Senate Republican Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) and House Republican Leader Paul Stam (R-Wake) Wednesday announced plans to oppose “card check” legislation or the “Employee Free Choice Act” to the North Carolina Congressional Delegation. The leaders and a number of other Members who were present stated their intent to send a letter calling on Congress to protect the rights of all workers to use secret ballots for union organizing elections.

The legislation, currently under consideration in the U. S. Congress, would replace the current system of organizing union elections by secret ballot to be replaced with card checks, in which workers publicly sign union cards to organize and join a union.  If enacted, this proposal would force all of a company’s employees to join a union once union organizers collect signed cards from a majority of the workers.

Rep. Stam (R-Wake) and all other Republican House members signed the attached letter and called on his Democratic colleagues to send a similar message to our federal legislators.  He indicated there will be wide acceptance from those supporting workers’ rights as well as those who believe passage of the act would severely harm North Carolina’s already fragile economy.

“We call on all members of the General Assembly, to support a worker’s right to organizing elections that are free from intimidation and harassment.  We strongly believe in a worker’s right to organize unions.  But they must only do so in an environment of free choice,” said Rep. Paul Stam.

“Passage of this legislation would not only represent a loss of the individual right to work, it would also put North Carolina on a path to unionization of state and local workers just as they have in New York, Philadelphia, Detroit and a series of other places people are leaving in order to live here,” said Senator Berger. “We don’t need garbage worker strikes, police and fire department strikes or teacher strikes in North Carolina.”

“North Carolina enjoys an economic advantage over many other states in its ability to recruit new industries and create needed jobs,” said Senator Bob Rucho (R- Mecklenburg).  “The only reason for Congress to pass card check legislation is to expand union influence into the right to work states.  This action will negatively impact the North Carolina economy and eliminate our competitive edge.  We all recognize what the unions did to cripple the American auto industry and to Detroit, Michigan, but we surely can’t allow unions to do the same to North Carolina business.”

“Most of my constituents don’t care about politics or the national agendas of Big Labor,” said Rep. Thom Tillis (R-Mecklenburg). “They want to support local businesses and have the right to choose whether to join a local union. Those who hold jobs want their employers to do well enough so their jobs are more secure; and those who are looking for jobs want to attract new businesses to North Carolina so they can get back to work.”

The North Carolina General Assembly has approved its first piece of substantive legislation this year.

The House gave final approval Thursday to appoint Virginia Tillett of Dare County and Timothy Futrelle of Watauga County as county commissioners, even though they had been previously elected.

The two were chosen to serve on the Electoral College and voted for Barack Obama and Joe Biden in December. But some worried they were no longer commissioners because state law prohibits a person from serving in two elected offices at once in most cases.

The bill ensures Tillett and Futrelle are still commissioners and that their actions as commissioners since the college vote are valid.

The Senate approved the measure Tuesday. It becomes law without going to Gov. Beverly Perdue’s desk.

HEADLINES:

- Top NC House committee leaders unchanged compared to last session
- Five House members named majority whips
- Legislators told $90M needed next year for university, community college enrollment

THE BRIEF:

HOUSE COMMITTEES: Leaders on the two most powerful committees in the North Carolina House are the same compared to two years ago. Speaker Joe Hackney rolled out committee assignments for the chamber Wednesday. The eight chief budget-writers and four Finance Committee leaders are identical to those in the 2007-08 session. So are the chairs for the chamber’s three judiciary panels.

HOUSE WHIPS: House Democrats have named five lawmakers to serve as majority whips for the next two years. Reps. Larry Hall of Durham County and Bruce Goforth of Buncombe County have received the titles in addition to whips from the 2007-08 session – Reps. Larry Bell of Sampson County, Jean Farmer-Butterfield of Wilson County and Deborah Ross of Wake County. Whips ensure party members
are present for important votes and are aware of House Democratic leadership positions on bills.

HIGHER EDUCATION: The General Assembly will need to find more than $90 million to pay for expected enrollment increases next fall on University of North Carolina and community college campuses next fall. The amount was released at another budget briefing, this time on higher education. Legislative fiscal analysts told lawmakers that enrollment at UNC system campuses are expected to grow by more than 12,000 students over the next two years. Community colleges are projected to see enrollment rise by 13,000 students next year alone.

UNC CAMPAIGNING: A campaign finance reform group says two political action committee linked to the state’s leading public research universities have given $1 million to state political candidates since 2005. Democracy North Carolina says the Citizens for Higher Education PAC – associated with boosters of the University of North Carolina – has given more than $900,000 of that amount. The University Development Coalition PAC, which is linked to N.C. State University supporters, gave $100,000 during the latest two-year election cycle. Democracy North Carolina put out the information after a bill was filed to attempt to repeal a law that allows university athletic booster clubs to pay the scholarships of out-of-state athletes at the in-state tuition rate.

