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Tues: Fun with numbers
posted at 2008-06-04 01:57 | Last modified 2008-06-04 03:00
I had every intention of bringing you a complete rundown of today’s House Approps circus. But that was before they took up about 56 amendments. So, no. (But if there’s a particular amendment you want to know more about, lemeno – I’ve got indexed tape of almost everything.)
Suffice it to say horses were traded, stashes were raided, hairs were split, and pretty much everyone went home bloodied but unbowed, if not precisely happy. Especially Republicans, who got more air time than under any Dem leadership in recent memory.
Target: Lottery
The GOP had one of the day’s most talked-about proposals – a bill by freshman Randolph Republican Pat Hurley that would have cut lottery director Tom Shaheen’s 08-09 salary (projected at 246K) to no more than the 140K-ish the governor will be making.
As Hurley sees it, lottery workers are state employees, too, so she doesn’t think they ought to be able to give themselves a 5% raise when other state workers are looking at 2.75% – especially when lottery receipts aren’t living up to their (overly optimistic) advance billing. Her extended comments:
Listen Now!
Defenders like Owens, Tarleton, and Tolson argued that the marketplace sets lottery salaries, not the state, and warned that pay cuts could lead to a mass exodus from an agency that’s just getting its legs under it.
But as others noted, that argument has yet to boost the salaries of other state employees in competitive fields. Alamance Republican Cary Allred was as tactful as usual in arguing that lottery chief Tom Shaheen just makes too much money.
“When I voted for the lottery, I didn’t mean for the director of the lottery to be the winner of the lottery. [committee laughs] And if he wants to leave, don’t let the screen door hit you from behind on the way out.”
In the end, Hurley acquiesced to a graceful suggestion from big chair Alma Adams that she "perfect" her amendment to make it a salary study instead. The compromise measure got roaring support from pretty much the whole committee. Hear that below.
Listen Now!
Other great House lines of the day
- Alma Adams reacts to Cole’s NCA&T horse barn bill: “I’m thinkin’ about getting a horse, with the price of gas.”
- Mickey Michaux on Nelson Dollar’s attempt to repeal the land transfer tax in Approps: “We don’t do taxes in here – we just spend ‘em.”
- Marian McLawhorn describing one of her amendments: “Purely technical…So I’ve been told”
- Dale Folwell on the state’s failure to prepare for its looming pensioner health care liabilities: “If we don’t start setting money aside for that, we’re sending a message: we hope you die young.”
- Skip Stam opposing raising the marriage fee to pay for domestic violence shelters: “Domestic violence is not caused by marriage. People who live together can beat each other up just fine - it doesn’t touch them.”
Tough cookie of the day award
Goes to Alamance Dem Alice Bordsen. Her JCPCs finally got a little expansion money after a ten-year drought, and she fiercely defended the cash against anyone who eyed it, even momentarily. Note to Senate: hands off Bordsen’s JCPC funding. You will not win.
Eyebrow raisers
- House Majority leader Hugh Holliman's $3M earmark for Surry County airport improvements. Two big chairs voted against him, along with quite a few rank and file Dems who argued that Holliman’s move lets Surry cut in line in front of other regional airports who’ve gone begging for years. Holliman and friends say the work is sorely needed for economic development, but expected congressional funding fell through. The measure eased through 45 to 35.
- Buncombe Dem Susan Fisher’s proposal to hand over a 150K grant to MDC for Earned Income Tax Credit outreach and preparation help for low-income taxpayers. Yes, MDC is a highly-respected and proven non-profit. But many grants this size go through an initial RFP. For all we know, MDC may already have done so, but no one mentioned it in Approps. Given that there’s a state lawmaker (Sen. Katie Dorsett) on MDC’s board, maybe someone should’ve given a little more thought to that.
Rockingham Dem Nelson Cole’s horse barn. First, it’s at the state fairgrounds in Wake Co. Next thing you know, it’s on Rockingham county property. Today, it ended up at a Rockingham Ag Research station that was about to be shuttered. Coincidence? More like a well-crafted power play. NCA&T got the horse facility it wanted, Rockingham got the economic development boost it wanted (a national/ international horse arena), and the Ag station (also important to NCA&T) stays open, too. Now that’s a hat trick.
Yes, all three passed Approps. The amended bill is here. The full House is set to vote on it sometime Wednesday PM.
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