Red Clay Citizen

Neutered Laws

The House passed S870 Monday night by a vote of 79-33. The bill, which was sponsored by Cary Republican Sen. Richard Stevens, orders a commission to study ways to make the General Statutes and the North Carolina Constitution gender neutral.

The General Statutes Commission an advisory panel of law experts, would study ways to remove the gender-specific “he” from state law. Rep. Deborah Ross cited the North Carolina Constitution as prime for revision, arguing, “the governor is referred to as ‘he’ throughout the entire constitution, the governor is female right now.” Gov. Beverly Perdue is indeed female and appears no less able to discharge her duties because of the word ‘he.’ Changing the language is a purely symbolic measure to attain political correctness and reflects an underlying agenda to make the world gender-neutral. Any form of gender specificity is declared sexist, chauvinistic and frankly, intolerable. Today’s laws want to reflect this new world where it no longer matters if a person is male or female.

However, it still matters. There is an inherent and biological difference between men and women that shouldn’t be clouded or forgotten; gender differences should be celebrated. This bill strives to hide gender by using the ambivalent “governor” when it could include both genders by stating “he or she.” As laws strip away gender identity they corrode a core part of society—the power of man and woman.

Pork for Super Pier Ad

Here is the first glimpse of something I think you will be hearing a lot more about in the near future:

An annexation reform peek at the NC legislature "sausage factory"

An email from one of the leading activists fighting for annexation reform gives a glimpse into the "sausage factory" that is what passes for our NC General Assembly. I am on the email list as I think that annexation reform is long past due. There are a multitude of reasons for the delay - most of them for the convenience of the legislators.

One reason not explicitly spelled out below is that the main opponent of annexation reform is North Carolina League of Municipalities, a taxpayer funded lobbying group, that has a headquarters literally blocks away from the legislature. For them cancelled meetings mean a short walk back to the office. For hundreds of citizens who drive to Raleigh from across the state, not so simple.

As to using the "budget crunch" as an excuse - legislators have known since they convened that the new fiscal year starts on July 1. When elected official starts talking about how hard they work, and they are a big part of the reason it is so hard, I have very little sympathy.

StopNCAnnexation A Grassroots Effort to End forced Annexation Abuse in North Carolina
Fighting for reform statewide since 2003

June 24, 2009

So…..once again we were told that the House Judiciary II meeting to discuss annexation reform that was postponed to Wednesday is now postponed until Thursday.  We are being told that the cancellations are beyond the control of the legislators scheduling them. The legislators are up to their necks in budget meeting and discussions, and on and on….

Those of us paying any attention to the news or the legislature are very much aware of the budget discussions. How is that an excuse for scheduling meetings to discuss an issue that the legislators know FULL WELL is a highly controversial subject of extreme interest to thousands of people across this State during a week that THEY KNOW will be jam packed with the budget discussions?

But schedule they did. And many people took off work and/or drove for hours on multiple days believing the legislators would do what they told us they were going to do.  Only to be turned away empty handed at the last minute with barely a “Gee I’m sorry”.

Consider this: Tuesday evening there was a fundraiser party at the Democrat Headquarters and session was wrapped up so legislators could attend. http://www.wral.com/news/state/story/5375117/ 

Wednesday night a party was held at Second Empire at 5:00 for legislators to celebrate the passage of the smoking ban bill. A meeting of House Judiciary II after session would have caused some legislators to miss the party.

Now we are being notified that the J2 meeting is scheduled for 15 minutes after session tomorrow. Session starts at 1:00 pm and there are twelve bills on the agenda. But Rep. Glazier is saying that tomorrow could be canceled too and we should check with his office at noon to see if the meeting is still on.

Maybe there are no parties Thursday night.\I can’t in good faith recommend to anyone that they try to go to Raleigh tomorrow and end up going there for nothing. I will go to the General Assembly tomorrow and report on the amendment decisions. If you want to respond to the way the people have been treated with these meetings, or check to make sure the meeting isn’t canceled, please call Rep Glazier’s office tomorrow:

From: Rep. Rick Glazier [mailto:Rick.Glazier@ncleg.net] 919-733-5601
Sent: Wednesday, June 24, 2009 7:31 PM
To:
Subject:RE: Why Was JII POSTPONED

