Last week, Chapel Hill and Carrboro got a new State House representative, as Allen Buansi was sworn in to take over for the retiring Verla Insko.

Insko retired on May 31 after a 25-year career in the State House; Buansi was sworn in as her replacement on June 1. The Orange County Democratic Party chose to appoint Buansi by virtue of his victory in the State House primary race on May 17; he’ll serve out the rest of Insko’s term before his own term begins next year.

97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck spoke with Buansi on Tuesday about his first week on the job — an eventful one, with ongoing budget talks and movement on numerous high-profile bills.

Listen to their conversation.

 

Allen Buansi: I got sworn in on Wednesday and we’ve had a couple of voting sessions last week — nothing really controversial, but even still I’ve had to learn a lot. There’s been a lot of information to absorb, but it’s also good in a way too: I get to come in during a session, get to see how things are working, so by the time I get to my first full term, I can really hit the ground running.

Aaron Keck: Any surprises so far?

Buansi: One surprise has been just the amount of activity — not just from constituents, but also from folks who are advocating for one cause or another. It’s amazing, just the sheer number of folks who drop by the office and want to talk for 15, 20 minutes. That’s been a bit surprising, but it’s been good too because it’s allowed me to have a chance to get to know different issues that I didn’t quite know about before.

Keck: Even though it’s the short session, there are a lot of very high profile bills that have been moving through — most notably HB 755, this so-called parents’ rights bill that also has some pretty significant anti-LGBTQ provisions. Thoughts on this?

Buansi: So, you know, one thing that was said at the outset of the session was that nothing controversial would be taken up, but lo and behold… <laugh>

Keck: Right.

Buansi: Certainly I and other Democrats plan on voting against it. It’s certainly not in line with my vision, with what I ran on, which is an inclusive and accessible community. It’s expected that the governor will veto it if it does pass the House. And for us, it’s about sending the message that — of course we support parents, of course we support families and their children, but we want to make sure that we are focusing on the right things. We want to make sure that we’re focusing on mental health resources for our children, want to make sure that we’re focusing on supporting our teachers and other school employees. (HB 755) distracts from what we actually need to do for our children, which is to have them be supported, feel welcomed, and feel like they can pursue whoever they are.

Keck: There’s (also) a bill that would expand Medicaid, which obviously is a huge Democratic priority, and another one that would legalize medical marijuana in the state. Both of those are through the Senate, they’re in the House now, but I know Speaker Moore has pushed back on (taking) floor votes quickly. What’s your position on those bills? And if you’re in favor of them, what can you do in the State House to move them along?

Buansi: Medicaid expansion is something that I’ve supported for a long time. It’s really long past time for North Carolina to expand Medicaid, to cover hundreds of thousands of more North Carolinians, especially North Carolinians in rural areas. We also want to prevent the closure of more rural hospitals — you know, a lot of folks need care, but folks don’t necessarily have the closest places where they can go for care. Not to mention the jobs, tens of thousands of new jobs that it would create, especially in rural areas. We’ve seen even the leader of the Senate come out and, and say the same kinds of things that Democrats have been saying a long time in support of Medicaid expansion. So I’m hopeful that it’ll come to the House for a floor vote — as you said, the Speaker has indicated that he doesn’t see taking it up this session, which would be a shame, but I’m hopeful.

On legalization of medical marijuana: again, that’s another great thing, and again, House leadership has indicated that they don’t want to take it up this session. My view, and I know the view of other Democrats, has been that we want to help people, and — you know, a lot of states have legalized medical marijuana. It would really help people with cancer, HIV/AIDS, epilepsy, PTSD, the benefits clearly are there. So, again, I’m hopeful that it can come to the floor for a vote, but we’ll see.

Keck: What else are you prioritizing in your first few days on the job? I know you’ve already cosponsored some bills.

Buansi: I have, yes. Actually the same day I was sworn in, (I cosponsored) the Reproductive Freedom Act, HB 1119. We have seen the very real threat that Roe v. Wade will be overturned. So in response, we need to meet the moment, and we need to make sure that we are protecting folks’ reproductive rights, and that means codifying Roe v. Wade. That means making sure that people’s privacy is protected, the right to control over your own body. And there’s broad support for Roe v. Wade. This is a matter of responding to the will of the people.

Another bill that I was able to cosponsor is the North Carolina Working Families Act, HB 1136. This bill essentially captures the budget priorities of House Democrats, (including) salary increases for public school teachers and other public workers, and increasing behavioral health support staff in public schools. A lot of students have been having a hard time and a lot of schools don’t have the resources to meet their needs. (The bill) would also reduce the innovations waiver wait list by increasing the number of slots by about 5,000; it would support clean energy initiatives, bike and pedestrian improvement, and create the North Carolina Clean Energy Innovation and Research Funds. In a nutshell, this budget is aimed at making sure that North Carolina is moving well into the 21st century, creating jobs, but also making sure that we are treating our workers well. So I was proud to add my name to that.

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