North Carolina Legislative Report November 18, 2011

THANKS TO THE NORTH CAROLINA FEDERATION OF REPUBLICAN WOMEN FOR THIS REPORT!


U.S. Congress

1. Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2012 (H.R. 2112) - The $128 billion bill appropriates funds to the select agencies for the remainder of 2012. Conservative Republicans opposed the bill's price tag and other provisions. The funding averts a shutdown of the agencies cited, and has to be signed by midnight Nov 18, 2011. Since President Obama is in Indonesia, "a machine imprint of his signature" will be used. (The Wall Street Journal)

In an article on RedState.com, Daniel Horowitz wrote that the bill ". . . contains record levels of spending for Food Stamps, WIC, and international food aid. It also contains $2.3 billion for disaster spending , which is excluded from the budget caps. Further, the "bill has a provision which was inserted into the conference report to expand the role of Fannie Mae and Freddi Mac."


In the Senate, the vote on Nov 17, 2011 was 70 to 30 with Senator Burr voting against it and Senator Hagan voting for it.

The House also voted on Nov 17, 2011 to pass the bill in a vote of 298 to 121 with 14 not voting.

NC Representatives voting for the bill: G. K. Butterfield (D-1st), Renee Ellmers (R-2nd), David E. Price (D-4th), Howard Coble (R-6th), Mike McIntyre (D-7th), Larry Kissell (D-8th), Heath Shuler (D-11th), Melvin Watt (D-12th), and Brad Miller (D-13th)

NC Representatives voting against the bill: Walter B. Jones (R-3rd), Virginia Foxx (R-5th), Sue Myrick (R-9th), and Patrick T. McHenry (R-10th).

2. Government Contract Withholding Repeal Act (H.R. 674) - On Nov 10, 2011 the Senate voted to amend the Tax Code "to repeal a requirement that government agencies withhold 3 percent of payments to government contractors," and to "give tax credits to companies that hire unemployed veterans." (Megavote) In addition, the bill "Includes social security benefits that are excluded from gross income in the calculation of modified adjusted gross income for purposes of determining eligibility for the tax credit for coverage under a qualified health plan." (Bill Summary)

The Senate vote was 95 to 0 with 1 voting present and 4 not voting. Senator Burr voted for it and Senator Hagan did not vote.

On Nov 16, 2011 the House voted on the same bill and the vote was 422 to 0 with 11 not voting.  All NC Representatives voted for the bill.

House - Other Recent Votes

National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011 (H.R. 822) - The bill "Amends the federal criminal code to authorize a person who is carrying a government-issued photographic identification document and a valid permit to carry a concealed firearm in one state, and who is not prohibited from possessing, transporting, shipping, or receiving a firearm under federal law, to carry a concealed handgun (other than a machinegun or destructive device) in another state in accordance with the restrictions of that state." (Bill Summary)

On Nov 16, 2011 the bill passed in a vote of 272 to 154 with 7 not voting.  NC Representatives voting for the bill: Renee Ellmers (R-2nd), Walter B. Jones (R-3rd), Virginia Foxx (R-5th), Howard Coble (R-6th), Mike McIntyre (D-7th), Larry Kissell (D-8th), Sue Myrick (R-9th), Patrick T. McHenry (R-10th), and Heath Shuler (D-11th).

NC Representatives voting against the bill: G.K. Butterfield (D-1st), David E. Price (D-4th), Melvin Watt (D-12th), and Brad Miller (D-13th).

Defense

1. In September the Obama Administration presented its plan to cut the deficit and identified $27 billion in cuts from the military healthcare program involving changes in TRICARE health and pharmacy benefits, along with changes in the retirement system, and other restructuring ideas. (Military Officer Association of America (MOAA))


2. Super Committee (Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction) - Their report is due on Nov 23, 2011 that will cut the budget deficit by a minimum of $1.2 trillion and if the committee cannot agree, automatic cuts of $1.2 trillion will take place in January 2013 (KICKING THE CAN DOWN THE ROAD AGAIN) affecting only Defense and Medicare. The Hill has reported that "Republicans are especially fearful" of cuts to defense. A Democrat aide said, "Members would prefer to live with a stalemate than an unbalanced deal that is surrender to the Republicans, and that attitude is reflected in the leadership."

