NCFRW LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

(Thanks to Dena Barnes and the NC Federation of Republican Women for this outstanding update report!)

NC General Assembly


The General Assembly reconvened today, Jul 13th, for a special session to take action on overriding the governor's vetoes and redistricting. The Senate has a veto-proof majority, however the House needs four Democrats to join with the Republicans to attain 72 votes for an override.

Star News has reported that redistricting meetings will prevail in the discussions and that "significant action" on legislation will probably take place on July 25th.

Governor Perdue vetoed 15 bills, and the Republicans with the help of Democrats have been successful in overriding her budget veto. To date, neither Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger nor House Speaker Thom Tillis have indicated all of the possible vetoed bills that they will attempt to override. However, Civitas has postulated that the "Top Possible Veto Overrides" are the following:

1. HB 854 "Abortion-A Woman's Right to Know Act - "requires an informed consultation, an ultrasound and a 24-hour waiting period for women before choosing to abort a pregnancy." (Civitas) Only one vote is needed in the House and one in the Senate for the override if all others are constant in their voting. In the House the previous vote was 71 to 48, with 3 Democrats (William Brisson, Dewey Hill and Tim Spear) joining with Republicans; and in the Senate it was 29 to 20 with Republican Senator Stan Bingham voting with the Democrats and Republican Senator Richard Stevens not voting. Senator Bingham indicated in the news and to Joyce Krawiec, NCFRW Grassroots Activism Chair, that he cast his "no" vote in support for his wife's and four daughters position. Mrs. Krawiec said she reminded him that he should represent his constituents who favor the bill.

The argument is that women should have information from a medical doctor and an ultrasound so that they can make an informed decision or "choice" as advocates for abortion like to say, concerning terminating their pregnancy. Joyce Krawiec indicated in her NCFRW Alert on Jul 7th that the following Democrat Representatives, if called, may support the override:


James Crawford (Granville/Vance) (919) 733-5824 Jim.Crawford@ncleg.net
Marcus Brandon (Guilford County) (919) 733-5825 Marcus.Brandon@ncleg.net
Elmer Floyd (Cumberland County) (919) 733-5959 Elmer.Floyd@ncleg.net
Ken Goodman (Montgomery County) (919) 733-5823 Ken.Goodman@ncleg.net
Charles Graham (Robeson County) (919) 715-0875 Charles.Graham@ncleg.net
Annie Mobley (Bertie, Gates, Hertford, Perquimans) (919 ) 733-5780 Annie.Mobley@ncleg.net
Bill Owens (Camden, Currituck, Pasquotank, Tyrrell) (919) 733-0010 Bill.Owens@ncleg.net
Garland Pierce (Hoke, Robeson, Scotland) (919) 733-5803 Garland.Pierce@ncleg.net
W. A. "Winkie" Wilkins (Durham, Person) (919) 715-0850 Winkie.Wilkins@ncleg.net ("absent due to illness when vote was cast" per Krawiec)

(Both Jim Crawford and Bill Owens voted with the Republicans to override the governor's veto of the budget.)

Please call or email the following Republican Senators:
Stan Bingham (Davidson, Guilford) (919) 733-5665 Stan.Bingham@ncleg.net
Richard Stevens ((Wake) (919) 733-5653 Richard.Stevens@ncleg.net
And according to the NCFRW Alert, call Democrat Senator Eric Mansfield (Cumberland) (919) 733-9349 Eric.Mansfield@ncleg.net.

2. HB 2 "Protect Health Care Freedom" - exempts North Carolinians from Obamacare. The bill also provides that N.C. join other states in a lawsuit that challenges the constitutionality of Obamacare. Governor Perdue vetoed the bill on Mar 5; and the House tried to override her veto on Mar 9 in a a vote of 68 to 51 but did not attain the required 72 votes. Again, four House members are required to vote for the override.

3. SB 781 "Regulatory Reform Act of 2011" - "prohibits state agencies from issuing regulations not required by the federal government or state law." (Civitas) This is an attempt to decrease the number of regulations as a result of actions from the federal government, and the Democrat majority in NC for over 100 years. The bill passed the House in a vote of 65 to 43, but 72 votes are required for the override; and in the Senate the bill passed 43 to 0.

