The following editorial appeared in the July 2011 edition of Carolina Journal:
A few short months ago, outgoing House Speaker Joe Hackney, D-Orange, would not let the new members of the North Carolina House move into their offices before the start of the legislative session.
Incoming Speaker Thom Tillis, R-Mecklenburg, wanted members to go to work on opening day, Jan. 26. But Hackney was in no hurry — under Democratic rule, it often took weeks for significant legislative action to occur. Hackney let holdovers from the previous session dawdle until late January to clear their offices. (To his credit, outgoing Democratic Senate leader Marc Basnight allowed a timely, orderly Senate transition.)
The weekend before opening, an exasperated Tillis hired 15 state inmates for two days to empty the old offices. Hackney’s petty power trip — and Tillis’ creative solution, costing taxpayers $30, $1.00 a day each — offered a preview of the fast-paced yet contentious session to come.
Republican legislators, in full control for the first time since Reconstruction, ran on a conservative agenda, won an emphatic mandate, and acted decisively on many promises.
Republicans advanced sound conservative policies in several crucial areas:
* Fiscal responsibility. Last year, Gov. Bev Perdue vowed that the 1-cent sales tax increase she signed in 2009 would sunset at the end of June. But her budget kept three-fourths of the tax in place. The GOP let the tax expire and added a $50,000 tax exemption for small businesses — returning nearly $1.3 billion to the pockets of North Carolinians, who can spend the money more wisely than bureaucrats. The budget also requires state employees to pay more for their health insurance, stanching some of the State Health Plan’s red ink.
* School choice. Senate Bill 8 lifted the senseless cap on charter schools, now set at 100. House Bill 344 gives parents of disabled children who want to take advantage of private schools or non-district public schools a $6,000 tax credit. (At press time Perdue had neither signed nor vetoed this bill.) Expanding parental choice and subjecting district schools to competition will improve education for all children.
* Property rights. House Bill 845 limits involuntary annexations, giving residents facing annexation the chance to reject it. A 2012 constitutional amendment ending eminent domain for economic development cleared the House and should pass the Senate this summer.
Meantime, Perdue and most Democrats defended a dysfunctional status quo. The governor vetoed a budget that spent a mere 2 percent less than the one she proposed. Five moderate House Democrats joined Republicans to override that veto. She vetoed other popular measures — one exempting North Carolinians from the mandates in ObamaCare, a second reining in excessive jury awards, and a third requiring voters to present a photo ID at the polls.
Republicans also made rookie mistakes. Government transparency measures went nowhere. Tillis inexplicably gave seven staff members huge raises at session’s end. Economic incentives, aka corporate welfare, survived.
But the GOP largely provided forward-thinking leadership during difficult economic times. Democrats backed the failed policies of the past — proving that elections indeed have consequences.