Introduced in the House:
- H123, to direct the state Supreme Court, when it is reviewing whether a death sentence is fair an proportionate in a capital murder case, to compare each case with cases that share similar facts, including cases where juries recommended life imprisonment and death. Sponsor: Rep. Rick Glazier, D-Cumberland.
- H124, would allow a judge to decide whether extraordinary circumstances justified paying more than the standard rate to defense attorneys representing indigent defendants. Sponsor: Rep. Tim Moore, R-Cleveland
- H126, to eliminate the statewide limit of 100 charter schools. Sponsors: Reps. Jim Gulley, R-Mecklenberg, and Marilyn Avilla, R-Wake.
- H129, would create the crime of habitual misdemeanor larceny and classify the offense as a low-level felony. Sponsor: Rep. Tim Moore, R-Cleveland.
- H134, would make it a felony to assault any state or local officer or employee on the job. Sponsor: Rep. Russell Tucker, D-Duplin.
- H135, would allow broadband service providers to offer voice-grade telephone service outside its defined territory if the telephone service is an add-on to its broadband package. Several sponsors.
- H136, to expand the state Transportation Deparment’s authority to acquire rights-of-way to extend fiber-optic cable. Several sponsors.
- H137, would rule out execution for murderers who were found during a pre-trial hearing to suffer from severe mental illness. Sponsor: Rep. Verla Insko, D-Orange.

Introduced in the Senate:
- S130, would require that identification numbers be prominently displayed inside each elevator so passengers who may become trapped inside can report the number to rescuers. Sen. Don Vaughan, D-Guilford.
- S131, to add an additional 24-hour jail sentence to DWI convictions if the driver’s blood alcohol content was 0.20 percent or higher. Sponsor: Sen. Don Vaughan, D-Guilford.
- S135, would require mopeds to be registered with DMV and operators to be insured. Sponsor: Sen. Tony Rand, D-Cumberland.
- S137, would allow in-state tuition rates to universities or community colleages to persist for dependents of a member of the armed services killed while on active duty. Sponsor: Sen. Neal Hunt, R-Wake.
- S138, would classify Salvia Divinorum, a type of Mexican sage plant that can produce psychodelic effects, a Schedule I controlled substance alongside heroin and codeine. Sponsor: Sen. Bill Purcell, D-Scotland.
- S140, to make it a felony for a person named in a domestic violence court order to trespass at a safe house or shelter. Sponsor: Sen. John Snow, D-Cherokee.
- S150, to advance the date of the next presidential primary election from May to February 2012. Sponsor: Sen. Andrew Brock, R-Davie.
- S155, to prohibit illegal aliens from attending community colleges. Sponsor: Sen. Phil Berger, R-Rockingham.
- S161, to block the North Carolina Medical Board or other medical regulatory board from disciplining physicians taking part in state executions. Sponsor: Sen. Phil Berger, R-Rockingham.

AROUND THE STATEHOUSE:

- The North Carolina Biotechnology Center, which received $15.4 million in state funding this year, touted its achievements to legislators during a presentation. The center was created 25 years ago to promote a cluster of industries that includes drug-development and production companies, agricultural chemicals and plant advances, medical devices, and research and testing labs. The center also has been giving grants or loans to seed 118 growing companies over the past decade.

ON THE AGENDA:

- The Legislature plans to honor the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People on its 100th anniversary with a joint resolution of congratulations. The country’s oldest civil rights organization was founded in New York City on Feb. 12, 1909.

OVERHEARD:

“We have a dummy in the Senate today.” – Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton said jokingly in noting there was a CPR dummy on the Senate floor as part of a demonstration for the Legislature’s “Heart Health Day.”

Winston-Salem Journal Editorial

When the state is short billions of dollars to meet the budgets for both this year and next, the General Assembly should be looking under every rock to find savings.

Unfortunately, the legislative leadership does not appear ready to do that.

Another session has opened and for another year the legislature will not be undertaking zero-based budgeting, a process in which lawmakers scrutinize every program to determine whether it fulfills its purpose and is still a priority. Zero-based budgeting takes budget writers back to square one with every program and asks one question: Do we need this?

The lack of enthusiasm among legislative leaders for zero-based budgeting comes despite a recent report that puts the state’s budget gap for next fiscal year at $2.1 billion.

When speaking to capitol reporters at the start of the session, House Speaker Joe Hackney said that every item in the budget will be reviewed this year. But that’s not zero-based budgeting.

As John Blust, a Greensboro Republican, says, “We only look at our proposed changes to the governor’s proposed changes in the budget.” The legislature goes on “auto pilot” when it looks at the budget, Blust told the Journal, “and we need to start flying on manual.”

For those who think this is just partisan bickering, consider the words of Oxford Democratic Rep. Jim Crawford, a veteran budget chairman in the House. Zero-based budgeting “would be a whole lot more in depth than what we do… We have a continuation budget that we barely look at. We spend most of our time looking at the expansion budget and then education needs and health and human services.”

