Heard on the Street Posted: Thursday, May 14th, 2009 Crossover madness
It`s the craziness that happens every year in our legislature. Today`s the deadline that a bill must pass one house in the legislature or else be buried in that great legislative netherland. Subcommittees meet hurriedly to modify or pass bills. Legislative sessions are called to order to pass one or two pieces of legislation, and then adjourn so more committees can meet. Few lawmakers have a chance to read, much less understand the bills they vote on. Some speculate that might be the reason why things are postponed until the 11th hour. Seasoned observers say that the craziness isn`t as bad as it has been in other years. Next week`s NC SPIN will provide analysis of bills that passed, those that didn`t and what we can expect for the rest of the session.
Are you sure this isn`t the Senate?
One of House Speaker Joe Hackney`s hard and fast rules has been that every bill would be heard by at least two subcommittees before it could come to the House floor for a vote; however that certainly wasn`t the case this week with House Bill 813. This is a pretty significant piece of legislation dealing with contributory negligence. Some who hang around the legislature have dubbed it the Trial Lawyer`s Bill because it will surely result in more cases of people suing businesses. There was no hearing and Judiciary 1 Committee Chair Deborah Ross wouldn`t allow any discussion about the legislation. In record time it was brought before the committee, passed and brought to the floor of the House, where it also passed. Regardless of which side of this controversial legislation you might take you have to agree something that has the potential of being this big should be heard and fully discussed before a vote. Some observers questioned whether they were in meeting for the Senate instead of a House meeting. The action taken is more like what you would expect in the Senate.
Paper or Reusable?
Speaking of Senate bills on a fast track, Senator Marc Basnight`s local bill to ban plastic bags in Dare, Currituck and Hyde Counties. Instead, shoppers would be given recyclable paper bags or required to use the reusable cloth bags. Basnight says the plastic bags are an eyesore and mar the beauty of his district. So the bill was brought to committee Tuesday and passed the Senate yesterday. Opponents say this measure will cost consumers because the paper bags cost more to purchase and will require many of them to refit check-out counters. One lobbyist reported that a tractor-trailer fully loaded could haul 359,000 paper bags but the same rig could haul over 3 million plastic bags.
The measure is said to be experimental in the three Basnight district counties and might be expanded statewide. If so, North Carolina would be the only state with such a requirement. The city of San Francisco has a similar restriction but there are serious questions whether or not the ban has achieved the original purpose. Look for more discussion on this in next week`s NC SPIN.
Smoking bill
The legislature passed the smoking ban bill and sent it to Governor Perdue for signing. News stories are touting the toughness of the bill which bans smoking in restaurants and bars, but the Senate also passed legislation that would make it easier for bars and nightclubs to become private clubs, exempted from the smoking ban. Look for more discussion next week on NC SPIN.
Budget news
In the midst of the frenzy for trying to get bills passed to make the crossover deadline House leaders handed out spending guidelines to their Appropriations chairs yesterday. Their budget cuts will go far beyond those passed by the Senate last month, due in large measure to the recently released revenue numbers showing the budget shortfall will be $1.5 billion more than the Senate budget had assumed.
It does not appear that the House plans to raise taxes this year. Early indications are that they don`t plan to include the $500 million in new tax revenues the Senate passed in their budget. If true, they plan to spend about $18.5 billion next year, 2 billion less than the Senate budget and 2.6 billion less than the budget that was passed for the current fiscal year. The biggest cuts will come in education. Target spending is $10.5 billion, $1.1 billion less than the Senate budget that eliminated about 300 jobs at DPI and cut $60 million from construction funding.
Time is ticking to get a new budget passed by the July 1 start to the new year. There is some urgency this year because a continuing resolution would just add to their problems. We should see the House document soon.
The Easley buzz
In addition to the crossover deadline, and buzz about the budget, two other topics of conversation include the Elizabeth Edwards interviews and the growing revelations about former Governor Mike Easley`s use of power and secrecy during and after his term. Andy Curliss from the News and Observer is all over this story and has done his homework.
The Easley episode took yet another bizarre twist today when NC State Provost Larry Nielsen abruptly resigned his position. Nielsen has come under scrutiny for the manner in which he hired Mary Easley, and then gave her a dramatic increase in pay. Nielsen was acting Provost at the time, promising that he would not apply for the permanent position. Shortly after the hiring Nielsen was elevated to the job permanently. In resigning Nielsen said he couldn`t continue to live under the stress and questions being asked about his actions, hoping his resignation would put an end to the questioning. Hardly. If anything the matter becomes even more suspicious. Senate Minority Leader Phil Berger has called for a Special Prosecutor to investigate all the curious issues surrounding the Easleys.