3. Caring For Camp Lejeune Veterans (S 277) - Senator Burr has sponsored this bill which has two parts:

• It provides hospital care and health benefits to veterans and their families who were stationed at Camp Lejeune while there was a contaminated water problem.

• The bill also "Requires the DOD Secretary to merge and consolidate all commissary and exchange stores into a single system that, by not later than the end of FY2015, operates on a self-sufficient basis without the need for financial support through appropriated funds. Prohibits any DOD funds from being obligated or expended after FY2015 for commissary and exchange stores." (Bill Summary)

The bill has been placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar, but no date is identified for the vote.

For over 20 years lobbyists from the supermarkets and retail establishments have fought against the commissary and the exchange. (The Ft. Bragg Commissary advertises at the door that the commissary is the number one benefit to the military).


4. Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station, Havelock, NC - May be downsized or closed. The Craven County Republican Women's Club has sent letters to Senator Burr and members of the Super Committee asking them to retain Cherry Point as its mission concerns fighter planes and it is essential for preparedness and readiness. For more information, contact Sherry Bradbury, President, at sbradbury@suddenlink.net.

If you are concerned about the defense of our nation, which is the first priority of the federal government, please contact Senator Burr: Email: burr.senate.gov; telephone (202) 224-3154 or by letter: Senator Richard Burr, United States Senate, 217 Russell Senate Officed Building, Washington, DC 20510.

NC General Assembly

1. The General Assembly will convene for a special session Nov 27- 29, 2011. Among the topics may be any vetoed bills such as Voter Photo ID, and other topics including NC's Racial Justice Act," among others. To override the governor's veto, the House requires 72 votes which means that four Democrats must vote with all Republicans to override a veto. The most likely may be:

William D. Brisson (Bladen, Cumerland) 919 733-5772
Jim Crawford (Granville, Vance) 919 733-5824
Dewey Hill (Brunswick, Columbus) 919 733-5830
Timothy Spear (Chowan, Dare, Hyde, Washington) 919 715-3029


For other information go to: http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/

2. Another bill receiving much attention is the "Cap Motor Fuel Excise Tax Rate" (House Bill 399). " "North Carolina now has the third-highest gas tax in the United States," according to a report in the Charlotte Business Journal. "North Carolina's tax of 35 cents a gallon ranks only behind Washington (37.5 cents) and California (35.7 cents)" for a gallon for gas. The nation's lowest rate is Georgia at 7.5 cents a gallon. (Charlotte Observer)

The General Assembly to date has not addressed the Democrat sponsored bill that automatically recalculates the gas tax every July 1 and Jan 1.

Representative John Blust (Guilford), one of the cosponsors of the bill, has provided the following Resolution:

"RESOLUTION OF THE NORTH CAROLINA REPUBLICAN PARTY

WHEREAS, North Carolina has a tax on gasoline of 35 cents per gallon, the third highest of any state in America, and


WHEREAS, the Democrats, when they controlled the North Carolina legislature, put in place a formula that enables the gas tax to rise automatically as the wholesale price of gasoline rises on the market without the legislature having to take a vote to raise the gas tax, so that legislators can escape accountability for gas tax increases, and


WHEREAS, these same scheming politicians also put a floor on the gasoline tax so that it cannot fall below a certain level if the wholesale price of gasoline declines, and

WHEREAS, Republicans took control of both the North Carolina House and the North Carolina Senate for the first time since reconstruction in the 2010 elections, due largely to the resources, time, efforts and other contributions of grassroots Republican activists across the state of North Carolina, and

