A version of the following editorial was published in the July 2013 print edition of Carolina Journal:
The recent actions of the General Assembly might make you long for divided government. Or they should annoy you enough to consider the good sense of placing a limit on the length of legislative sessions, and enshrining it in the North Carolina Constitution.
North Carolina is one of 11 states with no limits — by constitutional provision, statute, or rule — on legislative sessions, measured either in calendar days or working days. Most states place lawmakers on the clock, minimizing their ability to loiter at the expense of our lives, liberty, and property. It’s time Tar Heels followed suit.
Consider the contrast between the current session of the General Assembly and the one that ended last year. In 2011 and 2012, Republicans controlled the legislature for the first time in more than a century, enjoying large majorities in both chambers; Democrat Bev Perdue held the Executive Mansion, seeking to overcome missteps from her first two years in office.
The 2011 long session was impressively efficient. The new GOP legislature enacted an ambitious agenda — much of it without Perdue’s support — including a tax cut; reforms of regulations, workers’ comp, and medical malpractice; and an end to the cap on public charter schools. The session adjourned June 18, even though Perdue vetoed the Republican budget and the General Assembly overrode that veto — both firsts in state history.
Meantime, the 2012 short session lasted a mere seven weeks, even though Perdue again vetoed the budget and the General Assembly overrode her veto.
While 2013 was supposed to herald a new era of unity and teamwork in Raleigh — Republicans added to their legislative majorities and Pat McCrory became the first GOP governor in 20 years — Raleigh is moving at a leisurely pace. This is not good for taxpayers or conducive to sound public policy.
The state Senate’s tax reform plan was a mystery until early May, with details of that chamber’s plan, and its counterpart in the House, unavailable for weeks. McCrory offered no tax plan of his own. The governor also indicated he wanted to spend more money than either legislative chamber, complicating budget talks.
The end of June will arrive and a new fiscal year begin with no budget, no tax plan, and no sense of urgency from legislative leaders or the governor. In late June, the House and Senate passed a continuing resolution, extending the session through July. Some of the scuttlebutt around Raleigh suggests that lawmakers may stick around until Labor Day.
Such shenanigans were common when Democrats had a hammerlock on state government. In 2001, the long session stretched into December; the 2002 short session adjourned in October, and might have kept going if it hadn’t been for that pesky election.
No political party is immune to the perks and privileges of power. Setting a limit on legislative sessions might not guarantee good government, but it would force lawmakers to focus on the public’s business rather than the number of per diems they can collect.