Charter Schools, Annexation Reform on Tap for Short Session

Overcoming a projected $1 billion budget hole will top the agenda when the General Assembly’s “short” session begins Wednesday, but lawmakers might face a number of other prickly issues as well, among them the cap on charter schools and annexation reform.

The budget debacle isn’t as dire as last year when legislators faced a multi-billion-dollar shortfall. Gov. Bev Perdue and the Democratic-controlled legislature ended up passing a budget that contained spending cuts but also a sales tax hike and new taxes on alcohol and tobacco.

Perdue and legislative leaders are shying away from tax increases this session. The governor says that her proposed budget for the next two fiscal years would trim nearly $1 billion in spending, but factoring in stimulus money and other loopholes, actual spending levels would increase $400 million over the current budget year.

The midterm elections are another ingredient that’s sure to influence legislators’ approach to budgeting. David McLennan, a political science professor at Peace College in Raleigh, said that both tax increases and budget cuts are unpalatable, putting the ruling party in a quandary.

“It’s going to pose a particular challenge for the Democrats since they’ll have to balance the budget and do it with minimal impact on people,” he said.

The budget and economy aside, lawmakers are expected to take up several other pieces of legislation. Bills that passed one chamber of last year’s General Assembly are eligible for consideration in the coming months, as are bills that are budget-related.

Charter schools

School choice advocates long have sought to erase the state’s 100-school cap on charters. Last year, the state House passed a bill (HB 856) that would expand the number of charter schools to 106, but the proposed law has gotten mixed reviews from alternative school supporters since it also would impose new regulations.

North Carolina’s cap probably contributed to its failure to secure a first round of federal Race to the Top grants. The funds are awarded, in part, on how friendly states are to charter schools. Applications for a second round of grants are due in June.

Eddie Goodall, a Republican senator from Union County and president of the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools, said that he supports lifting or eliminating the cap on charters but has reservations about a part of the proposed law that gives state officials more power to close charter schools.

“We don’t support that, although we support measuring charter school outcomes and identifying schools that are working and those that aren’t,” he said.

Annexation reform

Forced annexation has been a top target of property rights groups for years. The House passed an annexation-related bill (HB 524) in the long session that purports to address the concerns. But opponents hope the Senate takes up an alternate bill (SB 494) that gives affected residents a chance to vote on annexation and contains other provisions to protect private property rights.

The Fair Annexation Coalition, a group opposed to forced annexation, is encouraging constituents to lobby their elected officials in Raleigh Wednesday morning before the session gets under way at noon.

Health care

Republicans have sought to lessen the impact of new federal health care mandates by encouraging Attorney General Roy Cooper, a Democrat, to join a multi-state lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the new regulations. Cooper has declined so far.

GOP lawmakers plan to open up another line of attack by introducing legislation in both chambers this session that would exempt residents from the mandates. The activist group N.C. Freedom is organizing a rally at the Legislative Building in downtown Raleigh at noon Wednesday to support the bills.

Thirty-seven states have filed or plan to file similar measures, according to the American Legislative Exchange Council. A Rasmussen Reports poll released Tuesday found that 56 percent of American voters favor repealing the health care law.

Ethics reform

Federal and state investigations into former Gov. Mike Easley and his subordinates have renewed interest in ethics reform among lawmakers. Perdue has proposed a package consisting of legislation and executive orders that would tighten ethical standards for state employees and contractors with business before the state.

The House already has passed three bills dealing with a number of the issues Perdue raised, but it’s not apparent what shape a final compromise would take.

Taxpayer-funded municipal elections also could play a role in the ethics reform debate. The House narrowly passed a bill (HB 120) that would allow local candidates to get public money for their campaigns. The measure limits public financing to cities with more than 50,000 residents.

“It’ll be a challenge to pass it in the Senate,” said Daren Bakst, director of legal and regulatory studies for the John Locke Foundation. “It’s a question of whether they want to funnel money to politicians as political welfare.”

David N. Bass is an associate editor of Carolina Journal.