Civitas Institute President Calls for Investigation of Lobbyist Bob Hall and State Board of Election Staff

June 4, 2013


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Francis De Luca (919) 834-2099

Francis.DeLuca@NCCivitas.org

RALEIGH – Today the President of the Civitas Institute, Francis De Luca, delivered letters and documentation to the North Carolina Attorney General, the State Auditor, the Secretary of State and the Chairman of the State Board of Elections calling for an investigation of the activities of lobbyist Bob Hall and past and present staff of the State Board of Elections (SBOE). (Links to the letters are below.)

Secretary of State Elaine Marshall
Attorney General Roy Cooper
Auditor Beth Wood
SBE Chair Josh Howard

While asking for each of these offices to investigate items under their respective jurisdictions in relation to the SBOE, De Luca also asked the new SBOE to conduct an internal review of its own staff’s actions. The particular areas that were highlighted in the letters for review are:

· SBOE staff in 2012 collaborated with registered lobbyist Bob Hall to use state resources, personnel and equipment to engage in partisan political activity in possible violation of general statutes prohibiting state employees from participating in partisan political activity on state time and using state resources. These efforts were in conjunction with lobbying for more Help America Vote Act funding from the NCGA and thus may have also violated state lobbying laws, as Mr. Hall is a registered lobbyist and this was a clear effort to influence legislation. (Supporting documents here.)

· SBOE staff allowed a registered lobbyist, Bob Hall, to produce and edit state documents in the form of the “non-partisan” voter guide that is mailed to every registered voting household in North Carolina. His level of participation in this activity exceeded that of the state employees actually tasked with producing the document and included suggesting edits to candidate statements and facilitating billing and payments from state government for vendors. (Supporting documents here.)

· SBOE staff took part in efforts to facilitate online voter registration in North Carolina before the 2012 election cycle with no notice to the appointed state board. This effort appears to violate state law that prohibits electronic voter-registration forms, apart from those offered by a state agency. This effort was in conjunction with a private for-profit company and may have also violated North Carolina General Statutes prohibiting paying per registration. In addition, the SBOE General Counsel falsely claimed, in emails to citizens, that DOJ attorneys had reviewed the legal opinion that said the online registration program complied with North Carolina General Statutes. (Supporting documents here.)

In delivering the letters, De Luca said, “It is important that so-called good government groups and self-proclaimed watchdogs play by the same rules they demand of everyone else.” De Luca continued, “The evidence in these complaints make it clear that Mr. Hall used state resources to carry out an agenda and did so in a way to hide it from the public and from appointed and elected officials.”

The complaints arise out of a series of investigations conducted by Civitas that can be found at the following links:

· NC SBE – Who is really in charge and who do they work for?
· Lobbyist Bob Hall and Gary Bartlett Planned Attack on Republican Legislature
· Guiding the NC Elections Board – to the Left
· Elections Bureaucrats Ran Amok

The Civitas Institute is a think tank based in Raleigh, NC. More information on the Civitas Institute is available at www.nccivitas.org, or contact Jim Tynen at james.tynen@nccivitas.org or (919) 834-2099.

Civitas Institute
100 S. Harrington St. Raleigh, NC 27603
919.834.2099
nccivitas.org

AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY: NC REAL SOLUTIONS

The Americans for Prosperity Foundation and the John William Pope Civitas Institute are excited to launch a multimedia educational effort entitled NC Real Solutions.


The effort explains the success of North Carolina’s recently passed state budget that offered North Carolina real solutions by eliminating the $3 billion deficit, balancing the budget, adding state-funded teachers and lowering taxes.

The effort includes a 30 second television commercial that touts the NC Real Solutions website: www.ncrealsolutions.com.

“NC Real Solutions is an effort to move beyond the overblown rhetoric and educate the public about the state budget. The reality is the budget passed by the new General Assembly closed the $3 billion budget deficit and balanced the budget. Additional resources for education enabled local schools to add 2,000 state-funded teaching positions. The budget, passed by both the state House and Senate, did all this while providing lower taxes to all North Carolina families and businesses. The Left has attempted to win the debate over the future direction of the state by yelling the loudest and the longest,” said AFP Foundation- North Carolina State Director Dallas Woodhouse. “The NC Real Solutions project cuts through the noise to present the facts to the people of North Carolina who deserve to know the truth.”

“Since day one the Civitas Institute has been committed to providing the facts to North Carolina taxpayers,” said Civitas President Francis Deluca. “The facts are that every week there are more examples of how the state budget enacted by the new General Assembly is offering North Carolina real solutions. Putting two billion dollars back in the hands of hardworking taxpayers and the real economy by cutting sales and income taxes, while at the same time balancing the budget by spending tax dollars more efficiently are prime examples. NC Real Solutions will make sure those facts get delivered over the air and online.”

Last year and again recently Governor Perdue pushed for a billion dollar increase in the state sales tax. Instead the General Assembly passed a bi-partisan budget that:

•Added more than 4,600 state-funded education positions, including 2,000 state-funded teacher positions.
•Closed a $3.1 billion budget gap – without raising taxes.
•Cancelled close to a quarter billion in previously approved but not yet issued state debt.
•Returned more than $2 billion in taxes to North Carolina families.
•Included nearly half a billion dollars in tax relief for small businesses.

Featured in the television ad is Americans for Prosperity Foundation member Donna King, a graduate of North Carolina State University. She is a mother of three.

NC Real Solutions is a project of Americans for Prosperity Foundation with assistance from the John William Pope Civitas Institute.

View the commercial and learn more by visiting NCRealSolutions.com.