No budget? No problem. Just lock'em up
Published July 6, 2015
Editorial by Fayetteville Observer, July 6, 2015.
A reader recently pointed out a beautiful thing: Chapter 143C of North Carolina state law. It's called, quite simply, the State Budget Act.
Last revised in 2006, the act says, "The General Assembly shall enact the Current Operations Appropriations Act by June 15 of odd-numbered years." We didn't have a budget on June 15. We won't have one by July 15. Maybe we'll have one by Aug. 15, although another continuing resolution at that point is also a possibility.
So our legislators may be breaking the law - albeit not, by a long shot, for the first time. But, Chapter 143C says, that's a misdemeanor. Elected officers of the state, the law says, are subject to impeachment if they're convicted of this high crime of foot-dragging.
Actually, we'd prefer to just lock the whole bunch up for a while. We've observed, as you doubtless have too, that there is infinitely less mischief and disruption afoot when the General Assembly isn't in session.
Now all that said, we don't believe for a minute that they'll really be found guilty. There are too many lawyers running around the Legislative Building, crafting weasel tunnels that escape problems like the Budget Act.
But hey, it's a great fantasy, isn't it?
July 6, 2015 at 9:12 am
Norm Kelly says:
Libs ruled Raleigh for about a century.
Granted I only moved here in the late 80's, so my perspective is a lot less than a century. And I'm still considerably less than a century old.
Libs were routinely late on passing a budget. Where were their allies in the media wanting to enforce this law? When was the last time media allies suggested locking up the lot of them?
When libs LIED to taxpayers routinely about cutting the budget to the bone at the same time as increasing spending, where were their allies suggesting they be locked up for being so obvious about lies?
Just another case of media bias? Definitely.
But we've come to expect that from media types. Which is why they are referred to as allies. Cuz truth is truth, even when it hurts. But it's even more fun when it hurts libs. Cuz truth usually hurts libs!
