New laws hit the books today

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New laws hit the books today
September 30, 2007
By Barry Smith / Freedom Raleigh Bureau

RALEIGH Û One of the laws linked to the political corruption scandal of former House Speaker Jim Black will be erased from North Carolina books on Monday.
The law being repealed prohibited insurance companies from charging higher co-payments for chiropractic services than for primary care physicians.
It is among nearly six dozen laws passed by the 2007 General Assembly that take effect today. Many are technical in nature or apply to narrow situations. Others, such as the repeal of the chiropractor law, are much broader.
Earlier this year, Black pleaded guilty in federal court to public corruption charges for accepting $25,000 in cash from chiropractors. Some of the transactions took place in restaurant bathrooms.
The favorable co-payment law was among the legislation sought by the chiropractors. It was inserted into the state budget bill in 2005 with no debate.
Black was later sentenced to more than five years in prison on the political corruption charge. He was also fined $1 million after pleading guilty to corruption charges in state courts.
The bill repealing the chiropractor law was sponsored by House Majority Leader Hugh Holliman, D-Davidson, and House Minority Leader Skip Stam, R-Wake. Sen. Tony Foriest, D-Alamance, introduced a similar bill in the Senate.
Foriest, a freshman senator, said that while he wasnÌt in the General Assembly when the initial chiropractor law was passed, something needed to be done to set the record straight.
ÏWhen you talk about something like that, you need to debate it and talk about it and hear the pros and cons of a particular situation,Ó Foriest said. ÏAs I understand the way it happened, that wasnÌt provided for.Ó
Foriest said that the provision ended up in law without such debate.
ÏNobody seemed to be able to put a finger on exactly what had happened,Ó Foriest said. It just seemed like we needed to debate the pros and cons.Ó
He said the more lawmakers know about a particular issue, the better off they are when it comes to deciding whether the legislation is good or not.
Another new law taking effect on Monday gives more legal weight to choices that people make when they indicate on their driverÌs license that they want to be an organ donor. In North Carolina, a small red heart is placed on a driverÌs license to indicate the license holder wants to be an organ donor.
The sponsor of the new law, Rep. Dale Folwell, R-Forsyth, said that the heart will now prevail when a would-be organ donor enters the final stages of life.
He said the need for such a law was brought to his attention last year when a friend of his, who had suffered a massive stroke, did not become an organ donor because of a communication problem.
Previously, decisions regarding organ donation would be made by next-of-kin, Folwell said.
ÏIt cements in the law what other people already thought when they put their heart on their driverÌs license to begin with,Ó Folwell said. ÏThe purpose of the bill is simply to honor the wishes of the decedent and to save lives.Ó
Folwell said that parentsÌ wishes would still trump those of an unemancipated minor when it comes to organ donation decisions. And specifications spelled out in what Folwell called a Ïhigher order document,Ó such as a will or a health care power of attorney, would supersede the organ donor heart on a driverÌs license, he said.
Among the new laws taking effect today:
* The Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention will be required to release the first name, last initial and photograph of certain youths who escape from a juvenile detention center or a youth development center.
* Businesses supplying perishable products will be prohibited from misrepresenting their geographical location in phone books, directory assistance data bases, the Internet and print advertisements.
* Pawnbrokers will be required to keep items pawned at their shop longer before putting them up for sale.
* The FiremenÌs Relief Fund will be renamed the FirefightersÌ Relief Fund, in recognition of the numerous female firefighters serving in North Carolina. The fund is for firefighters and their families who become sick, are injured or die in the line of duty.
* At the request of a surviving spouse or next of kin, the State Bureau of Investigation will be asked to investigate any death that is the result of the use of a firearm by a police officer.