WHEREAS, Republican candidates for the North Carolina House, North Carolina Senate, US House and US Senate campaigned on a similar theme that they would get runaway spending under control and put the state and nation on a sound fiscal footing without raising taxes, and this message of fiscal responsibility resonated with an electorate that believes it is taxed enough already in a very difficult economy, and

WHEREAS, the Obama administration and liberal Democrats in Congress, led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Harry Reid, enacted a wasteful stimulus bill, claiming that spending billions of dollars more money on infrastructure and "shovel-ready projects" would turn the economy around and create millions of new jobs,


WHEREAS, the Obama stimulus and other irresponsible spending has actually choked economic growth, impeded job creation, retarded any economic recovery, and has been an all-around abject failure, and


WHEREAS, Obama, Reid and Pelosi have lately been demanding a second stimulus, again based upon the already failed argument that raising taxes and spending billions more on infrastructure will lead to economic growth and job creation, and

WHEREAS, the price of gasoline has risen considerably over the last two years as the anti-energy policies of the Obama Administration have taken hold, and

WHEREAS, North Carolina's gas tax already rose two cents per gallon under the automatic formula and is projected to raise another four cents a gallon on January 1, 2012 to 39 cents a gallon, which will make North Carolina's the second highest gas tax of any state in America, unless the Republican-controlled General Assembly acts before January 1, to stop the automatic increase, and

WHEREAS, some Republican House members filed House Bill 399 on March__, 2011 to cap the gas tax even before the first gas tax increase took effect on July 1, 2011, and

WHEREAS, House Bill 399 has not been allowed to come up for a vote or even get a committee hearing in the Republican controlled NC House, nor has the Republican-controlled NC Senate taken any action to stop the automatic gas tax increases, and


WHEREAS, in the past several yea[r]s, continuing up to the present time, the Democrats (1) have raided the state's Highway Fund to pay for their reckless spending on things other than roads and bridges, (2) have allowed waste, cronyism and even corruption to run rampant throughout state government but especially within the NCDOT, (3) have refused to allow any adjustment to the highway funding formula to dedicate current revenue from the gas tax to the most critically needed road and bridge projects, and (4) have instead, directed enormous sums of money toward lower-priority projects in the areas represented by their most powerful politicians or their contributors, and

WHEREAS, even on Wednesday, November 16, the Perdue administration told a legislative oversight committee that it intended to divert $5,000,000 of critically-needed highway funds to the Global Transpark,

WHEREAS, the unacceptable misuse, waste, cronyism and corruption in the area of transportation as set forth above has not yet been fixed - primarily because the current Democratic governor has not cooperated or provided any leadership in this effort, and

WHEREAS, the people of North Carolina are continuing to suffer in a down economy due to the counter-productive policies and actions of the Obama and the Perdue administrations, and tens of thousands remain unemployed or underemployed and simply cannot afford to pay more for a critically needed commodity every time they pull up to a gas pump to refuel, and


WHEREAS, the government of the state of North Carolina has no business asking economically struggling people to pony up more in gas taxes until it starts using the revenue from the already third highest gas tax in a much more responsible fashion, and


WHEREAS, we expect our Republican-led legislature live up to the promises of the last campaign and to take action to fix state government and be wise stewards of the taxes the state of North Carolina is taking from its hard-pressed people;

NOW, BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED, that the North Carolina Republican Party, through its duly constituted and acting Executive Committee, do formally call upon the North Carolina General Assembly to act with alacrity to cap the gas tax in effect in the state of North Carolina to prevent another 11% increase in this tax from going into effect on January 1, 2012 and to take all actions possible to use the current revenue from the third-highest gas tax in the United States as efficiently and effectively as possible.

Respectfully Adopted, this the 19th day of November, 2011." [Rep John Blust]

Please call your elected officials.

