Reflections on the General Assembly’s 2013 Session
Provided as an exclusive to the State Port Pilot
Publishing a weekly update from the legislature involves a recitation of the key bills in which the reading public might be interested. It involves brief summaries of what is actually in the bills, the vote counts, and sometimes reasons one voted on one side or the other. Writing an opinion on the entire session in a concise space may be more challenging. Opinions are quite different from facts and figures.
The North Carolina General Assembly’s 2013 long session began January 30th and lasted through July 26th. Much work had begun in 2012, immediately after the election. Many committees and groups began meeting very early to work on tax and budget issues which were anticipated, as well as education, immigration, election law, and other issues. An unusual January 9th session was held to expedite the election of the Speaker of the House and President Pro Tem of the Senate, as well as other leaders of the two chambers. This allowed us to get a head start on the legislative calendar.
Committee assignments were made, and I was appointed again to Co-Chair the House Transportation Committee and assigned to Appropriations, Education, Environment, Election Law, and the newly formed Regulatory Reform Committee. Additionally, Vice Chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation was again on my plate. I was very happy to remain on most of the same committees, as transportation, education, and election law are very important to me. I also think it is important to have an impact on environmental and regulatory issues here on our beautiful coast. The Appropriations Committee writes the budget for the House, so this has been a big priority for me, especially during these last two challenging budget cycles.
Very early in the session we took on tax reform, regulatory reform, election reform, education reform, Second Amendment rights, abortion safety, and balancing the $21 billion budget without raising taxes. Later, in our spare time we totally transformed the way we pay for highway construction in North Carolina. Bills were introduced in the House and Senate at a record pace. Before the session ended, there were over 2000 bills read in and sent to committees. I was a primary sponsor or co-sponsor on 76 of them. House Bill 817 – Strategic Transportation Investments was probably the most widely known, but others dealt with judicial elections, property insurance rate-making, ferry tolling, farmers’ animal waste inspections, removal of abandoned vessels, and a variety of local issues. These bills met one of three fates. They passed as separate bills, they passed as parts of another bill or as parts of the budget, or they were sent to a committee never to be heard from again. Sometimes it is frustrating when your bill gets held up in a committee, but at other times, you realize it needs some serious improvement.
These days most of my bills get passed in some form.
Tax Reform
Tax Reform began long before the 2013 session. In the 2011 – 2012 session, we put $800 to $1000 back in the pockets of the average family of four in North Carolina by letting the temporary sales tax and income tax surcharge expire when the governor at that time wanted to keep them. Most people didn’t realize it, since it was spread over two years of purchases. In this session, our reduction in income tax rates and other reforms will give every hard-working family who has been paying state taxes a tax break.
Regulatory Reform
Regulatory Reform is an ongoing process. Many bills the last three years have sought to balance the need for environmental and citizen protection with the need for jobs and human development. This session, the Regulatory Reform Committee was established to look not only at legislation, but to look at the many thousands of rules that government departments make every year. A new process to review these rules was put in place, so that rules are up to date and make common sense. New rules must be reviewed right away, and old rules must be reviewed at certain times or they expire.
Election Reform
Election Reform, specifically voter ID legislation, has been a priority for me since I was county chairman for my party. After observing the 2008 elections, I wrote a 16 page precinct-by-precinct report which I presented to the Board of Elections. It involved excessive assistance where the voter’s name and address was given by someone else, as well as questionable practices involving pre-marked ballots. Since cameras are forbidden and witnesses against friends are difficult to come by, these types of activities are impossible to prosecute. So, when I went to the House in 2009, the need for verification of who is voting was a top-of-mind issue for me. The voter ID bill we passed is similar to 33 other states. Most people who move here are shocked that we don’t require an ID. Much information that is being put out is misleading and incorrect. For example, the statement that we cut the hours for early voting is false. The days were reduced, but the hours are the same, due to the flexibility in number of polling places and extended hours. Early voting by absentee ballot is still available. On same-day registration, only one other state had this, and the boards of elections didn’t have sufficient time to verify eligibility by the date of certifying the election. The only voters “disenfranchised” by this bill will be fraudulent voters.
Education Reform
Education Reform has received the most attention and the most misinformation this session. This is not surprising, since it comprises well over half of the state’s budget, impacts hundreds of thousands of families, and is the subject of hundreds of opinions every day. In spite of all the rhetoric, the budget increased spending by approximately half a billion dollars over actual 2012 – 2013 spending, fired no teachers, and continues the ability of school districts to hire the employees they need. Wake County just hired 700 new teachers, and has applications for additional positions they need to fill, according to WRAL. In North Carolina the state provides the majority of teacher pay, and we rank 11th by that measure, according to the NEA. In many states, the local and county governments provide a much bigger share of teacher pay, even levying a “school tax.” Long term, the past 20 years, teacher pay from the state has increased 121.8%, the Consumer Price Index (inflation) has increased 68.2%, and other state employees have increased 52.5%. The NEA also reports that average teacher pay in North Carolina is $45,947, and $59,400 with benefits. This compares to the average personal income in North Carolina of $34,604. Teacher pay was frozen in 2009, when the other party was in charge, and the only raise since then has been in our 2012 – 2013 budget.
This may surprise some people, but I pushed to retain the Teaching Fellows program in the House budget. The House included it, but the final negotiated budget on which we had to vote did not include it. We had to vote up or down on the budget, not on each line item. My intent in the next budget cycle is to strongly advocate for the Teaching Fellows, a teacher pay raise, and take another look at rewarding teachers for advanced degrees. There are many other reforms which we undertook to give students and parents more choice, particularly hard-working lower income families, who have had fewer options in the past. I have become concerned that the level of rhetoric from critics of education reform has served to only hurt the morale of those they say they wish to serve. The education establishment is “talking down” the profession in the name of defending it. They include such spokespeople as the NCAE, the Department of Public Instruction bureaucrats, and many central offices around the state. I hope they realize the potential damage negative attitudes can have on any organization, and choose to accentuate all the positive things our great front-line teachers are doing.
Transportation Reform
Transportation Reform took form as the new Governor and Secretary of Transportation looked at the next ten years of highway construction with 1.3 million more population and $1.9 billion fewer dollars in the Highway Trust Fund. As cars get more efficient, the money to build roads shrinks due to funding from the motor fuels tax at the pump. The new formula, contained in House Bill 817, will enable us to build up to 275 projects the next ten years as opposed to 160 under the old formula. This will create more jobs, both in construction and in the economy. We will be reviewing the new formulas in the next few months.
We go back into regular session next May, and will I be going to Raleigh next week for veto overrides. Aside from committees during the interim, I will be spending quality time with my wife, Jackie, in our beautiful Brunswick County. Those who know me know I will be getting around the district and county visiting and listening to our citizens’ concerns.