Clarify DV Misdemeanor.

Misleading 5/5Stowaway

SB 156 started as the Medicaid Children and Families Specialty Plan. A statewide managed care program for foster children... the kind of kids who lose access to doctors every time they get moved to a new county. It had 28 sponsors from both parties. Senator Joyce Krawiec of Forsyth County led it. It passed the Senate 44-1. One dissenting vote out of 45.

Then it went to the House. In May 2024, the House Judiciary Committee gutted the entire bill. Every word of the Medicaid content was stripped out and replaced with domestic violence misdemeanor clarifications. New title. New subject matter. The 44-1 Senate vote was for legislation that no longer existed inside the bill. The bipartisan sponsors from both parties are still listed on a bill that no longer contains anything they signed up for.

The Medicaid plan did eventually become law through a different vehicle... SL 2023-134 authorized it, and it launched December 1, 2025 as "Healthy Blue Care Together," enrolling about 32,000 foster children statewide. But SB 156 itself died in House Rules, gutted and abandoned. A bill that 44 senators agreed on couldn't survive the trip across the building.

That's the shell game. Popular bipartisan legislation goes in. Something completely different comes out. And the original sponsors' names stay attached to a bill they'd barely recognize.

Status

In House committee

Sponsors

Krawiec, Burgin, Corbin, Adcock, Alexander, Barnes, Batch, Bode, Britt, Craven, Daniel, Galey, Hise, Hunt, Jarvis, Lee, Lowe, Marcus, McInnis, Mohammed, Murdock, Robinson, Salvador, Sawrey, Sawyer, Smith, Waddell, Woodard

Stowaway Provisions

A bill titled 'Clarify DV Misdemeanor' about domestic violence law was completely replaced with an extensive Medicaid managed care overhaul creating a new statewide Children and Families specialty plan.

The bill's stated purpose: Clarifying definitions and procedures for domestic violence misdemeanor charges

What was hidden inside: The entire February 2023 version establishing a new Medicaid Children and Families (CAF) specialty plan, modifying Medicaid managed care contracts, creating closed provider networks, changing enrollment procedures for foster care children, and amending multiple chapters of state law governing health services - none of which relate to domestic violence misdemeanors

Sources

ncleg.gov bill page journalnow.com Winston-Salem Journal (original Medicaid bill, Krawiec sponsor, Senate advance, foster care provisions)ncdhhs.gov NCDHHS (CAF plan launch Dec 1 2025, Blue Cross contract, 32,000 enrollees)northcarolinahealthnews.org NC Health News (foster care Medicaid challenges, CAF plan context, stakeholder history)UNC Legislative Reporting Service UNC School of Government (bill summary, House substitute)ncleg.gov Filed version (Medicaid content)ncleg.gov House substitute (DV content)

The Vote

3/8/2023 4:31 PM · Medicaid Children and Families Specialty Plan. Second Reading · Senate

Senate Vote · Passed 44–1

R Yea (27)D Yea (17)D Nay (1)

Passed 44-1

Party Breakdown

27/30 (90%)

17/20 (85%)