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From the Office of Representative Cullie
Tarleton
Our nation celebrated Veterans Day this week and I know that
like me you are grateful for the service of these men and women.
At the state level, we have tried to show our appreciation during
the past session by granting military members more educational
opportunities, protecting their health and watching over the
family members they leave behind when they are deployed. We
have had a great deal of success in these areas and in the session
ahead we will continue looking for ways to recognize their contributions
to our state and nation.
I also want to thank you for your confidence in electing me
to a new term in the N C House. I pledge to you that I'll continue
to be your strong voice in Raleigh.
I look forward to serving you in the session ahead. As always,
please let me know if you have any questions or concerns that
I can assist with and thank you for your interest in our state.
Education
The state appropriated $240,000 to hire four additional
school counselors for school systems near Fort Bragg, Camp Lejeune,
Cherry Point Marine Corps air station and Seymour Johnson Air
Force Base. The counselors will help families in those counties
deal with issues related to deployment and relocation. They
will also be available to work with military families in adjoining
counties.
North Carolina has joined the Interstate Compact on Educational
Opportunity for Military Children. The compact was created to
make changing schools easier for children of military families
by creating consistent enrollment, record transfer, student
placement, extracurricular activity guidelines. The new law
(SB 1541) allows for the enforcement of administrative rules
and uniform collection and sharing of information. It also promotes
flexibility and cooperation between the schools, parents and
students as these families are transferred to new posts.
This year's state budget includes an additional $326,500 for
scholarships and related educational materials for children
of veterans killed or disabled during wartime. The total amount
for the program is now nearly $9.6 million, including $6.9 million
from escheats fund.
Family
A new law protects the parental custody and visitation
rights of deployed and active members of the military. The bill
(H1634) permits expedited custody hearings for service members
called into duty and hearings via telephone for service members
deployed on short notice. It also prevents a parent from citing
deployment and a reason to modify or change custody arrangements.
Under the new law, any custody order issued because of deployment
expires within 10 days of the soldier's return.
The state allocated $420,000 to support three assistance centers
that help families of deployed National Guardsmen. The centers
provide the families benefit and planning services. We need
more of these centers and I'll introduce legislation in 2009
to build at least two more.
Health
Through our budget, we paid to set up a hotline that veterans
returning home from war can use if they believe they need mental
health care. Some veterans say they are embarrassed to seek
mental health care through the military for the trauma often
suffered during duty in war. This is something I've been working
on for the past year. We do not do enough for our returning
men and women when it comes to providing private counseling.
The Adjutant General tells me that one year from now we'll have
5,000 men and women of our National Guard deployed. When they
return, I want to make sure they get the services they deserve.
The General Assembly appropriated $1 million in the state budget
for traumatic brain injury services and required that veterans
and their families be among the target populations for the money.
Employment
North Carolina is experiencing the largest deployment of
soldiers since World War II. Since September 11, 2001, more
than 60,000 service members have been deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan
or on related missions. Legislators passed a bill (H671) that
grants leaves of absence for elected or appointed state officials
who are called to active military duty and permits temporary
officials to be appointed during their absences. Another new
law (H1412) clarifies that veterans and their surviving spouses
or dependents preference with state departments, agencies, and
institutions. We also added a veteran to the State Personnel
Commission (H1413). The commission sets policies and establishes
practices for hiring in the state. Teachers and state employees
called into active duty will now receive credit for time spent
in the military for retirement purposes (H1414) and they will
not be denied short-term benefits because of absences for military
service (H1415).
Consumer Protection
Service members who put their lives on the line for our
nation deserve protection from people who would prey on their
families while they are away or preparing to deploy. A new law
(H773 which I co-sponsored) helps protect members of the military
from predatory life insurance policies that may not cover death
in combat and predatory annuity sales. The law also prohibits
false, misleading, deceptive, or unfair acts.
In addition, through the budget, the state has hired a consumer
protection specialist within the Department of Justice to keep
service members and their families safe from scams to cheat
them out of their hard-earned money.
Miscellaneous
During the past two years, the state has appropriated $2
million for morale, recreation and welfare programs on military
installations. The money is being shared among all branches
of the military in the state, including the Army, Marine Corps,
Air Force, Coast Guard and National Guard. The legislature also
allocated $1.25 million to help the North Carolina Military
Business Center foster business development originating from
the state's military bases and $3 million to the Defense and
Security Technology Accelerator to help build businesses tied
to homeland security and national defense.
The General Assembly set aside $500,000 to help a nonprofit
organization complete architectural plans for the Museum of
the Marine, a tribute to the contributions the U.S. Marines
have made to our world and nation. The museum will be in the
city of Jacksonville, near Camp Lejeune Marine Corps base.
The state appropriated $15 million to help build the new North
Carolina State Veterans Park, which includes a formal garden,
a visitor's center and a Freedom Trail.
Congratulations to Dorothy Witherspoon of Ashe County who will
be installed as President of the North Carolina School Boards
association this week.
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