 No sir--we are in the middle of having to get a budget for the state done by July 1--that is the top priority of all of us and the meetings to do so are practically now around the clock--I have been here from 7am until midnight most days for the last 3 weeks we have been in session and so have many colleagues.  You will notice many committee meetings moved and cancelled or simply not taking place at all.  I have attempted in good faith to get this bill scheduled for 3 days and due to many folks budget and finance commitments, including my own and the other 3 co-chairs, who are either chairs as well of House Finance or a subcommittee of House Appropriations, we have had to cancel.  I intend to give this bill the time it deserved to be meaningfully heard--otherwise I simply could have forced a vote up or down on the PCS without allowing time to file and read amendments.  I am at the same time trying to get the bill out of our committee so it has some chance of passage before the end of session.  I have to consider the schedule of 16 legislators on the committee--I simply have no control over the budget process timetable and all the guests who may want to watch the proceedings.  That is another reason why I agreed to schedule the meeting in room 544 so people could listen to the proceedings who could not make it to Raleigh. I am committed to hearing the bill tomorrow unless there is significant budget movement and we are back in appropriations and finance meetings into the late afternoon and evening. I do not expect that, but as I have made clear, that schedule is not in my control and the budget is the overriding issue for right now.   I hope this answers your question on the scheduling.  Rick Glazier

(And there was that party to go to...) And more…

Thanks D***--I really am very sorry about the scheduling.  We and staff are pretty exhausted with the end of session schedule and the budget realities.  In candor, I will have no idea where we are until late in the morning tomorrow.  There was an offer from the House to the Senate on a finance package an hour ago and so now we wait for a response.  If there is movement in the morning, then we could see a wholesale schedule change for everyone tomorrow.  That should become clear by noon, but much before that is like reading the tea leaves.  Please ask anyone who is traveling tomorrow from your coalition to check in with our office around noon to see if the meeting has been cancelled.  I remain optimistic we can hear the bill after session tomorrow and that is my full intent absent a complete change in the tenor of the negotiations to date on the finance package.  Take care.  Rick

Does that explanation make it all okay? Does it make you feel sorry for the legislators?

Bullying Bill Passes Final Vote

The Bullying Bill passed its final vote in the NC House on Tuesday afternoon and is expected to be signed into law by Governor Perdue.  This marks the first time that sexual orientation has been written into North Carolina Statute.  Supporters of the bill claim a intent clause located at the end of the bill will prevent any part of the bill to be used as a legal basis for additional gay rights such as same sex marriage.

The bill was hotly debated in the House session with some comments by members considered rude and unbecoming to the chamber.  The bill passed by a vote of 58 to 57 when two members that had voted for the bill the previous day changed their votes to no (Rep. Dewey Hill D-Columbus and Rep. Jamie Boles R-Moore) and two members that had previously voted against the bill took a walk (Rep. Ronnie Sutton D-Robeson and Rep. William Brisson D-Bladen)and did not vote.

Look for a more detailed anaylisis of the bill and its impact coming tomorrow at www.nccivitas.org

Bullying Bill on NC House Floor Tonight

The misleadingly named "School Violence Prevention Act"  SB 526 sponsored by Senator Julia Boseman (D-New Hanover) is on the NC House calendar for a vote during tonight's House session.

This bill would introduce into North Carolina law for the first time descriptions of sexual orientation.  A similar bill was used in Iowa to destroy the concept of traditional marriage.

Were this bill truly about protecting children from bullies at school then it would have some sort of penalty for the bully, right?  Sadly, it has none. Shouldn't a bill named "The School Violence Prevention Act" prevent school violence? 

A bipartisan group filed a clean bullying bill, HB 776 without the sexual orientation categories.  That bill had 62 sponsors from both parties and yet was never heard by any House committee. 

Do the math.  The NC House has 120 members; 62 would be a MAJORITY.  The game played by the legislative leadership is one using a stacked deck where the votes really only matter when they win.

Bullying in schools is wrong. So is deception in lawmaking.

Annexation and Taxation without Representation

The proposed committee substitute for House Bill 524 (a combination of house bills 524, 645, and 727) is a really bad plan.

If this bill becomes law, cities and towns would be able to annex, with the approval of the Local Government Commission, and collect taxes for three years, but ultimately never provide services.

The LGC is a government board that deals with local governments' financial issues. Board members include the State Treasurer, Secretary of the Department of Revenue, Secretary of State, State Auditor, and a handful of appointed lawyers and former city officials.

Legislators in committee described LGC oversight as “meaningful” and emphasized its power to deny annexation proposals that are not financially feasible. The bill does give the LGC that power, but in reality it is unlikely that the LGC will use it wisely. If you take a good look at the board members, it’s pretty obvious that they won’t be paying much attention to the interests of the annexees.

