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Monday: Remains of the Day
posted at 2009-07-07 00:40 | Last modified 2009-07-07 00:40
Roadblock
A few days off haven’t put state lawmakers any closer to a budget deal. House Senior Budget Chair Mickey Michaux (D-Durham) says the House and Senate hit an impasse before the Fourth of July weekend, and as of tonight, talks had not resumed. Both sides agree on the need to raise taxes, but differ on which taxes they should raise. And Michaux says they don’t agree on how to spend the new revenue, either.
"The hang-up is how we want to divvy up the money. We had divvied up the money – we put money into education, health and human services, and JPS, because they took the bigger cuts. The Senate wants to put more money into education, and less money into HHS and JPS. And that’s where we are."
Michaux and fellow House budget chair Alma Adams (D-Guilford) say House negotiators are ready to go whenever the Senate decides to return to the table. The budget deadline is July 15th.
S/he said, s/he said
A measure headed for the Governor’s desk would be the first step toward making state laws gender neutral. S870 directs the General Statutes Commission to identify places in state law (including the Constitution) where the masculine pronoun is used. The panel would recommend substitute wording that isn’t gender specific; lawmakers would decide whether to accept the new wording.
Critics of the idea say the Constitution shouldn’t be subject to political correctness. But Rep. Deborah Ross (D-Wake) says maybe it’s time for the revered document to catch up to the 21st century.
"An example would be -- the Governor is referred to as "he" throughout the entire Constitution, and we have a female governor right now."
Ross explained that the gender-neutral language would not involve "he or she," or, heaven forbid, the dreaded "s/he." She says the GSC would try to substitute the title of the position where gendered pronouns are currently used.
But that assurance wasn't enough to keep the dreaded "political correctness" from rearing its head, leading to an entertaining exchange between Ross and Rep. George Cleveland (R-Onslow). Ross suggested that Cleveland would prefer not to have a female governor. Cleveland responded that he doesn't have a problem with the "female race." The back and forth is here (3:52).
Listen Now!
Ross says the project (at least the initial phase of it) won’t cost the state any money, since the commission isn't paid for its work. But it could be years before they complete the task.
(And yes, the Governor is expected to sign it, in case you were wondering.)
Imminent Domain?
House lawmakers are expected to open debate Tuesday on a constitutional amendment to limit the government’s powers of eminent domain.
Current law allows municipal and state government to force land-owners to sell private property that’s needed for a public purpose, like a road or a jail. But in 2005, the US Supreme Court decided that economic development was among the "public uses" for which eminent domain could employed. House Minority Leader Skip Stam (R-Wake) couldn't disagree more.
"People want to be secure in their homes and their property, and one thing they don't want to have to worry about is that their property will be taken for other than a public use, for example taking their property and giving it to someone else for economic development."
Stam’s proposed amendment would ban governments from taking private property for the purpose of handing it over to a third party. A similar proposal in 2007 sailed through the house 104-15, only to wither on the vine in a Senate committee. This year's version, H1268, also has dozens of bipartisan co-sponsors and was expected to sail through in similar fashion. But it was pulled from tonight's calendar, Stam says, after he got word House Dems were getting antsy about supporting it.
Stam joked he hopes his fellow prime sponsor, Sen. Dan Blue (D-Wake), can "calm the natives" in the majority caucus.
"And if the problem is just that I'm the sponsor, they should remember that even a stopped clock is right twice a day."
If the legislature approves H1268, the amendment would go before voters on the primary ballot next May.
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