4. SB 33 "Medical Liability Reforms" - The bill changes medical malpractice laws and the ratified edition caps noneconomic damages at $500,000, which are defined in the legislation as "Damages to compensate for pain, suffering, emotional distress, loss of consortium, inconvenience, and any other nonpecuniary compensatory damage." Complainants still get punitive damages as defined in the General Statutes. Gov. Perdue said "Once the bill is revised to adequately protect those that are catastrophically injured, I will proudly sign it into law." (Trial lawyers are happy with the veto)


5. SB 351 Voter Photo ID Bill "Restore Confidence in Government Act" - The governor vetoed this bill on Jun 23rd and House Speaker Thom Tillis has said that he will try to override the veto. On Jun 16th the House passed the legislation in a vote of 62 to 51 with 2 not voting and 5 with excused absences. No Democrat voted for the bill and no Republican voted against it. To override the veto, all Republicans and four Democrats must vote for it. The five notable Democrats who voted to override the budget are Representatives: Jim Crawford, Bill Owens (contact information herein), and:

William Brisson (Bladen, Cumberland) (919) 733-5772 William.Brisson@ncleg.net
Dewey Hill (Brunswick, Columbus) (919) 733-5830 Dewey.Hill@ncleg.net
Tim Spear (Chowan, Dare, Hyde, Washington) (919) 715-3029 Tim.Spear@ncleg.net

6. SB 727 - "No Dues Checkoff for School Employees" The act eliminated the NC Association of Educators (NCAE) from receiving union dues through automatic payroll deductions. The governor vetoed the bill on Jun 18th. The bill passed in the House on Jun 9th 62 to 52 with 3 not voting and 3 excused absences. It passed in the Senate on May 26th in a vote of 31 to 16 with 3 excused absences.

NC Redistricting

The final maps were delayed one day, and released on Jul 12th. Public Hearing Meetings are scheduled for Monday, Jul 18th from 3:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at 10 locations listed below.
It is imperative that we attend these meetings. Democrat and NAACP representatives are out in numbers with the same arguments. In addition to using inflammatory language such as segregation; disenfranchisement; a return to slavery; "packing, stacking and cracking" minorities; incorrect information stated as a fact was heard at the Jul 7th meeting when a man identifying himself as Iman Mohammed from Cumberland County said that the U.S. Constitution was "partially written from the Koran."


Please attend and sign-up to speak on Monday, July 18th. (3:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.)
"Registration for speaking will begin: 1) At the hearing site: 1 hour prior to the convening of the hearing, and will close prior to the beginning of the hearing. 2) On-line: 5 days in advance of the hearing and will close 24 hours in advance of the hearing. There are limited slots for on-line sign-up. Speakers will be called according to the order of registration. If a speaker is not present when called, the speaker will be skipped at that time. Time permitting at the end of all registered speakers, those skipped will be allowed to speak." (ncga.state.nc.us)

NC Museum of History, First Floor Auditorium
5 East Edenton Street, Raleigh, NC 27601-1011 Wake

Fayetteville Technical Community College, Cumberland Hall Room 308
2201 Hull Road, Fayetteville, NC 28303 Cumberland


Roanoke-Chowan Community College, Jernigan Building, Room 126
109 Community College Road, Ahoskie, NC 27910 Hertford

Nash Community College, Room 7104, Science and Technology Building
522 North Old Carriage Road, Rocky Mount, NC 27804-9708 Nash

UNC-Wilmington, Education Building, Room 266
601 S. College Road, Wilmington NC 28403

New Hanover Public Hearing - Central Piedmont Community College
CPCC Central Campus, Richard Hagemeyer Learning Resources Center, Room LR 035
1201 Elizabeth Avenue, Charlotte, NC 28235 Mecklenburg


Guilford Technical Community College, Learning Resource Center (Library)
Jamestown Campus, Room 325
601 High Point Road, Jamestown, NC 27282 Guilford

Western Carolina University, Cordelia Camp Building, Room 133-B
69 East University Way, Cullowhee, NC 28273Jackson

Appalachian State University, Anne Belk Hall
Interactive Video Services, Classroom 023
224 Joyce Lawrence Lane, Boone, NC 28608 Watauga

Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, Asheville Campus
Ferguson Building, Ferguson Auditorium

340 Victoria Road, Asheville, NC 28801 Buncombe

NC Unemployment,

The official unemployment rate for NC is 9.7 percent. However "many economists say a more accurate picture can be seen in what the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics calls the U-6 number," according to WRAL. The U-6 number "includes people so frustrated they gave up on active job search, those scraping by on part-time work because they can't find full-time employment and those in the midst of training for a career change." For NC the U-6 rate is 17.5 percent which "is the ninth highest in the U.S." The national U-6 rate is 16.5 percent, compared to the 9.1 to 9.2 percent reported. (WRAL)

