The state Senate passed its budget this week. It’s different from the Governor’s budget and also from the House budget, so nothing is final and there’s plenty of negotiation left to be done. But the Senate budget has quite a few noteworthy features. It would eliminate Prisoner Legal Services, instead giving inmates access to computer terminals for legal research. (The News and Observer reports on that idea here.) It would move the SBI from the Attorney General’s control to the Department of Public Safety. (More on that proposal here; so far, it appears that the AG, the Governor, and the law enforcement community oppose it.) It would eliminate special superior court judges; would not restore drug treatment court funding; would provide no raises for state employees; and would make Class 3 misdemeanors punishable only by a fine in most cases, apparently in an effort to save money by eliminating the necessity for appointed counsel for most Class 3 misdemeanors. The entire budget is available here. In other news: Caylee’s Law, HB 149, has been passed and signed by the Governor. Among other things, it makes it a felony to fail to report a child that has been missing for more than 24 hours. The bill was named after Caylee Anthony. ProPublica just released this interesting article about why the pace of executions has slowed down across the country. Essentially, the piece contends that death penalty opponents have pressured the chemical suppliers that manufacture or distribute the drugs used in executions to [...]
Faculty Coordinators
