Republican leaders ready to tackle budget, voter ID, Medicaid, business rules - Winston-Salem Journal: State / Region

By one measure, the to-do list for Republican legislative leaders this year at the General Assembly is very similar to what they wrote down in 2011, when they took new majorities in the House and Senate.


“We are focused on continuing a number of the things we initiated last time — making sure that North Carolina’s budget is balanced and in order, making sure that our tax situation is stable (and) trying to address the problems we have in education,” said Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham. And bills requiring voter identification, reducing business regulations, and controlling Medicaid costs are again on the list.

But by another accounting, everything has changed as legislators begin filing and debating bills Wednesday, when they reconvene the two-year session after ceremonial meetings Jan. 9 to elect leaders.


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Republican leaders ready to tackle budget, voter ID, Medicaid, business rules - Winston-Salem Journal: State / Region