In related news, Cisco at Research Triangle Park (RTP) may decrease its workforce at that location. Cisco may lay off as many as 10,000 jobs next month "or about 14 percent of its workforce," according to Bloomberg. Cisco at RTP "employs about 4000 people," which is "the largest collection of corporate workers outside the firm's Silicon Valley headquarters." (WRAL)

U.S. House of Representatives

1. On Jul 8, the House passed HR 2219 a Defense Appropriations Bill for FY 2012 in a vote of 336 to 87 with 8 not voting. All NC Representatives voted for the bill except Mel Watt (D-12th). The bill includes:

•"$530 billion in non-emergency funding, $9 billion less than Obama's request."
•"$132.1 billion for a 1.6% pay increase for 1.4 million active and 850,000 reserve troops."
• "$119 billion for emergency spending in Afghanistan and Iraq and other activities related to the War on Terror, representing a reduction of $39 billion from last year."
• "Prohibits the funding of transferring detainees from Gitmo to the US." (miller.house.gov)

2. HR 2417 "Better Use of Light Bulbs Act" - "To repeal a provision of the 2007 energy law that created minimum efficiency standards for the incandescent light bulb" (Megavote). It is a defacto ban on incandescent light bulbs beginning on Jan 1, 2012. The repeal is intended to allow Americans a choice in light bulbs since the compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL) that the government favors are more expensive and contain mercury and must be handled with special instructions if broken.

On Jul 12, the repeal was rejected in a vote of 233 to 193 with 1 voting present and 4 not voting. North Carolina Representatives voted along party lines with the Republicans in favor of a repeal and Democrats voting against it.

3. Also on Jul 12, the House voted "To extend the authorization of the national flood insurance program." The vote was 406 to 12 with 3 not voting. All NC Representatives voted for the measure.

4. HB 2354 Fiscal 2012 Energy-Water Appropriations for the Energy Department. Includes $30.7 billion in funding for FY 2012. This is a reduction of $1 billion compared to FY 2011 and $4.6 billion 'below the president's request" (gop.gov). There have been 20 amendments heard and voted on concerning the bill on Jul 11 and 12th.

The U.S. Senate

The Senate will vote today on S 1323, "A bill to express the sense of the Senate on shared sacrifice in resolving the budget deficit."

U.S. Debt Ceiling


Discussions continue on raising the debt ceiling. As you know, President Obama recently said that social security checks to be sent out on August 2nd are in jeopardy if the debt ceiling is not raised. However, a Goldman Sacks report indicates that there is sufficient revenue coming "into the treasury in August for the government to pay its obligations, pay social security obligations, pay military obligations, and avoid default," reported in Red State.

The Wall Street Journal editorial, Jul 13, 2011, stated that "Republican Senator leader Mitch McConnell said yesterday he's concluded that no deal to raise the debt ceiling in return for serious spending restraint is possible with President Obama," and that Mr. Obama is trying to blame Republicans for the "lousy economy." Senator McConnell proposed yesterday "to force Mr. Obama to take ownership of any debt-limit increase." McConnell's idea is "to let the President propose three debt-limit increases adding up to $2.5 trillion over the coming months." Further, "Senate Republicans (with the Majority Leader Harry Reid's cooperation) would use a convoluted procedure to vote for three resolutions of disapproval on the bills." Unless blocked by a two-thirds vote in both the House and the Senate, the result would be that Obama would get debt ceiling increases, and Republicans would be on record as opposing them. (It is unlikely that the House would vote for this idea.)

Sources: News & Observer, "Sen. Burr's father dies at 90," AP, Jul 12, 2011; Star News, "NC lawmakers returning to Raleigh for maps, vetoes," by Gary D. Robertson AP, Jul 11, 2011; NCFRW Grassroots Activism Alert, by Joyce Krawiec, Jul 7, 2011; Civitas, "Top Possible Veto Overrides," by Regina Conley, Jul 12, 2011 and "Bev's Vetoes: Politics over Principle," by Bob Luebke, Jul 12, 2011; WRAL, "Unemployment rate hides thousands of NC jobless," by Cullen Browder, Jul 11, 2011
and "Cisco may slash 10,000 workers," by Bruce Mildwurf, Jul 12, 2011; ncga; house.gov; MegaVote: NC 6th, 7/11/2011; gop.gov; miller.house.gov; senate.gov; redstate.com, "The President Declares He Will Shoot His Hostages," by Erick Erickson, Jul 13, 2011 and "Breaking News" Jul 12, 2011; and the Wall Street Journal editorial, "Debt- Limit Harakiri," Jul 13, 2011.


North Carolina Federation of Republican Women:  http://ncfrw.com/