RALEIGH — Within days of the November election giving Republicans control of the General Assembly for the first time in more than 100 years, the John Locke Foundation outlined 11 action items we hoped the new legislative leadership would address during the first 100 days of the 2011 session.
Lawmakers completed their 87th legislative day June 18, adjourning with plans for two more sessions; one for redistricting and another to consider constitutional amendments. They filed 1,721 bills. More than 400 became law. Some even addressed JLF’s suggestions for action. Here’s how I graded their performance:
Repeal corporate welfare laws: F Corporate welfare programs continued with $10 million committed to the One NC Fund. House Bill 751 added or expanded $2.3 million in incentives. Politicians still don’t seem to understand that government doesn’t create jobs; the free market does.
Repeal Senate Bill 3: C- Kudos to Rep. George Cleveland, R-Onslow, for introducing House Bill 431 and Rep. Mike Hager, R-Rutherford, for trying to move it through the House Public Utilities Committee. S.B. 3, the costly 2007 bill requiring 12.5 percent of energy to come from efficiency and renewable sources, has been hard to slow down.
End the N.C. Education Lottery: F Senate Bill 362 tried to shift more lottery money to school construction; it never gained traction. Expanding privately owned video sweepstakes and allowing table games in Cherokee casinos hit a brick wall as well. Since the lottery was enacted in 2005, legislators have gotten used to the revenue. Bets are we’re stuck with it.
Prohibit forced annexation: A+ House Bill 845 guarantees property owners a voice and requires cities to pay for water and sewer infrastructure and to provide services when forcibly annexing citizens outside city limits. After 50 years of abuse, this is a major win.
Pass a constitutional amendment to end eminent domain abuse: Incomplete Eminent domain bills must wait until the late summer session, when more than 15 constitutional amendments will be considered.
Repeal taxpayer financing of political campaigns: Incomplete Senate Bill 47 repeals taxpayer-funded election campaigns for three Council of State races and returns those funds to the General Fund. Taxpayer financing for judicial races remains as is. S.B. 47 will be taken up during the redistricting session.
Open the budget process with 72-5-10: A- Post bills for 72 hours: The budget was posted online for five days before the first House vote and six days before the first Senate vote. Five-year forecast: Legislative rules say fiscal notes should consider both the immediate effect and long-range effect of any spending. 10 percent in savings: Lawmakers set aside $310 million in the state’s savings funds in efforts to rebuild depleted savings accounts.
Put state spending online: F According to JLF’s NCTransparency.com, 96 percent of state agencies receive a D or F for disclosing how and where taxpayer money is being spent.
Resist federal encroachment on health care: A+ for legislature, F for governor Early on the Healthcare Protection Act passed, exempting North Carolina from the liberty-restricting mandates of ObamaCare. Gov. Beverly Perdue promptly vetoed it.
Remove cap on charter schools, eliminate enrollment restrictions, and decentralize the charter authorization process: B+ Senate Bill 8 lifted the cap on charters and raised the enrollment cap to 20 percent per year. In addition, House Bill 344 provides tax credits for special-needs kids. Big wins for school choice.
Expand the pool of qualified teachers by removing barriers to state certification: A+ Budget provisions eliminated the early-education certification requirement and let the State Board of Education grant waivers of state laws pertaining to certification requirements.
For their first 100 days, the 2011 legislature gets a B. Its going to take awhile to turn back a century of big-government policies, but this is a good start. The John Locke Foundation will continue to suggest ideas to enhance the liberty and promote the prosperity of North Carolina citizens, just as we have for 21 years.
Becki Gray is vice president for outreach at the John Locke Foundation.