As session moves forward and my office in Raleigh gets busier the excitment of the next two years grows stronger. As I’ve said before, I’m honored to have the opportunity to represent you and look forward to your calls, visits, and emails sharing your thoughts about the issues being discussed at the General Assembly. Earlier this week, I was joined by a group of Future Farmers of America students from the district and I’m proud we were able to honor all FFA students with a Senate resolution.

Our work so far:

A major goal of the current General Assembly leadership is to not only pass legislation that will benefit North Carolina, but to do so as quickly and efficently as possible to ensure that we are being responsible to the taxpayers of this state. With that said, we have hit the ground running and already passed some major legislation. Below you can find some of the bills we have already passed, or nearing passage, with a brief summary. If you want to learn more about the bill, click on the bill number to read the full text.

SB 4 - An act to clarify the state’s intent not to operate a state-run or “partnership” health benefit exchange, to provide that future Medicaid eligibility determinations will be made by the state rather than federally facilitated exchange, and to reject the Affordable Care Act’s optional Medicaid expansion.

SB 14 - An act to direct the state Board of Education to develop career and college endorsements for high school diplomas, increase access to career and technical education teachers in public schools, and to work with the state Board of Community Colleges to increase the number of students enrolling in career and technical education in high need employment areas.

HB 4 - An act to address the unemployment insurance debt and to focus North Carolina’s unemployment insurance program on putting claimants back to work.

State of the State Address:

On Monday Feb. 18 at 7 p.m., Gov. Pat McCrory will give the annual State of the State address. I encourage you to watch it on TV as it will serve as a great way to learn more about his vision for the upcoming year on how to get North Carolina back on the right path after years of failed leadership.

FDA listening session:

Next Wednesday, Feb. 20, there will be an FDA listening session at the Fairgrounds in Raleigh. As you might be aware, the FDA is proposing new produce safety rules and this is an opportunity to learn more about the current proposal and ask questions. This is a great opportunity if you are a produce farmer or packer to learn more about the proposed changes that will impact your daily operations. If you have questions about the event you can contact Christina Waggett with the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services at 919-707-3008.

Town hall tour comes to an end:

I would like to thank everyone who attended one of my four town hall meetings over the past few weeks. I truly enjoyed getting to meet people and hear their concerns about the issues in North Carolina. One of the most interesting parts about the town hall tour were the diverse range of topics discussed, the same topic rarely came up at multiple meetings. I’d also like to thank senators Rabin and Newton and representatives Langdon, Brisson, Bell, and Dixon who all joined me in the discussions at one or more of the stops. In addition, we would like to thank the Johnston Agricultural Center, Tobacco Farm Life Museum in Kenly, Sampson Community College, and James Sprunt Community College for hosting the meetings.

What would you do?:

Now that I’ve shared some of my priorities and items we are currently working on, I want to know what would you do if you were in Raleigh? Please share some of your thoughts about what you would like to see done by responding to this email or calling my office.

In closing:

I appreciate you allowing me to serve you in the NC General Assembly and if I can ever be of service to you, please feel free to contact me at 919-733-5705 or brent.jackson@ncleg.net. You can also visit my Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/wbrentjackson. I look forward to hearing from you!