Please shave, Speaker Tillis

Published June 24, 2013

House Speaker Thom Tillis continues to insist the legislature will adjourn by July 4th. Yeah, and the Red Sea will part again and Governor McCrory will pull a rabbit out of his hat.

Citizens of North Carolina should hope this doesn’t happen. In addition to what the legislature has promised will be a major tax reform, they still haven’t resolved the state budget for the next two years. Even more importantly there is a long list of significant legislation that hasn’t been resolved…like Voter ID, legislation that will reorganize state boards and commissions, fracking, the Dorothea Dix land deal, regulatory reform, Medicaid shortfalls and reform, to name a few.

If the legislature does try to pull off an early adjournment you can count on frantic and ill-considered legislation. You will likely see big policy and legal issues slipped in as amendments to existing bills in a deliberate effort to avoid full discussion and consideration. The frenetic pace of these closing days is the scariest part of the session to those who follow our legislature and this session promises to be even more so.

Speaker Tillis and a number of House Republican caucus members have pledged not to shave until adjournment and we can only speculate that these beards are getting pretty scratchy in the summer heat and humidity. But please shave, Mr. Speaker and take due time in deliberation of the people’s business. Stay a little longer and get it right.