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Tuesday: Countdown
posted at 2007-04-17 22:57 | Last modified 2007-11-14 10:38
Lots going on today, which is no surprise – tomorrow is the House filing deadline for public non-budget bills. Lobbyists of every stripe formed clumps in courtyards and hallways, frowning over draft language, murmuring urgently on cell phones. It’s tense enough to make you reach for the aspirin as soon as you walk through the door.
Next week should be even better – it’s the money bill deadline.
VTech reactions
NC State, Duke, and UNC all held vigils today to commemorate yesterday's mass murder at Virginia Tech. NC Atty Gen. Roy Cooper announced today he's holding a Wednesday press conference with education leaders on security in the state's university system. And Governor Mike Easley ordered all state flags to fly at half-staff till Sunday in memory of the victims.
Cracking the books
Joe Sinsheimer delivered this letter today to Legislative Black Caucus chair Alma Adams, asking her to release the financial records of the group's private scholarship foundation. Adams didn't respond to my request today for a comment, but has told other reporters she has no intention of cracking open the books unless there's some official investigation. Adams recently confirmed to me she has started an independent audit of the group's books, but says it's strictly standard procedure - she says there's no indication of wrongdoing.
Greensboro's Mark Binker is a little skeptical. Check out his blog entry on reported political donations to the Legislative Black Caucus - pretty interesting, given that the Caucus hasn't been an active PAC in 15 years. I'm guessing it'd be even more interesting to see a list of donors who didn't go through the State Board of Elections.
Smoke Signals
House Majority Leader Hugh Holliman’s
anti-smoking bill was resurrected today in J1. The new version cuts out
the workplace ban, opting instead for the safer middle ground of a
simple smoking ban for restaurants. But there is a tradeoff – county
and city officials would be allowed to enact stricter local bans.
The
restaurant folks don’t like it, but the private property rights folks
have backed off. The House is reportedly pretty much evenly split – not
much enthusiasm, but not as much antipathy, either. Look for a floor
vote on it early next week.
Hard landing
The first big-city OLF hearing is scheduled for tonight in Charlotte. Could that be why NC politicians are popping out of the woodwork to voice their opposition to the Navy's proposed Washington County site? Or could it be due to recent poll numbers that show little support for the project?
Either way, political opposition to the Navy plan is growing. Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue's office sent out the comments her counsel will make in her stead tonight in Charlotte. And Congressman Brad Miller (D-13th) announced he's planning to ask Congressional budget writers to withhold funding for the project. He sent the Navy a letter, too.
Real party
Busloads (literally) of realtors and friends from all over the state rolled up to the NC Museum of Natural Sciences tonight - for a very special realtors' reception for legislators. This wouldn't have anything to do with the transfer tax battle, would it?
Other highlights
House Approps okayed a proposal for a high-risk health insurance pool. Next stop: the House floor, probably next week.
Lawmakers are talking about reviving a 2005 proposal to add a hefty privilege tax on manufactured housing to help underwrite counties' efforts to remove thousands of abandoned and condemned trailers. The mobile home industry doesn't like the proposal, though the fees would be lower than last time around.
Wake Dem Grier Martin announced a proposal to use state tax credits to help small employers offset their costs when reservist employees are deployed.
House Dems filed a bill to reconsider whether the state should license anesthesiologist assistants. The proposal was last seen in 2005, in a committee-approved bill that mysteriously vanished into former House Health Chair Thomas Wright's pocket. More on that here.
Wednesday Preview
The House's Dropout Prevention Taskforce holds its initial meeting at 10AM. Cooper talks about preventing campus violence at 2pm. Separate House and Senate committees will discuss getting rid of the $50 "substitute deduction" teachers have to pay to take a personal day. Stay tuned.
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