| Dan Deuterman

| Legislation, Workers' Compensation, Workers' Compensation Reform

The Facts about SB 10

There’s a lot of misinformation about N.C. Senate Bill 10, which is heading for a vote in the N.C. House on Tuesday, Feb. 12.

If passed, the bill would allow Gov. Pat McCrory to dismantled the state workers’ compensation court and other appointed state commissions. It would give the governor the right to remove workers comp judges whose terms have not expired and reappoint a new slate of politically biased judges who favor the interests of insurance and big business over the rights of injured workers. The bill would also remove certain superior court judges from office and members of other state commissions, giving McCrory unprecedented power to appoint his picks to these important roles.

Some supporters of SB 10 are saying that this type of political house cleaning happens every time a new political party takes control of the governor’s office in North Carolina.

That’s untrue.

I encourage you to educate yourself about Senate Bill 10, and when you do, you’ll see why it’s wrong for North Carolina.

For more background on the issue, check of WRAL’s coverage of SB 10 You can read more coverage here, as well.

Here’s a quick video summery of SB 10, too.

The N.C. Senate passed SB 10 last week, and the N.C. House of Representatives is set to vote on it this week. Representatives from both political parties are concerned about what impact this bill could have on state government and the state court system.

Edgar Starnes, the majority leader in the House, says House Republicans have concerns about the bill, according to news reports.

You’ll want to read the entire story, but here’s an interesting quote from a report ABC 11:

Sponsor Sen. Bill Rabon of Southport acknowledged the bill would give McCrory the ability to set his own mark in government but denied it was a Republican power grab. He said it should make the state more efficient and save $2 million.

This isn’t about saving money. It is about taking political power away from the people of North Carolina and putting it in the hands of big business and insurance companies.

What happened to government by the people, for the people?