Sources: The Wall Street Journal, "Legislation Is Passed That Averts Shutdown," by Corey Boles, Nov 18, 2011; RedState.com, "Republicans Throw Their 'Pledge To America' Under the OmniBus," by Daniel Horowitz, Nov 17, 2011; senate.gov; house.gov; MegaVote: NC 6th, 11/14/2011; The Hill, "Deal-breaker election looms over supercommittee negotiations," by Alexander Bolton and Russell Berman, Nov 14, 2011; Letter to Sen. Burr from Craven County Republican Women's Club, dated Nov 3, 2011; MOAA, "Misguided Attack," Nov 2011; News & Observer, "District attorneys aim to overhaul Racial Justice Act," by Anne Blythe, Nov 17, 2011; WRAL.com, "Round Two for the Racial Justice Act?" Nov 16, 2011; AP, "N.C's Racial Justice Act gets support," by Martha Waggoner AP, Nov 16, 2011; Charlotte Observer, "N.C. gas tax 3rd-highest in U.S," Sep 1, 2011; ncga; Resolution from Rep. John Blust, Nov 17, 2011.

North Carolina Federation of Republican Women - Legislative Report

Brenda T. Formo nc.eagle.eye@live.com


July 8, 2011

Governor Perdue's Actions on Bills

On Jun 30th, the governor vetoed the following bills:

1. "An Act to Increase Regulatory Efficiency in Order to Balance Job Creation and Environmental Protection" (SB 781). The bill includes a "review of existing rules," a "limitation on certain environmental rules," and increases authority for administrative law judges. Specifically, the administrative law judge makes "a final decision or order that contains findings of fact and conclusions of law," related to contested cases. The bill also provides for a "right of judicial review."

In her veto message, the governor stated that SB 781 ""would take final decision-making authority in certain circumstances away from state agencies and instead give it to the Office of Administrative Hearings--a result that the Attorney General has repeatedly declared is in violation of the North Carolina Constitution." Agreeing with the veto, Margaret Hartzell a policy advocate for Environment North Carolina said, "it would handcuff the state's ability to protect its own air and water." (News & Record)

Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger said, "This is a common-sense bill that passed the Senate unanimously. Thousands of burdensome and confusing regulations are creating uncertainty in the private sector and crippling the job-creating businesses that will lead us out of the recession," adding, "We will keep fighting to reform the bloated bureaucracy Gov. Perdue helped create." Berger further commented, "It's just funny that in the Senate, you had (this) bill that was unanimous, that she now decided has constitutional problems. It's curious to me that no one else has seen that."

2. "An Act to Increase Energy Production in North Carolina . . . " (SB 709). The bill is a "compact with the governors of South Carolina and Virginia" and is intended to increase domestic energy production in NC that would create jobs and "facilitate economic growth." The bill also directed the governor to "work with North Carolina's Congressional delegation to advocate for state revenue-sharing for resources off the coast and directed how that money would be spent," which includes a major portion of it going to "jobs training, energy research and conservation," as relayed by WRAL. WRAL has also reported that NC's "offshore energy reserves are thought to be mostly natural gas--the cleanest fossil fuel;" and that NC also has "64 million federal offshore acres," along the coast, that is the "fourth largest acreage in the country."

The governor says that the bill is "unconstitutional on its face," adding that "Before any oil and gas production can commence, the federal government must take action." [We know that the Obama administration has taken action in the opposite direction on energy.] Governor Perdue issued Executive Orders 96 and 97 to study the issues rather than take a definitive action. Executive Order 96 "will reestablish and expand the Scientific Advisory Panel on Energy that will continue to research, plan and provide options for onshore and offshore oil and gas production." Executive Order 97 "will create the Offshore Wind Economic Development Task Force that will make recommendations on state investments and infrastructure needed to take full economic advantage of offshore wind resources in North Carolina." [Wind does not power cars]

Senate President Pro Tempore Berger said, "At a time when North Carolina families and businesses are struggling with outrageous energy costs, Gov. Perdue rejected a golden opportunity to develop affordable and clean energy alternatives that would create thousands of new, good-paying jobs," adding "Once again, she caved to her liberal political allies instead of doing what's best for our state."

