In the General Assembly, Democrats continued to improve the quality of life for all North Carolinians, including:

EDUCATION

• We strengthened our efforts to attract and retain the very best educators throughout our education system by providing a 5 percent salary increase for teachers as well as community college and university faculty.
• We ensured smaller class sizes to help give younger students the individualized attention they need.
• We funded scholarships for low to moderate income students to graduate from college debt-free.
• We invested in More at Four pre-kindergarten education to prepare at-risk four-year-olds in for success in school.

HEALTH CARE

• We provided funds to help senior citizens gain access to more affordable prescription drugs.
• We provided health coverage for uninsured children – and provided additional funding to expand the number of eligible children of working families.
• We required group heath insurance providers to cover treatments for many major mental illnesses at the same level they cover physical illnesses.
• We provided funding to make North Carolina a nationwide leader in cancer research.

ECONOMY & TAX RELIEF

• We capped the gas tax to help consumers cope with rising fuel prices.
• We invested in critical economic-growth initiatives to help attract new jobs and employers and to help existing businesses grow and prosper.
• We cut taxes for small business owners, which are the backbone of our economy.
• We enacted the state’s first earned income tax credit to reduce child poverty, increase effective wages, and cut taxes for as many as 700,000 families struggling to make ends meet.

ENVIRONMENT

• We enacted landmark clean energy efficiency standards to reduce the burden on foreign oil, help cut pollution, and lower greenhouse gases.
• We permanently banned new hog lagoons while ensuring the sustainability of our hog farms and farmers for years to come.
• We passed sweeping regulations for the construction of landfills to protect our natural resources.
• We invested $120 million to protect our natural resources and lands for future generations.
• We invested $100 million in the Clean Water Management Trust Fund to combat water pollution in our state.

MEDICAID RELIEF

• With permanent Medicaid relief, we freed up more than $500 million in local dollars for schools, economic development, roads and other critical needs.

SAFETY

• We cracked down on Internet sexual abuse and we increased penalties for child pornography.
• We added protections for women in domestic violence shelters and allowed law enforcement leeway in arresting domestic violence suspects.
• We cracked down on dangerous excessive speeding and increased penalties for hit-and-run accidents.
• We passed tougher enforcement for DWIs to make our roadways safer.

CONSUMER PROTECTION

• We shielded consumers from unscrupulous telemarketers who purchase private information.
• We allowed consumers at least 30 days to cash in on manufacturers’ rebates.

FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY

• We added to our Rainy Day Fund, which now totals more than $785 million, in case economic or natural disasters hit our state.

GOVERNMENT ETHICS

• We required candidates for any public office to disclose if they have been convicted of a felony.
• We stopped the pensions of corrupt officials.
• We required more disclosures for political advertising by outside groups.