NC General Assembly

Chris Fitzsimon at NC Policy watch has a concise preview of the upcoming legislative session and the fuzzy fuzzy budget picture.

It adds up to a challenging session for lawmakers, who will be meeting with one eye focused on their own re-election campaigns and in the shadow of a gubernatorial race that is almost certain to include misleading and simplistic rhetoric about budgets and taxes.

Some people may wonder about my apparent obsession with NC Realtors. It's really very simple. Political corruption is rooted in the large amounts of money injected into the political process. NC Realtors have injected the largest amounts of money. They've also targeted an issue I care about, sustainable growth and, the local government funding options required to provide for it. Roll a few pet peeves into one and you have Stop The NC Home Ticks.

The North Carolina real estate industry has a little secret that may get a little sunshine, or not. The Bonus Round

Cross-posted at the Brock Log.

A House Committee approved a bill to distribute NC's electoral votes proportionally, according to the vote in each Congressional District.

Now if it was just retroactive to 2000, we would have had President Gore...

Among the details: Transfer tax included, top income tax rate cut included, sales tax hike made permanent and could go higher.

With the GOP in charge in the Senate, I guess this is the best we can expect...

fp by gf :)

When you're looking to understand the inner workings of deal-making in the General Assembly, there's no better place to turn than to Chris Fitzsimon at NC Policy Watch.

HB 91 (Registration and Voting at One-Stop Sites) will be going through the Senate Select Committee on Government and Election Reform soon (the scheduled meeting for today was canceled). I ask that each of you contact the Senators on the Select Committee to express your support and urge them to support the bill.

HB 91 is important because it will allow registration and voting on the same day during the "One Stop" voting period prior to elections. This is a great opportunity to attract voters and will certainly make voting more convenient for hard working North Carolinians.

Mark Binker says we should be on the look-out for a statement today from the NC Legislative Black Caucus about Thomas Wright. He speculates the Caucus is none too happy with how Mr. Wright is being treated in comparison to the contortions the House went through in deference to Jim Black. If that's true, they're absolutely right to be angry.

. . . but another caucus member who was in the meeting said the statement would basically call for "allowing the process to work." In other words, the caucus was unhappy that the Speaker so vocally called out one of its members, especially after Democrats showed a great deal of forbearance with former Speaker Jim Black.

UPDATE: The statement from the Black Caucus is posted below.

I'm a big believer in "you get what you pay for." That's why I'm always advocating for better pay in every sector of government. Public agencies and departments should be models of excellence that inspire confidence and attract the best and brightest people to serve at every level.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- State lawmakers haven't given themselves a raise in more than a decade, and with each passing year, more legislators say serving in the General Assembly isn't as agreeable as it use to be. And that was before new lobbying restrictions took effect this year that turned their free steak dinners into Dutch treat at the local cafeteria.

The death penalty news coming out of the General Assembly this session is not all good. Senator Brock (R-Davie and Rowan) has proposed a bill which would make it a capital offense to kill a pregnant woman - whether or not she or anyone else is aware of the pregnancy.

At a time when so many are calling for the narrowing of the capital statute, Senator Brock (and his co-sponsors Allran (R-Catawba and Iredell), Apodaca (R-Buncombe, Henderson, and Polk), Berger (R-Guilford and Rockingham), Blake (R-Harnett and Moore), Brown (R-Jones and Onslow), East (R-Alleghany, Stokes, Surry, and Yadkin), Goodall (R-Mecklenburg and Union), Hunt (R-Wake), Jacumin (R-Burke and Caldwell), Pittenger (R-Mecklenburg, Preston (R-Carteret, Craven, and Pamlico), and Smith (R-Johnston and Wayne)) are trying to expand the statute in a way that is both unnecessary and unfair.