State law has been contrary to the Americans with Disabilities Act because it says deaf jurors cannot be seated as jurors. In practice, the Administrative Office of the Courts has advised judges and other court officials to allow deaf people to remain in jury pools and to have an interpreter assigned to them.

Opponents of the bill, primary lawyers, have expressed concern that the bill could force lawyers to seat a deaf juror.

"if you're going to be in court and you're going to have your case heard, you want to make sure you're being heard," said Rep. Bill Faison, an Orange County Democrat.

Faison said his concern was over whether the change would force a lawyer to use one of their limited supply of peremptory challenges that allow a lawyer to reject a juror for any reason.

Rep. Rick Glazier, a Fayetteville Democrat, said opponents were making much out of a bill that needed to pass.

"This is simply a conforming change that we're required to do since our state has been out of compliance and illegal under the ADA," Glazier said.

More after the jump.

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* A proposed ban on sending text messages while driving, already watered down from the original proposal, is struggling in the legislature.

* The Arc of North Carolina says Gov. Beverly Perdue's budget "could have been worse" for the mental health and developmental disability community.

* Democratic Rep. Larry Womble of Winston-Salem wants companies that do business with the state to disclose their historical ties to slavery.

* Republican National Committee member Ada Fisher thinks chairman Michael Steele should step down, but she's not happy her e-mail was leaked.

Disability advocates are concerned about a proposed state cut.

A list of proposed budget cuts recently given to Gov. Beverly Perdue calls for cutting $9.5 million on a planned expansion of the Community Alternatives Program, which provides services to people with developmental disabilities.

Julia Leggett, policy coordinator for the Arc of North Carolina, said the move is pound-foolish because the federal government provides $3 in matching money for every dollar the state spends on those services. 

"It doesn't make sense at a time when the federal government is increasing its Medicaid spending to cut the state out," she said.

Leggett noted that more than 10,000 North Carolinians receive services under the program and there are hundreds of people on waiting lists in each county. It pays for home services and employment aid so that people with diseases such as severe cerebral palsy and Down syndrome can continue to live in their community. 

She said the only alternatives are expensive state institutions and home-care programs that do not have federal matching money.

"This is a way for people who need to stay in their community to be served more efficiently," she said. 

A disabilities advocate has ranked the 2007 session.

On her new blog, Julie Leggett, policy coordinator for The Arc of North Carolina, highlighted bills that allow voter registration closer to Election Day, offer sign language in schools and colleges, declare October Disability History and Awareness Month, make it a felony to assault a disabled person in an institution and make it easier for the disabled to register a vehicle.

She also cited the failure of a bill that would require school administrators adopt policies to punish bullying and harassment. The bill would have protected students with "a mental, physical or sensory disability," among other characteristics, but it stalled over the question of including sexual orientation on the list.

In a related post, Leggett noted that the $5 million set aside in next year's budget for the Goodyear and Bridgestone incentives could have paid for a number of programs for the disabled.

She said voters need to ask legislators about the spending:

Which is the better investment -- creating a $60 million dollar grant program for multinational corporations or investing in people with disabilities that have been waiting a long time for just such a financial commitment?