BY Kerry Hall
NBC17

RALEIGH, N.C. — Republican leaders are calling for North Carolina to reign in government spending.

In a press conference Thursday, they said Gov. Beverly Perdue has failed to make necessary and tough choices in her budget proposal.

“I came into session last week expecting to see a budget that called for sacrifice on the part of government,” said Rep. Paul Stam, of Wake County. “Instead what we have in the budget are some phantom cuts.”

Republicans claim that if Perdue had incorporated some of their ideas for savings, proposed tax increases on tobacco and alcohol would be unnecessary.

“A recession is not the time to be raising taxes,” said Sen. Phil Berger, of Rockingham.

“The people of North Carolina are themselves having to deal with the reality of the economic slowdown,” said Berger. “This budget proposal does not deal with the reality in a way that is productive and in a way that’s going to bring North Carolina out of the recession.”

They also fear the Governor’s budget will lead to more job losses, particularly in the Triad area and in the tobacco industry.

In a release from the Republican Caucus Tuesday, leaders explained a proposal that would bridge the gap in private school funding in the years between preschool and college.

The bill is in draft form and not yet ready for introduction.

From their press release:
About 200,000 North Carolinians receive their education at private institutions. In most cases they pay twice – taxes and tuition. North Carolina already has private school choice – at the preschool level and the college level. 

The Smart Start Initiative backs a wide variety of purchases for private services, not just for children of low-income families.  An analysis done by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation1, listed on the Partnership’s website as the chief private donor to Smart Start show that most states use vouchers as part of their standard policy.  This statewide non-profit has received $2,280.2 Billion2 in funding from the taxpayers.

At the college level, the State has provided private education vouchers in the form of Legislative Tuition Grants3 for more than 35 years.  For every North Carolina student who attends an in-state private institution, the taxpayers spend $1,950, compared to spending $12,282 to send that same student to the University of North Carolina. (In addition the state provides financial aid for private colleges to fund scholarships.)

Rep. Paul Stam (R-Wake), along with Reps. Danny McComas (R-New Hanover), Ric Killian (R-Mecklenburg) and Jeff Barnhart (R-Cabarrus) have filed HB 335 – Tax Fairness in Education – to provide a $2,500/year credit for K-12 private education.  This would save the state $13 million to $35 million per year and save local governments $9 million to $25 million per year.

A proposal will also be introduced by Reps. Paul Stam, Laura Wiley (R-Guilford) and Shirley Randleman (R-Wilkes) to give tax credit to parents of children with special needs.  Fiscal Research projects yearly savings are between $1 million and $6 million for the state and $1 million to $5 million for counties.  The proposal provides that any savings would be returned to the public schools after the first year’s implementation costs of $2-8 million.  For each proposal there is a small first year cost because of the way we calculate ADM funding.

“We are being called to sacrifice.  I can not see why saving money while providing more educational choices for our students is not worth a try,” said Rep. Paul Stam.

North Carolina Senate and House Republicans will host a press conference Tuesday in the legislative press conference room at 9:30 a.m.

At Tuesday’s press conference, Senate Republican Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) and House Republican Leader Paul Stam (R-Wake) will outline legislation and initiatives to help reform the state’s struggling probation system.

State House Republican leader Paul Stam complains that the rules would give Democrats overwhelming influence on the state budget, the N&O 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.

GREENSBORO, N.C.  – Senate Minority Leader Phil Berger has been elected by his Republican colleagues to the post for another two years.

The Rockingham County attorney fended off two challengers to keep the job during a Senate caucus meeting Sunday in Greensboro. House Republicans also re-elected Rep. Paul Stam of Wake County to a second term as their leader.

Berger was first elected to the job beginning in late 2004. Sens. Bob Rucho of Mecklenburg County and Pete Brunstetter of Forsyth County also ran for minority leader.

Caucus meetings are private and Berger declined to release any vote totals. Stam was re-elected by acclamation.

The GOP will have 20 of the 50 seats in the Senate when the Legislature reconvenes in January. The House has 52 of the 120 seats.

RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina leaders in the Democratic Party are uniting to support Senator Barack Obama for president.

The North Carolina Leaders for Change gathered Monday morning at the Farmers Market in Raleigh. Healthcare and farming were hot topics but the current state of the economy, and why Obama is the best man to handle it, dominated conversation.

An historic financial crisis is giving an historic election all the more gusto. Leaders like North Carolina Senator Tony Rand and U.S. Congressman G.K. Butterfield took the microphone and said it’s time for a change.

“It’s obvious our world is in turmoil and we need strong leadership,” Rand said.

“John McCain sadly, simply represents another four years of George W. Bush,” Butterfield said.

Former Governor Jim Hunt pledged his support to Obama, partly because he said he deeply cares about North Carolina.

“This situation is too serious, people are concerned, they know we need a change, and they sense the strength and the wisdom of Barack Obama,” Hunt said.

Congressman Brad Miller insisted Obama has called for financial reform and has a plan for the future.

“Barack Obama in the last two or three weeks in the middle of this crisis has been solid, stable, thoughtful, mature and John McCain has been like a moth caught in a lampshade, he has been bouncing around with no particular direction,” Miller said.

But Republican State Representative Paul Stam said Obama is the one who hasn’t had direction.

“Senator Obama has had like three different versions of his plan, to get the nomination for his party he wanted the capital gains tax to go back up so high that it would actually reduce the amount of money received,” Stam said.

Stam said McCain does have an economic plan.

“Reduce taxes and he’s well known for reduced spending,” McCain said.

And while the economy became a top election issue North Carolina has become an unexpected battleground state. The latest Public Policy Polling has Barack Obama leading John McCain 50 to 44 in North Carolina.