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May 17, 2010 (Regular Meeting) <br />Page 1931 <br />1. Mental Health Funding - Seek legislation to ensure that state - funded <br />mental health, developmental disability, and substance abuse services <br />are available, accessible and affordable to all citizens and that <br />sufficient state resources fund service provision costs inclusive of <br />sufficient crisis beds. <br />2. Health and Social Services Funding - Support state funding to provide <br />adequate health and social services, specifically: <br />- assist each school system in reaching the school health nurse: <br />student ratio of 1:750 and incorporate into the allocation formula a <br />criterion that recognizes the level of county effort in funding school <br />nurses. The Legislature should examine the appropriateness of the <br />target ratio for small school districts and consider whether a target <br />of nurse hours per day per school is a better measure of nurse <br />availability; <br />- restore the financial incentives for counties that opt to be <br />"Electing Counties "; <br />- restore funding of the Division of Emergency Preparedness and <br />Regulatory Compliance within the county health departments to previous <br />levels; <br />- support additional funding for child -care subsidies and increase the <br />administrative limit from 4 percent to 5 percent to enhance program <br />integrity and eligibility review; <br />- increase the "general aid to county" funding for local health <br />departments to build necessary infrastructure and support the capacity <br />to provide essential public health services; and, <br />- support funding for the NC FAST automation initiative in social <br />services. <br />3. Local Discretion, Inspection Fees - Support legislation that would <br />provide greater discretion at the county level to establish fees for <br />the inspection of food and lodging facilities. <br />4. Records Sharing, Communicable Diseases - Support legislation which <br />provides immunity from civil or criminal liability to persons required <br />to provide information and records to health officials conducting <br />communicable disease investigations when such information is not <br />otherwise covered by the Health Insurance Portability and <br />Accountability Act or other federal or state law. <br />S. Allocation Formulas, Health and Human Services - Support a study with <br />representative stakeholder participation to examine the county <br />allocation formulas applied by the Department of Health and Human <br />Services to determine the sufficiency, equity and efficiency of each <br />formula, assuring that formulas fairly respond to the needs of all <br />counties. <br />6. Smoking Regulations - Support legislation to allow Boards of Public <br />Health, upon request of Boards of County Commissioners, to adopt a rule <br />or regulation regulating smoking in places of public accommodation. <br />7. Back -Up Generators for New Adult Care Homes - Support legislation to <br />require all newly constructed adult care homes to have back -up <br />generators. (Adopted by the Board of Directors at its Feb. 18, 2009, <br />meeting.) <br />Intergovernmental Relations <br />1. Transportation Funding - Oppose legislation shifting the state's <br />existing responsibility for funding transportation construction and <br />maintenance projects to county governments. <br />2. Modernize Annexation Laws - Support legislation modernizing the <br />annexation laws as follows: <br />- Requiring the development of joint utility service plans for <br />urbanizing areas; <br />- Requiring cities to reimburse counties for the loss of sales tax due <br />to an annexation <br />- Increasing the degree of urbanization required to annex property; <br />- Requiring a referendum on proposed involuntary annexations in areas <br />where public services - water and sewer and solid waste - are already <br />in place; and <br />- Requiring the direct provision of municipal water and sewer services <br />to customers within three years of an annexation. <br />- Providing that counties have the option of continuing to provide <br />utilities to annexed areas. <br />- Setting the effective date for involuntary annexations to be June 30 <br />following the date of adoption or final resolution of an appeal. <br />3. Collective Bargaining for Public Employees - Oppose legislation <br />authorizing local governments to enter into collective bargaining <br />agreements with public employees, or mandating dues check -off programs. <br />4. Workers' Compensation Reform - Support legislation to reform North <br />Carolina's Workers' Compensation system to reduce disability findings <br />