The Raleigh Report
From the Office of Cullie Tarleton
April 27, 2009
We clearly live in challenging economic times and the outlook for our state budget this year reflects the downturn we’ve seen nationally.
State budget experts predict North Carolina will collect about $3 to $4 billion less in taxes in the coming fiscal year than originally anticipated. We should have the numbers in early May. That means the General Assembly will have to cut services and find efficiencies if we are to balance the budget as constitutionally required.
In our effort to gather as much information as possible as we go through this difficult process, House budget writers will hold a hearing this week to gather public comments about the budget. The hearing will be from 6-9 p.m. on Tuesday, April 28, at the North Carolina Museum of History. Ten community colleges across the state will host interactive broadcasts of the hearing and it will also be streamed live on the Internet.
We continue to consider other bills that will help our state move forward and that give municipalities more authority to make local decisions about transportation and campaign financing. We also negotiated a compromise with the Senate to address immediate financial shortcomings in the State Health Plan while we work out a long-term solution.
Thank you for your interest in our state and our work in Raleigh. Please contact me if I can be of any assistance.
Transportation
The House has approved legislation that would allow counties to raise more money for mass transit projects, including rail service and buses. The bill (HB 148) would let residents of Durham, Forsyth, Guilford, Orange and Wake counties vote on whether to increase local sales taxes by 1/2 cent and car registration fees by up to $2. Other counties could increase sales taxes by a 1/4 cent for such projects. The money would be dedicated to public transportation. The legislation is based on a plan Mecklenburg County used to finance its new downtown rail line. The proposal now goes to the Senate.
Campaign Finance
The largest cities in North Carolina may soon have the ability to decide whether they want to embrace public campaign financing. The House approved a bill (HB 120) this week to create a pilot program through 2016 that would allow cities with more than 50,000 people to use tax money to help pay for political campaigns. Typically, candidates who accept public money agree to accept limited contributions from other donors. Supporters say public campaign financing reduces the amount of money spent on campaigns and the influence of big donors. Critics contend that it’s unfair to ask taxpayers to subsidize candidates with whom they may not agree. Races for the state’s appellate courts, auditor, insurance commissioner and school superintendent are already eligible for public campaign financing. The bill now goes to the Senate.
Health
The General Assembly has negotiated a bill that will result in smaller rate increases than originally projected for members of the State Health Plan while also increasing the plan’s transparency. The bill (SB 287) reduces the premium rate increase for the next two years from 10 percent to 8.9 percent. It also adds coverage for treatment by chiropractors, mental health and substance abuse professionals and speech therapists and includes provisions to encourage plan members to stop smoking and to lose weight.
The bill retains language added in the House that calls for an independent audit of the plan, more detailed billing information and increased disclosure of transactional data and administrative costs. The proposal also calls for monthly financial reports and establishes a 15-member Blue Ribbon Task Force that will examine the plan’s rate structure and governance, among other things. I received many, many emails from constituents about the state Health Plan. Once I saw the conference bill that calls for an outside independent audit, sets up a Blue Ribbon Commission and provides for fairer co-pays for services such as chiropractors, mental health, etc. I decided to support. The governor signed the bill last Thursday.
Domestic Violence
The House has passed legislation that renames the North Carolina Council for Women/Domestic Violence Commission and clarifies its mission (HB 115). The group will now be called the North Carolina Center for Women, Families, and Domestic Violence. The commission will be asked to consider issues related to sexual assault, domestic violence, employment, education, health, pay equity, housing and child care. The proposal was recommended by the Joint Legislative Committee on Domestic Violence. For more information please visit: http://www.nccadv.org/.
Miscellaneous
A new proposal would require the words “National Guard” to be capitalized in the state statutes as a sign of respect for our military. The bill (HB 632) passed unanimously and now goes to the Senate. This may sound trivial, but the men and women of our National Guard are being called on in an almost unprecedented fashion. By this summer, almost 50% or our N C Guard members will be deployed. There’s nothing “lower case” about the men and women who serve our nation through the National Guard and I was proud to be a primary sponsor of this bill.
Notes
One of my dear colleagues, Sen. Vernon Malone, a longtime leader in education for Wake County and our state, died last weekend. Sen. Malone was serving his fourth term in the General Assembly, but had spent several decades as a school administrator, a school board member and a county commissioner. Services for Sen. Malone were held in Raleigh last Thursday. He was 77. Vernon and I served on Education Appropriations together along with the High School Drop-Out Study Commission which he co-chaired. Sylvia and I attended visitation on Wednesday evening to pay our respects.
The House of Representatives has elected Samuel Powell of Burlington, and K. Ray Bailey of Fairview, to the State Board of Community Colleges. Powell is chairman of the Alamance Community College Board of Trustees and was formerly a Burlington City Council member and Alamance County commissioner. Bailey was president of Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College until 2007 and was elected a Buncombe County commissioner in November.
Congratulations to Hardin Park Elementary School teacher Corrie Freeman who has been selected to attend the 2009 National Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers’ Academy. The academy is sponsored by PGA golfer Phil Mickelson and his wife Amy. Congratulations Corrie. We’re very proud of you and thank you for your commitment to education.
A reminder, we have a supply of NC DOT’s 2009 North Carolina maps. If you’d like one, email me at culliet@ncleg.net and we’ll drop one in the mail.
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