The 2010 “short session” of the NC General Assembly is winding down with plenty of unfinished business. The Democratic leadership has refused to allow consideration of a number of important bills, primarily sponsored by Republicans.
Recent public opinion polls emphatically indicate North Carolina citizens resoundingly support these Republican initiatives. However, they have been refused a fair hearing in the legislature.
The General Assembly is one step closer to stopping eminent domain abuse in North Carolina. On Monday night HB 1659, a bill which seeks to protect private property from being taken for the use of economic development, passed its second reading in the House by a margin of 100-14.
The North Carolina House of Representatives on Thursday adopted four significant amendments to SB 897, the 2010-2011 budget bill. These amendments, offered by Republican legislators, will eliminate unnecessary end-of-grade tests and provide funding to teachers for classroom supplies, prohibit the paying of “golden parachutes” to state employees who are terminated or leave their jobs; forbid the practice of allowing in-state tuition for out of state students, and allow funds from the NC Lottery to be distributed equally to charter and traditional public schools.
On Thursday, June 3, 2010, the North Carolina House rejected, by a vote of 51 to 65, a procedural motion to allow the House to consider the education expense credit described below. Democratic leaders urged their colleagues to reject this annual savings to state and local government of $51 million.
Since May 19, 2009, three ethics bills (H944, H961, H1136) passed with broad bipartisan support by the House have been sitting in the Senate Judiciary I Committee chaired by Democratic leader Martin Nesbitt. None have been scheduled for committee consideration.
Senate and House Democrats have hyped their recent proposals to create jobs in North Carolina. These proposals leave much to be desired. None of them address the high rates of taxation which is the main problem. These initiatives are clearly designed more for cover than for real job creation.
But first, there is a rhetorical device making the rounds that Republicans are a tribal party of “no”, while Democrats are statesmen who make tough choices and provide solutions. This rhetorical device was first set to rhyme and music by the Beatles:
“You say ‘yes’, I say ‘no’, You say ‘why’, I say ‘I don’t know.’”
But does this rhetoric translate into reality. In 2006 when Speaker Black was in the chair my red light went out. On every vote that day I had to stand up and wave at the Clerk when I wanted to vote no. Speaker Black, probably in jest, told me my quota of “no” votes had been used up. That is one way to encourage others to toe the party line. But whether an answer should be “yes” or “no” depends on the question.
Raleigh, N.C. – The final joint meeting of the House and Senate Finance Committees studying tax reform wrapped up with a presentation by Brent Lane, Director of the UNC Center for Competitive Economies. He discussed the recent history of tax policy in North Carolina and its effect on the state’s business climate. From 2000-2009, North Carolina’s labor force increased by 329,012 workers; during the same period, the state’s economy added only 13,806 jobs—a shortfall of 315,206 jobs. Further, wages in North Carolina fall significantly below the national average.
On Page 78 of the Governor’s presentation of the Fiscal Year 2010-2011 Recommended Budget prepared by her Office of State Budget and Management is this claim “Budget Highlights” “SPENDS 5.0% LESS PER CAPITA THAN FY2008-09” That sounds like some belt tightening is going on. But the claim is not true. From the Office of the [...]
On April 20th Governor Bev Perdue presented her budget to the General Assembly. Let’s recap: In 2009, after a widely advertised budget gap of $4.5 billion, “draconian cuts” and prolonged hand wringing — actual spending went up about 2% from $19.6 billion in 2008-2009 to an estimated $20 billion in 2009-2010 ($20.4 billion budget with [...]
