Sex-ed bill gets moved forward

Two hotly debated bills that intertwine schools and sex advanced yesterday in the General Assembly, with Democratic supporters narrowly prevailing over Republican opponents. One bill will require local school districts to adopt anti-bullying policies that explicitly refer to students' perceived sexual orientation as one of many characteristics that could make students the target of bullying. The bill got its final approval by a one-vote margin and now goes to the governor for her signature.

Another bill would expand the teaching of so-called comprehensive sexual education, which gives students more information than the abstinence-until-marriage curriculum currently used in most schools. That bill was narrowly approved yesterday by the N.C. Senate and now returns to the N.C. House, which previously approved a different version.

On a busy day at the General Assembly, legislators also voted to give bigger tax credits to film companies, and key budget-writers signaled that they may not reach agreement on a new state budget by the start of the new fiscal year on July 1.

Here is a rundown of yesterday's activity:

□ Anti-bullying -- For the second straight day, the N.C. House debated for more than an hour on the anti-bullying bill. On Monday, the bill got initial approval by a vote of 59-7. Yesterday, the final vote was even closer: it passed 58-57, with most Democrats supporting it, Republicans opposed, and several moderate Democrats who held key swing votes not voting at all.

Gov. Bev Perdue, a Democrat, is expected to sign the bill into law. It will force all school districts to adopt anti-bullying policies that explicitly name particular characteristics that can make students susceptible to verbal or physical harassment at school. The list of characteristics includes race, religion, physical appearance, sexual orientation and gender identity.

The bill's supporters said that listing the characteristics makes anti-bullying policies much more effective.

Opponents said that the bill should not single out any categories of students. And they said that the bill's reference to sexual orientation could eventually be used as a legal precedent to extend more benefits or protections to gays and lesbians.

□ Sex education -- While the House had its final debate on the anti-bullying bill, the N.C. Senate took up the equally contentious sex-education bill.

The Senate version of the bill, which was approved yesterday 25-to-21, would require school districts to teach a two-pronged sex-education curriculum. It would begin with classes that emphasize abstinence until marriage. Then, students would be enrolled in additional instruction, known as comprehensive sex education, which contains more information about contraceptives and sexually transmitted diseases.

Under the bill, parents could have their children removed from the comprehensive portion.

Currently, most school districts in North Carolina teach an abstinence-until-marriage curriculum. A few districts, including the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County schools, teach a more comprehensive curriculum. For the districts that already teach comprehensive sex education, the Senate bill would likely have little practical effect.

The Senate bill contains a number of changes from an earlier version previously approved by the House. The House will now decide whether to accept or reject the Senate's changes.

□ Film incentives --Another Senate bill that got considerable debate yesterday would increase economic incentives to film companies that shoot movies in North Carolina.

The bill's primary sponsor is Sen. Linda Garrou, D-Forsyth, who said that North Carolina needs to compete more with other states offering better incentives to attract the film industry.

"We had a strong film business in North Carolina at one time," Garrou said. "It was very strong. And we want to be sure that we encourage that industry to remain as viable as it has been in the past."

The bill would give filmmakers who shoot in the state a 25 percent income-tax credit on qualifying expenses. Currently the state gives tax credits of 15 percent.

Garrou said that the bill would bring in $700 million and lead to the creation of 4,000 jobs.

Republican opponents disputed the accuracy of those figures. They said that the state should not give more assistance to corporations during a time when the state is facing a severe budget crisis and is on the verge of raising taxes on individuals.

The bill was approved on an initial vote of 26-19. It needs another vote in the Senate before it moves to the House.

□ Stopgap budget-- The Senate also approved yesterday a stopgap spending measure that would keep state government operating in the new fiscal year if legislators do not pass a budget in time.

The bill would continue state spending at 85 percent of what was budgeted for the current year.

The temporary spending measure would not be needed if House and Senate budget writers agreed on a final budget by the end of the month. But senators said that it is a backup plan in case they need more time.

The state is facing a budget shortfall of more than $4 billion, and House and Senate leaders disagree on potential tax increases to help make up the gap.

"We're concerned that we're not going to be able to get a budget together," said Garrou, who is the chief budget writer in the Senate.

■ James Romoser can be reached at 919-210-6794 or at jromoser@wsjournal.com.