LGC oversight will probably be a rubber stamp that allows cities and towns to collect property taxes from people they never intend to provide services. The bill extends the window for the provision of services from two to three years. If after three years no services have been provided, cities and towns must stop charging taxes.

In short, this bill allows local governments to use involuntary annexation as a way to fill temporary budget holes. It gives them the power (with rubber stamp approval) to levy taxes on people who will never really be part of the city or town and will never receive any services.

NC needs annexation reform, but this bill is not the answer. 

Education Budget Bullets

There were a few old issues dealt with in the new budget proposed in the NC House.

• In-state tuition for out-of-state athletes has been cut.

• The Learn & Earn online program of the Community Colleges has been cut.

• The Millennium Speakers Series at NC State, formerly run by Mary Easley has been cut.

One item conspicuously absent from the cuts:

Instate tuition at community colleges for illegal aliens.

Bipartisan Opposition to Raising Taxes

Tuesday, June 9th was a busy and complicated day at at the North Carolina General Assembly.  In one meeting, lawmakers met to consider new taxes while on another floor of the Legislative Office Building, House members were trying to figure out how to spend money they are not sure they have.

Despite the fact that the leadership in the House has completely abandoned the cover story of not raising taxes, there were a few bright spots yesterday.  More than once, a rough collection of rural Democrats and Republicans managed to pass amendments that stripped out tax increases on cigarettes, beer and wine.

During the early parts of the Finance Committee meeting, Rep. Van Braxton (D-Lenior) proposed an amendment that would eliminate the cigarette tax.  Despite hearing dire warnings about public health consequences and the need for more revenue, an odd group of Democrats voted to kill the tax. 

After the votes were tallied, Reps. Gibson(D-Union), Faison(D-Orange), Hughes(D-New Hanover), Jones(D-Guilford), Owens(D-Pasquotank), Womble(D-Forsyth) and Wainwright(D-Craven) had joined the Republicans on the Committee and supported Rep. Braxton's amendment.

While all of this cooperation across the aisle to cut taxes makes me misty eyed, the reality is that each one of these taxes will probably be put back into the bill during the mysterious process known as the conference committee.  That's just how business is done at the Legislature.

Lions, Tigers & Bears, Oh My!

The NC Senate Judiciary II Committee strayed into some dangerous past territory on Thursday, June 4th.  SB 807 was heard by the committee with much less of the debate that accompanied a similar bill last session.  (Last session's bill brought out every large animal keeper and zoo in opposition.)

The bill would ban the possession by most private citizens of large cats and bears and require any owners that qualified under existing plans administered by the USDA to register and pay a fee with the state.

This is another example of misplaced legislative priorities.  With a multi-billion dollar hole in the budget, do lawmakers have nothing better to do that write esoteric, what-if legislation?

Bill sponsor Senator Ed Jones (D-Halifax) gave a very telling reason for this interventionist legislation when he said, "We should do things to make the world safer."  But don't legislators have plenty of other problems to solve ahead lion control?

Mindy Stinner, Executive Director of the Conservator Center,  an animal rescue facility commented to the committee on how rare it is for captive animals to escape and cause harm to the public. "There have been .2 deaths per year across the US for the last fifty years," she said.

The bill was given a unanimous favorable report by the committee.

Crossover Madness

Last Thursday was the General Assembly's self-imposed "crossover" deadline, when a bill must pass one of the two chambers in order to technically be eligible for consideration the during rest of this session and in next year's session.

Bills were moving fast and furious, some had been bouncing around a while and were passed.  Some came to the floor without so much as a committee hearing.

According to some statistics from the week posted on his blog, NCGA Bill Drafting's Director Gerry Cohen, shows just how many bills were passed.

Prior to last week, the Senate had passed 180 bills.  Last week alone they approved 123 (or roughly 41% of the total for the session, so far).

Amazingly, the House did even more.  They had passed 220 bills in the 14 prior full weeks of session.  Last week they passed 204 (48% of the total).

Is this a good way to operate?  I would argue no.  While the General Assembly needs deadlines (and session limits), passing half of all legislation in four legislative days does not make good government.

Too often the phrase is heard, "We know this bill has some problems, but let's just get it passed and we'll fix it in the other chamber."  Is that really in the best interest of the people of North Carolina?  To pass imperfect legislation and just "fix it" later?