Senator Jerry Tillman
Senate Majority Whip
Senate update
July 24th, 2013
State Budget
Raleigh, N.C. – The
North Carolina Senate tentatively passed a $20.6 billion state
budget Tuesday.
Over the past few
weeks, we’ve heard Democrats fight to deny tax relief for working families,
impede our efforts to attract new jobs, reject meaningful improvements to
public education and resume the same wasteful spending that led to a
multi-billion deficit when they last controlled state government. In spite of
their efforts, I’m proud the Senate was able to pass a budget that funds core
priorities, strengthens our schools and makes smart investments in our future.
Don’t Buy The
Rhetoric
If your only source
of information is what you see and read in the news of the day, you’re missing
a lot – a whole lot….. The agreed upon budget does many worthwhile and positive
things:
· Fully funds growth in K-12, community colleges and universities.
· Spends more money in education, nearly $500 million, than the
previous budget.
· Eliminates negative reserves in K-12 budget.
· Funds excellent public schools at $236 million (will strengthen
literacy, improve graduation rates and increase accountability).
· Eliminates tenure (provides $500 bonus to high performing
teachers), $10.2 million.
· Establishes pay for performance rather than pay for time served.
· Gives increased flexibility to K-12, community colleges and
universities.
· Increases Medicaid funding and attempts to reform an out of
control system.
· Reforms transportation and project priorities to enhance highway
infrastructure and promote safe and effective travel.
· Eliminates needless and duplicative regulations.
· Eliminates Rural Center and provides Commerce with tools to
provide quick and efficient service to rural area projects.
· Reforms outdated tax code.
· Cuts a billion dollars in taxes for all taxpayers.
· Funds budget with recurring dollars – not one time money as our
predecessors continually did.
The Truth About the
Education Budget
Yogi Berra – famous
New York Yankees catcher and purveyor of famous one liner “Yogi-isms” – once
said, “It’s déjà vu all over again.” That is an accurate description of
the sounds coming from the left regarding the education budget. The North
Carolina General Assembly has a history rich in dialogue and debate. But,
when it comes to the left’s dialogue about the education budget, I can think of
no better characterization than President Ronald Reagan’s “here we go again.”
In 2011, we arrived
in Raleigh with a $2.5 BILLION dollar budget shortfall to deal with right out
of the gate. I don’t know if you can wrap your mind around a figure this
big, but trust me, it ain’t pocket change. Did we have the luxury of piles
of surplus money lying around? No. We had to find a way – without
raising taxes – to balance the budget and provide adequate funding for the
necessities of government. And we did just that.
The cries of doom
and gloom from the left surrounded the budget process from start to
finish. I think “draconian” won the award for most over-used word by the
left – a word that they tossed in every chance they had in hopes of scaring the
people. They had no facts, but that didn’t matter. If you bought into
their fear-mongering, you were convinced that public education in North
Carolina was flat out going to shut down. School doors would be padlocked
and children would roam the streets with no hope of ever receiving an
education.
I stood up in the
Senate chamber and called them out for such outrageous grandstanding. I
said, “Schools will open in the fall, teachers will teach, and public education
will continue to grow in North Carolina.” Schools did open, teachers are
teaching, and public education is on the road to great improvement thanks to
the “Excellent Public Schools Act” and other much-needed reform legislation
that was passed last session and in the current session.
So here we are
again. This time around the buzz word is “de-funding.” Scare
tactics and untruth once more are flying fast and furious. But let the
facts speak for themselves:
The budget that we
have proposed fully funds enrollment growth across the board. And, the
proposed K-12 budgeted amount for Fiscal Year 13-14 is $7,867,960,649.
This budgeted amount is 2.1% above what was spent in Fiscal Year 12-13, which
was $7,705,071,707. Now you tell me, is spending nearly $8 BILLION
dollars on K-12 de-funding education? Is spending more on K-12 this
session de-funding education? I don’t know about the left, but the folks
I represent can answer these questions…
The bottom line is
that we are funding education in North Carolina. We are investing
millions to help children learn to read by the 3rd grade. (When community
colleges and universities say that the biggest problem they have is freshmen
not being able to read, something ain’t right.) We are giving local
school districts the flexibility to spend their State funds in the way that is
best for their particular schools. And we are keeping the budget
balanced. I’d say we are doing what we were elected to do…You will see…
Election Reform
· We have an outdated, archaic state election code that is no
longer relevant to today’s political landscape. Our election code hasn’t seen
comprehensive change in 3 decades.