Look for more discussion on this week`s NC SPIN.
Mitchell role being questioned
Former NC Supreme Court Chief Justice Burley Mitchell has always been known for his integrity and high standards of ethics….along with his intense loyalty to NC State. Mitchell served on the NC State Board along with McQueen Campbell, who is being widely implicated in flying Easley around the state and hooking him up with an attractive land deal. We also hear that Mitchell might be working closely with Senator Kay Hagan to find a replacement for the current U.S. Attorney who is currently investigating Campbell, Easley and others. Some are questioning whether Mitchell might have a conflict of interest.
Perdue drops in popularity
A Public Policy Poll released Wednesday indicates that Governor Beverly Perdue`s popularity has dropped. 51 percent of those polled disapproved of the job she is doing. Only 34 percent approved. In March the numbers were 44 percent approving and 35 percent disapproving her performance. Dean Debman, with PPP, says Perdue seems to be taking a lot of blame for the problems with the economy. 48 percent of those surveyed said they disapproved of the furloughs announced by Perdue, while only 39 percent approved of the approach.
It is understandable that just weeks after announcing the furloughs Governor Perdue would not be popular with teachers and state employees, most all of whom are Democrats. What should give her more concern is her drop in support from independents.
While some disapproved of Perdue`s performance for what she`s done there are some who disapprove because she hasn`t done enough. A growing number are saying she hasn`t been bold enough in responding to our state`s crisis.
One thing is sure. Governor Perdue took office at perhaps the worst time since the Great Depression. She has faced decisions that are predictably unpopular. Has she been too visible? Has she done too much? Has she done too little? Register your answer to our poll question on our website www.ncspin.com
Look for more discussion on this topic on our blog NCBlogger.com. Look for the posting “Perdue Can`t Win.”
Burr polling about the same
PPP has released results of a poll they just completed showing the popularity of U.S. Senator Richard Burr. It isn`t much different from previous polls. 36 percent of those polled approve of the job Burr is doing, while 32 percent disapprove and 32 percent aren`t sure how he`s doing. For more info on the poll check out the
PPP press release
West vying for Blue`s vacated seat
We hear that Dr. Jim West, Raleigh City Councilman, will likely get the nomination from the Wake County Democratic Party to take the seat vacated by Dan Blue when he was nominated to the Senate.
School calendar bill
Educators are lobbying hard to repeal the legislation that prohibits schools from beginning earlier than August 25th or ending later than June 10th. Legislation currently being considered would allow schools to begin as early as August 8th. Sources close to the issue say that this legislation will be killed in the Senate.
Lobbyist influence
An unnamed legislator reported an unnamed lobbyist for attempting to unethically influence legislation. Sources are saying there is more to this story than has been reported and that things might not be as they were reported. Look for this story to unfold soon.
Gas tax
When Bill Graham led the Stop the Gas Tax Hike campaign several years ago it was intended to halt the escalating increase in our state`s gas taxes because, it was reported, our gas taxes were the highest of any state in the Southeastern U.S.
The tax was capped at 29.9 cents per gallon. But recent decreases in the price of gas would have triggered a drop in gas taxes to 27.9 cents on July 1. The Senate passed legislation this week that will keep the cap at 29.9 cents, a move that will generate another 68 million in revenues for roads.
Gas taxes have traditionally been a primary way to fund highway construction and maintenance but with drivers purchasing more fuel efficient cars and cutting back on driving due to higher gas prices net revenues are declining and not providing sufficient funds for our DOT.
Observers are watching to see what the House will do with this legislation.
Executions to resume?
When the Senate approved legislation that would ensure that race wasn`t a factor in death penalty sentences they also might have removed a roadblock to future executions. The Senate legislation states that the Council of State doesn`t have to approve execution protocols. Following the recent Supreme Court ruling that the NC Medical Board doesn`t have the authority to punish physicians who supervise executions the reason given why those executions wouldn`t resume was the protocols that the Council of State had prescribed. If the House passes this legislation the way is cleared for executions. But House Speaker Joe Hackney is known to oppose the death penalty. Here`s another bill to watch in the House.
Three ways to catch NC SPIN if you miss the broadcast
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