RALEIGH, N.C. – Senate Republican Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham), members of the Republican Senate Caucus, and Republican Senate candidates from across North Carolina Wednesday endorsed a legislative agenda, A New Direction for North Carolina, at a press conference held in front of the State Legislative Building in Raleigh. 

Republicans offered the agenda as the outline of a legislative program a Republican majority in the North Carolina Senate will bring to the floor for up or down votes during the 2009 Legislative Session. 

All 50 seats in the North Carolina Senate are on the ballot in the Nov. 4 General Election.  Although some seats are not contested, there are enough competitive races for the partisan makeup of the 2009-10 Senate to be determined by the election results.   

According to the GOP’s press release:

The Republican Agenda emphasizes a new course and a new direction for state government including addressing North Carolina’s highest in the southeast income tax rates, eliminating budget earmarks, balancing the state budget without tax hikes, and increased transparency in state fiscal matters.  Several items reflect initiatives Republicans have introduced in past legislative sessions that Senate Democrats have refused to bring up for a vote; those include measures to resume enforcement of North Carolina’s death penalty for pre-meditated first degree murder, medical malpractice reform, and protection of private property from condemnation for economic development.  There are also new measures proposed to allow for natural gas and oil exploration on North Carolina’s Outer Continental Shelf, detailed disclosure of all state spending and contracts on the state’s internet website, Senate Rules requiring open committee meetings, and additional internal auditors in state departments to help control state spending.

Senate Republican Leader Phil Berger made the following statement:

“With Election Day less than three weeks away, it is important for the people of North Carolina to know what a Republican majority in the North Carolina Senate will mean to them and to our state.  Every election season should include discussion and debate about public policy, consideration of competing ideas, clear and understandable statements of principles, and outlines of proposed legislation.  This agenda, once implemented, will provide a new direction for North Carolina and a change from current Democrat policies.  The people of North Carolina are frustrated with the scandals and corruption, which have been all too prevalent in North Carolina’s Democrat-dominated state government.  They have tired of Democrats’ oft-repeated election-year promises and assurances that spending more money will cure the serious deficiencies in North Carolina’s K-12 public education system. And they do not understand how a state with a proud history of ‘good roads’ finds itself with both the highest gas tax in the southeast and the worst road congestion in the cities making up its commercial core.  North Carolinians are ready for a change in leadership, they are ready for a slate of legislative candidates eager to address public policy issues with fresh, new ideas, and they are prepared to face the future with confidence that a new direction will return North Carolina to its rightful place of leadership in the southeast and the nation.”