3. "An Act Relating to Requirements of Medicaid and Health Choice Providers (SB 496). The bill added a new chapter thereby amending the General Statutes that details requirements for "Medicaid" or "Health Choice" (health insurance program for children) providers. Governor Perdue said she vetoed the bill because "one section of the bill would take final decision-making authority away from the Department of Health and Human Services ('DHHS") and instead give it to the Office of Administrative Hearings ("OAH"), adding that the Attorney General has said it is unconstitutional and violates federal Medicaid law. After a review of the bill, it appears that the governor is referring to "Appeals by Medicaid providers and applicants." Specifically this provision is for applicants seeking "to appeal an adverse determination made by the Department [DHHS]." The "final decision" resides with "The Office of Administrative Hearings" that is required to "make a final decision within 180 days of the date of filing of the appeal." "The burden of proof" will rest with the DHHS in appeals by "Medicaid providers or applicants concerning an adverse determination." The bill passed passed both the House and the Senate with zero "no" votes on Jun 15th and Jun 16th respectively.

4. An Act that moves the Employment Security Commission to the Commerce Department and makes other modifications and changes (SB 532). Governor Perdue said the changes "could have increased the time to process first-time unemployment claims" and "could have ended the flow of federal unemployment funds to the state."

House Speaker Thom Tillis referred to her explanation as "fake and plastic," adding "this bill actually prevents unemployment benefits from being paid to employees who steal money from their employers." The bill passed overwhelmingly in the House on Jun 15th in a vote of 104 to 12 with 3 not voting; and in the Senate on Jun 16th in a vote of 45 to 3 with 2 excused absences.

The governor issued Executive Order 95 that she says "ensures the Employment Security Commission will maintain the integrity of its process for administering unemployment benefits while being administratively housed within the Department of Commerce."

The governor did not sign four other bills, but did not veto them so they become law:

1. HB 845 "A bill reforming the state's half-century-old involuntary annexation law."
2. SB 620 "A bill modifying reporting requirements for lobbyist principals."
3. HB 344 "A bill allowing parents of children with disabilities to claim tax credits for expenses asociated with sending their children to private schools."
4. HB 119 "A bill modifying the state's environmental laws"
(from M2M Politics)

NC General Assembly Special Session

The General Assembly will reconvene for a special session on July 13th. There are important bills that governor Perdue has vetoed that require an override to become law. At the top of the list are:

1. "Abortion- A Woman's Right to Know" (HB 854) was addressed in the NCFRW Grassroots Alert on July 7th, and in the Legislative Report dated Jun 28th. Please call the named legislators in the two emails, as only one vote is needed in the House and one in the Senate for the override.

2. Voter Photo ID (HB 351) - A Legislative Alert was disseminated on Jun 25th. Only four House Democrats are needed for the override. As stated in the Jun 24th Legislative Report, Governor Perdue in her veto message said, "North Carolinians who are eligible to vote have a constitutionally guaranteed right to cast their ballots, and no one should put up obstacles to citizens exercising that right."

It is obvious to at least 75 percent of voters in NC that a photo ID serves to determine "eligibility" of voters, and is a deterrent to those who attempt to vote more than once, or who are not the person they purport to be. (75% is from Elon University polling in April 2011, but Civitas polling since 2006 shows that 83% to 87% of "respondents and voters in every demographic believe that providing an ID card with a photograph is a good idea.")

Redistricting

Redistricting public comment meetings on the proposed Congressional maps were held on Thursday, July 7th from 3:00 p.m. to 9:00 pm. at nine locations in NC; via video-conferencing to all locations and streamed on the General Assembly's website. As an observer for about four hours at the Jamestown (Guilford County) location, there was a remarkable difference in comparison to the meeting held on Jun 23rd for public comments. This time Republicans spoke out in favor of the redistricting maps and commended the Redistricting Committee members and Republicans on their fortitude and fairness in redrawing the maps after Democrat gerrymanding for years. Our own NCFRW members made persuasive comments including Rhonda Amoroso, Starnell Franklin, and Diane Layton. Predictably, NAACP and Democrat opponents continued to use the same provocative and incendiary language when referring to the proposed redistricting, using the following terms: "segregation," disenfranchising minorities by suppressing the black vote," "return to slavery," "packing, stacking, and cracking" minorities; and they also described the plan as "retrogressive change." Both the NAACP and Southern Coalition for Social Justice representatives threatened law suits.