· Our reforms restore transparency to the election process, create
clear guidelines that everyone can understand and follow and reduce the
opportunity for political gamesmanship.
· Our bill also fulfills one of our most important campaign
promises – ensuring the integrity of elections by requiring voters to show
photo identification at the polls.
Photo ID
· Our bill guarantees any North Carolina citizen
who wants to vote will have that opportunity. It establishes a list of valid
government-issued photo IDs – including driver’s licenses, non-operator ID
cards, tribal and military IDs and passports – that voters can present at their
polling places. And it allows anyone without a photo ID to obtain one at no
cost through the Department of Motor Vehicles.
· It also outlines a gradual implementation timeline, beginning
with the 2014 elections, for informing voters and enacting the photo ID
requirement, until the law is fully enforced in 2016.
· For years, polls have consistently shown that an overwhelming
majority of North Carolinians support this common sense policy.
· And our action makes North Carolina one of more than 30 states
and one of the last states in the Southeast to adopt a voter ID law.
· Our bill brings clarity and transparency to the voting process.
It curtails questions of voter fraud by folks on both sides of the aisle and
helps ensure every candidate wins or loses on his or her own merits.
· Liberals claim we shouldn’t be worried about protecting our
elections because voter fraud isn’t happening. But it’s reckless to claim the
problem doesn’t exist when we haven’t been looking for it.
Early Voting
· Our bill streamlines the early voting process to10 days while
providing counties the flexibility to increase the overall number of early
voting hours – ensuring ample time for voters to make their voices heard.
· Currently, each county sets their own early voting days and
hours on a location-by-location basis. This lack of consistency creates
confusion among voters and increases opportunities for gamesmanship, since local
election boards could set longer hours for particular sites to increase
partisan participation.
· For this reason, our bill specifies that all of a county’s
one-stop sites must operate the same days and hours. Counties will continue to
have the option to open polls on Sundays.
· The bill allows time to verify voter information by repealing
same-day registration, ensuring accuracy. And it strengthens the
requirements for absentee ballots.
Quotes
“There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man;
true nobility is being superior to your former self.” –Ernest Hemingway
In the 14th Century, St. Francis was a
respected theologian, scholar and writer. When asked this question, “What
would you do if today was your last day on earth?” He replied, “I would do what
I do every day – start my day with prayer and supplication, see loved ones,
tend my garden and go to bed.” Sounds like a man at peace with himself and with
his maker…..
“Faded shirt, your weathered brow
Your calloused hands upon the plow
I loved you then and I love you now, Reuben James” – Alex Harvey
Take These to the Bank
· You cannot legislate the
poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity.
· What one person receives
without working for, another person must work for without receiving.
· The government cannot give
to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.
· You cannot multiply wealth
by dividing it!
· When half of the people get
the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take
care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to
work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that is the
beginning of the end of a nation.
I’ll let you decide where America stands in regard to the
items above. I know…..
Standing Room Only
With 200 wins, he was NASCAR’s best. He set the bar
mighty high. There’ll be standing room only when the King says goodbye.
With his hat and his boots, dark glasses and all, he set
the bar mighty high. There’ll be standing room only when the King says
goodbye.
He was born in Level Cross and that’s where he’ll
die. His name is Richard Petty and he set the bar mighty high.
There’ll be standing room only when the King says goodbye.
This Really Happened
Recently, Davie Co. Senator Andrew Brock was trying to
explain his bill in the Senate Finance Committee. Senator Dan Blue looked
back at me and asked, “What did Senator Brock just say?” I replied – “I
don’t know, Andrew has started speaking Brock again.” I can’t remember whether
his bill passed out of committee or not. I’m not sure Andrew does
either…..
Scared To Death
Martin Nesbitt said on the Senator floor (7-17) that the
GOP tax plan was scaring people to death. (Since we’re eliminating the death
tax) Senator Meredith replied, “At least they won’t have to pay a tax on
it.”…..
“And be not conformed to this world: but
be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that
good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” - Romans 12:2
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Senator Jerry Tillman
Senate Majority Whip
627 Legislative Office Building
Raleigh, NC 27601-2808
