RALEIGH — Republicans, in control of the legislature for the first time since Reconstruction, will direct the redistricting process and can draw lines to their advantage. Republican leaders hope to have the maps in place by May, although a court challenge is likely.
RALEIGH — Incoming Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger has the sole authority to appoint committee chairs. In other states, committee leaders typically are chosen by a vote of the full party caucus.
GASTONIA — The two candidates vying to replace retiring Democratic state Sen. David Hoyle — the nine-term Gaston County legislator known as a consistent pro-business voice and vote — are signaling they’ll also back business on a key economic issue: the corporate income tax rate.
RALEIGH — Republicans in the General Assembly might have to wait until next year to take on the new federal health care law, as the legislature’s Democratic leadership has given a chilly reception to proposals allowing North Carolina to opt out of the law’s health insurance mandates.
RALEIGH — House Speaker Jim Black told the State Board of Elections last month that former Rep. Michael Decker switched political parties in 2003 because of a lack of respect from fellow Republicans — but GOP members present at a caucus meeting have differing memories of what took place at the time.
RALEIGH — Included among the special appropriations in the recently passed state budget is a $1.2 million allocation to renovate a building that is less than three years old. That is because the $3.2 million structure at the N.C. Center for Applied Textile Technology in Belmont has already been rendered obsolete — if it was ever needed in the first place.
RALEIGH — In addition to the $2.4 million discretionary fund parked at the Department of Health and Human Services that he and Speaker Jim Black were to divide, former Republican House co-speaker Richard Morgan controlled $1.5 million in another account. Last fall, Morgan instructed the Department of Health and Human Services to send $500,000 to his district of Moore County to set up a senior center. He later decided to double it. On Oct. 14, 2004, DHHS Division of Aging and Adult Services Director Karen Gottovi sent a memo to Moore County Manager Steve Wyatt informing him of the money, which did not appear in any line item in the approved state budget.
RALEIGH — A former state House Appropriations Co-Chair says that discretionary funds controlled by General Assembly leaders constituted a justified reward for their districts, because of the extra hours they put in to pass the budget. State Rep. Debbie Clary, a Cherryville Republican who supported the 2003 power-sharing coalition of Democrat House Co-Speakers Jim Black and Republican Richard Morgan, said entrusting the funding of members' special district projects to General Assembly leaders was the only way to get them passed in the budget. Also now online: CJ's 1997 articles on slush funds
RALEIGH — More than a month into the 2005 regular legislative session several proposals affecting the University of North Carolina and the community college systems have been introduced by members of both the House and the Senate. Some of the bills would give tuition waivers to orphans, create new science and mathematics schools across the state, and give the student member of the UNC Board of Governors a vote, among other issues. All of the higher-education-related bills are still in committee and have yet to make it to the floor for a vote.
RALEIGH — A state-funded education and business development center, which recently came under scrutiny because of duplicative programs and classes with nearby Gaston College, apparently will be absorbed by the college next year. The N.C. Center for Applied Textile Technology also was questioned about its paltry student population and outside teaching jobs held by its president, Dr. James Lemons. Last month the General Assembly cut funding for his position — which will be eliminated at the end of the year — though Lemons denied the budget reduction was related to his job. “The writing is on the wall,” said Rep. Debbie Clary, “only Dr. Lemons can't seem to read it!”
RALEIGH — Lawmakers on June 30 heralded the “balanced” budget they produced through bipartisanship, which surprised many because it emerged before the beginning of the new fiscal year July 1. However, as in recent years, legislators depended on tax increases and nonrecurring revenues, including $551.6 million in federal aid. State government spending will grow by 3 percent in 2003-04 and 5 percent by 2004-05. More than $1 billion in higher taxes will be collected through the end of fiscal 2005.