Complete maps will be released on Jul 11th, and on Jul 18th public comment meetings will be held across NC, which will complete the process for the public. We need to go to the meetings to support the Republicans who are being berated and disparaged by the left.

NC Solar Power and Canada's Oil

The Greensboro News & Record reported today that Guilford County is among the final contenders for a National Solar Power company's expansion to build a regional site requiring 4000 acres to build a solar farm, that could include "20 related 200-acre sites" and would be a "400 megawatt project." Company officials said, "it would be much easier to do the deal here than in Florida," and Dan Lynch, president of the Greensboro Economic Development Alliance said, that "North Carolina has a very favorable tax climate for landing solar farms."

Skip Alston, the controversial City Council Chairman is an advocate for the project. The building costs are $1.4 billion and it is estimated that the five-year project would create 120 jobs.

(In NC we will build a solar farm and not drill for natural gas, according to the governor's actions in a veto of SB 709)

In related news, the Wall Street Journal posted an article titled, "Canada Has Plenty of Oil, But Does the U.S. Want It?" It seems that Alberta, Canada is experiencing an oil boom as "one of the world's newest petroleum powerhouses." The U.S. has been the "biggest consumer" of the oil, but "may not want the additional oil" because an "energy-intensive process that generates lots of carbon dioxide" takes place in its production. The problem is that environmentalists and many Democrats are against importing it.

U.S. House of Representatives

In House Resolution 268, "Reaffirming the United States commitment t[o] a negotiated settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, and for other purposes," the House passed the Resolution in a vote of 407 to 6 with 13 voting present and 5 not voting.

All NC Representatives voted for the Resolution except Walter B.Jones (R-3rd) who voted against it.

Sources: ncga; News & Record, "Perdue vetoes 4 more bills," by Mark Binker, Jul 1, 2011 and "Perdue vetoes three more bills, total up to 15 for the year," by Capital Beat blog, Jul 7, 2011 and "Solar farm deal looks bright," by Donald W. Paterson, Jul 8, 2011 and "Remapping plan gets mixed reviews," by AP, Jul 8, 2011; civitas.org, "North Carolina's Attempt at Election Reform," by Susan Myrick, Jun 27, 2011; wral, "Part-time NC legislature won't be gone long," AP, Jul 7, 2011 and "Berger: Perdue vetoes 'desperate,' 'indecisive', AP, Jun 30, 2011; M2M Politics, "'Veto' stamped on four more bills," by Barry Smith, Jun 30, 2011; MFR on Redistricting Meeting, Jul 7, 2011; MegaVote: NC 6th, 7/5/2011; house.gov; and The Wall Street Journal, "Canada Has Plenty of Oil, But Does the U.S. Want It?" by Chip Cummins and Edward Welsch, Jul 8, 2011.

May 17th, 2011, 10:00-2:00 pm: NCFRW Legislative Day!

Meet at the Legislative Building Lobby, 16 West Jones Street, Raleigh, NC.

10:30 am--Attend the Marriage Rally at Halifax Mall, behind the Legislative Building. The keynote speaker is Dr. David Gibbs, Jr., founder of the Christian Law Association, and host of the "Legal Alert." 12:00 noon to 2:00 pm--Lunch with the legislators, and present "Marriage Amendment" petitions in the Legislative Building Auditorium. Lunch is $10.00 and reservations are needed by Wednesday, May 11th. The money will be collected in cash on May 17th. Point of contact is Brenda T. Formo at nc.eagle.eye@live.com or (336) 605- 5848.