bill to address this problem.  HB 1499, “Small Business Tax Credit – Military Call-Up” will offer small businesses tax credits when their employees are called to serve our country. The credits would help pay the cost of training people to perform the job of the mobilized warrior and also the cost of reintegrating returning warriors into the company’s work force.

Staying Busy
On April 16, I attended a Veterans Town Hall meeting in Fayetteville.  The goal was to give North Carolina veterans a venue to talk about their needs and to hear what the state and federal governments are doing to help.  You can read more about the event here.

I had the honor of attending and speaking at the opening ceremonies for a week-long visit by educators from China at Sanderson High School. This program allows Chinese educators to see what we’re doing here in North Carolina and us to learn about how they’re teaching students back in China.  More information about this can be found here.

Home Buyer Fair
I am very excited to sponsor a Home Buyer Fair this Saturday, April 28, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. at Baptist Grove Church (7109 Leesville Road, Raleigh). Come learn how you might be able to purchase your first home through programs offered by the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency. Visit this website for more information http://www.nchfa.com/About/07Press/Apr18.aspx.

Grier urged attendees to contact their legislators about issues affecting veterans.  Read more here in the Greensboro News & Record.