News from the NC Senate

This past week, we renewed the fight to reform state government and revive North Carolina's economy as the General Assembly reconvened with great momentum for the long session of the 2013-2014 legislative biennium.

Last session, we steered our state from financial collapse to financial stability, keeping our promises to cut taxes, reduce spending, and eliminate the historic $2.5 billion deficit our predecessors left us. We are proud of these accomplishments but we know much more work needs to be done. I am excited to be back in Raleigh to build on the progress we made these past two years.

If you have ideas, questions or concerns, please contact me via email at Norman.Sanderson@ncleg.net or on the phone at my Raleigh office (919) 733-5706. I want your input on the decisions being made.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to represent you in Raleigh!

Norman

Senate Bill 4 Denounces Obamacare
Our first order of business - stop the expansion of Obamacare in North Carolina.

Last Wednesday, Senate leaders introduced legislation to opt out of participation in several costly provisions of this federal intrusion into our health care decisions.

Our bill, Senate Bill 4,exempts North Carolina from establishing a state-based health insurance exchange or a state-federal partnership exchange mandated in Obamacare, and directs the N.C. Department of Insurance to return unspent taxpayer funds awarded by the federal Department of Health and Human Services earlier this month to create a state-federal partnership exchange.

Since the federal government forced the passage of Obamacare against the will of North Carolinians, it should carry the burden of implementing this intrusive government program.

Senate Bill 4 also halts expansion of the N.C. Medicaid program. In its 2012 decision on Obamacare, the U.S. Supreme Court rightlyexempted states from the federal mandate to expand Medicaid eligibility.

Costs for North Carolina's existing Medicaid program have increased significantly in recent years. Last year the General Assembly was forced to fill a surprise Medicaid shortfall that totaled more than $500 million. And recent figures from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services indicate that an expansion of the program would add hundreds of millions of dollars to North Carolina's Medicaid budget through 2019.

Senate Republicans are committed to ensuring every North Carolinian receives the highest quality health care. But saddling our citizens with the enormous costs of a new federal bureaucracy and entitlement is simply not the way to achieve this goal.

Voter ID
The majority of my colleagues and I in both the House and Senate are fully committed to election reform, which includes requiring that those who vote show a photo ID. Do not believe the hype that Photo ID disenfranches voters. Quite the contrary.

Tax Reform
The General Assembly will be exploring NC's tax structure to see how it could be changed to stimulate our state's economy. Currently, NC has one of the highest tax rates in the Southeast and coincidentally one of the highest unemployment rates as well. Our current tax structure punishes success and productivity, and we will be studying how we could make incremental changes to make our tax system fair, simple and efficient.

Gun Rights
I am fully committed to protecting our 2nd Amendment rights in North Carolina. We cannot let the federal government chip away at our right to bear arms. When it comes to gun owner rights, give the federal government an inch and they will take a mile. You can depend on me to protect our God-given freedoms.

Senator Sanderson's Committees
Senator Sanderson sits on the following committees:

• Appropriations : General Government
• Commerce
• Finance
• Insurance (Vice Chair)
• Judiciary 1
• Program Evaluation