Wanted: A state lawmaker with guts

Published April 18, 2015

by Josh Awtry, Asheville Citizen-Times, April 12, 2015.

I still remember the chair that met me on my first day as an editor several years ago. It was a gigantic, maroon leather affair adorned with brass rivets.

The first time I sat in the chair, I nearly tipped backward — I couldn't get the blasted thing to tilt forward. I wriggled like a turtle on its back, trying to reach my desk. How was I going to type anything?

I soon realized it wasn't a chair made for working. It was made for leaning back and handing down decisions.

I met the previous occupant of that chair a few months later. He was a nice man whose broad stance would have more fully filled out that chair. He was also a state legislator.

That state's lawmakers were busy making moves to restrict the power of local governments, and I wanted to get his opinions as to why. When I asked how that meshed with his near-Libertarian ideology, he said, "Look — local control is great ... as long as they do what we expect."

I searched his face for a hint of irony. Nothing.

Years later and more than 2,000 miles away from that maroon chair, I see the same scenario unfolding.

North Carolina lawmakers that were elected to reduce the influence of government on our daily lives seem determined to interfere like never before.

These lawmakers campaigned against the imperious nature of government. And, yet, now that they have the power to rule, they're loathe to relinquish that control.

Are these men and women allies of liberty, or do they just favor their own stripe of big government control?

Our nation's founders had amazing foresight. As part of securing a republic, they created the 10th Amendment. This amendment limits the powers of the federal government and recognizes that government works best when it's closer to those governed.

If only North Carolina took this principle to heart inside its borders.

Is there a lawmaker with the guts to sacrifice some of the power at the state level and return it to the people? There are a few ways laws could be adapted to have equally strong state and local government.

Allow North Carolina to become a "home rule" state.

Contrary to some thoughts, home rule doesn't grant cities ultimate authority to run roughshod over state laws. Similar to the 10th Amendment, the process can outline the powers conferred to cities by the state and allows them to govern within that framework. Most states have granted some flavor of home rule to their cities.

In fact, North Carolina is surrounded on all sides by home rule states — South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and Georgia all have home rule laws in the books. Some grant small powers to cities, while others grant them broad latitudes.

There are only 13 holdouts, and we're one of them. It might be time to step up to the foresight of our neighboring states.

Fix the "local act" process in North Carolina.

Since local government's powers are limited, state lawmakers have the authority to create "local acts" that change the way city or county governments operate without the input of the people affected.

The local act process is too easily abused. As we've seen this year, lawmakers are targeting areas in Greensboro and Raleigh and changing their internal political lines without being asked to by city representatives.

To make the local act process even more imperious, decorum in the Legislature dictates that, if a lawmaker puts forth a local act, it's largely voted through on consent. Lawmakers from hundreds of miles away are voting on issues they have no knowledge of.

And because it's a "local act," it's not subject to the checks and balances that make our government work so fairly. The governor is unable to veto a local act.

The local act has a few tiny limits per the state constitution. Among other things, legislators can't rename cities, redraw school district lines or change juror pay. But they're perfectly within their right to redraw city council seat lines without approval of the people of that city or its council.

Adding sideboards to the local act process would go far to protect both political parties' influence in local politics in the future.

From here

Will a state lawmaker stick to their principles and work to reduce the burden of distant government on our lives?

This is not a partisan issue — Democrats missed the opportunity to return power to local hands for the many years they were in power. And it looks like Republicans are taking the same path.

Power, once obtained, is difficult to relinquish. I completely understand that, after playing second fiddle to Democrat-led legislative sessions for years, Republicans are eager to turn the tables.

But political wills change. Another party will take the reins someday, and the unseated party will howl about the others' misuse of authority.

If Republican lawmakers are playing the long game, they'd make good on their word and seek to limit the power of government instead of simply changing the flavor.

http://www.citizen-times.com/story/opinion/columnists/josh-awtry/2015/04/10/wanted-state-lawmaker-guts/25571711/

April 18, 2015 at 11:19 am
Richard L Bunce says:

The State legislature creates these local government with very limited powers. It is about time they performed oversight of their creations who have abused their powers and the residents, property owners, businesses in their governing area for decades.

April 18, 2015 at 2:23 pm
Robert White says:

Exactly!

Funny how home rule & local rule issues were an afterthought for decades when Democrats ruled Raleigh. Now of course everything is terrible because it's all Republicans fault. And just to be sure if the Democrats regain power in NC the first order of business will be to undo any & all Republican laws they can. Oh but it'll be done to their favor & any voices of dissent be damned!