The continuation budget covers spending needed to maintain current government services but adjusted for inflation and population growth.

True zero-based budgeting would look not just at whether a program’s cost needs to grow at the level the governor projects but also at whether the program is needed any longer.

Comprehensive zero-based budgeting can’t be conducted every session. It’s too much work. Legislators who support the practice say programs should be divided into three groups. The legislature could review one group every two-year session. That way every program would be fully reviewed every six years.

There’s no doubt that legislators will balance the budget. They always do. What is not certain, however, is how, without zero-based budgeting, North Carolinians can be sure legislators cut the most appropriate programs.

The legislature is considering whether to allow hunting on Sundays, the N&O reports.

Winston-Salem Journal Editorial
If you follow the goings-on in Raleigh – and you really should, considering that one of the first places the honorables tend to look for extra money is in your wallet – you know that the economic crunch could take as much as a $2 billion bite out of the state’s $21.5 billion budget.

Friends, that’s real money and will no doubt dominate the session that the General Assembly opened yesterday.

But before the teeth-gnashing, hand-wringing or mass burials of heads in the sand can begin, let’s look at the state budget crisis as an opportunity.

“It’s time to do some spring cleaning on the state budget,” said John Hood, the president and chairman of the conservative John Locke Foundation and notable government watchdog.

“It’s been many years since we’ve done that. If 2009 is not the year to do it, then there will never be one.”

In other words, because legislators have been handed a $2 billion lemon, perhaps they ought to get busy squeezing. And if that’s what they choose to do, state Sen. Linda Garrou, a Forsyth County Democrat, will occupy a prime seat at the lemonade stand.

“Many eyes will be turned toward Senator Garrou,” Hood said. “She has played a significant role in the Senate’s appropriations process before and now will be the senior statesman on that committee.”

No dummy.

Garrou, a Democrat from Winston-Salem, is smart. Doofuses don’t get to serve as one of the Senate’s three main budget writers, as Garrou did last year. No, those who can’t do the job are usually shuttled off to toothless committees and vote the way they’re told once the heavy lifting is done.

(Sens. Charlie Dannelly, D-Mecklenburg, and Charles Albertson, D-Duplin, were the other two Senate budget writers. They replaced Sens. Kay Hagan and Walter Dalton, Democrats who were busy running for U.S. Senate and lieutenant governor, respectively.).

With Hagan in Washington and Dalton doing whatever it is that lieutenant governors do, Garrou likely will wind up wielding a lot of power once again.

“I’d be surprised if Senator (Marc) Basnight didn’t name some other co-chairs, but certainly she will be the one with the experience,” said Ran Coble, another keen observer of the Legislature and the executive director of the N.C. Center for Public Policy Research. “It’s the toughest budget since the Depression and, for sure, a tough assignment for whomever the budget writers are.”

Because state law doesn’t allow the General Assembly to run up budget deficits like Big Brother in Washington, there are usually just two things to consider when the economy slows and revenue projections fall short: tax increases and spending cuts.

“The debate is going to be where to save money and where to cut costs,” Hood said. “That will consume most of their time this year.”

True, but there is a third option this year: Rummaging through Uncle Sam’s change drawer.
State officials remain hopeful that the state will get a sizable chunk of the $816 billion economic-stimulus package being debated in D.C.

Opportunity or excuse?

If the federal economic-stimulus passes as expected, the reaction by such powerful legislators as Garrou will be telling.

They can either use it as an excuse to shirk an opportunity for real change or view it as a one-time budgetary Band-Aid to help them while they think longer term.

If recent statements by new Gov. Bev Perdue are any indication, the beleaguered taxpayers might see real change after all.

Perdue has been invoking the name of O. Max Gardner, the Depression-era governor who led the radical
charge to give the state responsibility for schools, roads and prisons.

“Governor Perdue has seen the analogy,” Hood said. “Senators in a position to have some influence on the outcome should see it, too.”

With a potential $2 billion shortfall in the wings, let’s hope so.

RALEIGH, N.C. – Gov. Bev Perdue this week announced the appointment of Darren Jackson to the North Carolina House of Representatives 39th District seat. 

Jackson was appointed to fill the unexpired term of former Representative Linda Coleman.  Jackson was recommended by the 39th District Democratic Executive Committee.  The 39th District includes portions of Wake County. 

Jackson is from Eastern Wake County and practices law at Gay & Jackson LLP in Zebulon.  He is currently Vice President for the East Wake Education Foundation and has served previously as a Community in Schools mentor at East Wake Middle Schools.  He holds a law degree from Duke University and an undergraduate degree in Political Science from UNC-CH.

A proposed “digital tax” in the North Carolina General Assembly would tax movies, music, ringtones and software bought and delivered over the Internet, the TBJ reports.

Given a potential $2 billion shortfall in tax revenue, State Rep. Paul Stam says the legislature should use zero-based budgeting, the N&O reports.