Her home is in Mocksville. Rep. Howard is serving her 14th two-year term in the NC House. As a tribute to her strength and integrity with her fellow members, Rep. Howard was a long-serving Chair of the House Ethics Committee. She also serves as Chair of the House Committee on Banking and Co-Chair of the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Unemployment Insurance. From past years, Rep. Howard is well known for her work with welfare reform and the long-awaited passage of Jessica's Law, legislation providing our children with critical new protections against sex offenders. She continues to work on child protection laws while being a constant 'watchdog' for small business. For instance, in 2014, Rep. Howard led the charge to reform North Carolina's unemployment insurance system. During the Great Recession of 2008, North Carolina quickly exhausted its unemployment trust fund and amassed debt to the federal government in excess of $2.7 billion. To avoid substantial and damaging federal unemployment tax increases on our small businesses, Rep. Howard authored and successfully led to passage legislation restructuring North Carolina's unemployment system for both employees and employers. Today, North Carolina's unemployment debt has been completely repaid and our state's economy is experiencing some of the strongest growth in the nation.