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Tuesday: Independence Eve
posted at 2007-07-03 23:16 | Last modified 2007-11-14 10:38
Lawmakers rushed for the exits today the minute the gavel fell. With Thursday designated a skeleton session (i.e. minimal attendance and no votes), most are looking forward to a five-day weekend - a rare treat during session. Then again, with budget talks still at a stalemate, why hurry back?
Not to say there wasn't plenty going on today. The Senate had a marathon calendar covering everything from the Southeast's first renewable energy portfolio to mental health parity to a REIT bill aimed at Walmart, covering all sorts of legislative real estate in-between.
Energy Bill
NC could be the first state in the Southeast to require energy companies to generate a percentage of their power from renewable resources. Albertson's SB 3 would require about 1/8 of the state's power to come from renewable sources like sun, wind, and hog waste by 2020.
Some green groups are pretty happy about the bill, including the Sierra Club and Environmental Defense. But others - well, not so much...mostly because the bill cuts energy companies some major breaks in return for their cooperation.
Like, for example, the part of the bill that allows utilities to raise rates in advance to finance future conventional baseload plants that haven't been built yet - and that aren't guaranteed to come online, ever.
Advocates like Sens Charlie Albertson (D-Duplin) and Dan Clodfelter (D-Meck) say the provision is a realistic response to the expense and uncertainty of building expensive plants to serve the public need. Consumer protection folks, on the other hand, say it gives away the farm.
NC PIRG's Rob Thompson says the measure transfers risk from power companies to consumers - especially regarding nuclear plants. Thompson says that's a blank check that consumers will have to pick up. But Albertson says every big bill is a give-and-take process, and this one's no different.
Despite a doomed last-ditch effort by Sen. Doug Berger (D-Franklin) to remove the baseload finance provision, the bill survived its third Senate vote and heads to the House for what's likely to be a bumpy ride, especially through House Finance, where co-chair Paul Luebke (D-Durham) has made no secret of his antipathy toward power companies. Fasten your seatbelts.
Tony Soprano, Realtor?
The hottest rumor of the day was what the realtors' lobby might be threatening to do to anyone who supports the proposal to give counties the option to let voters decide whether to enact a land-transfer tax. For a little background, Greensboro's Mark Binker had an excellent article on it this morning.
Rumors swirled through both chambers that realtors were telling individual lawmakers they'll run full-page ads targeting anyone who supports the option. NC Realtors lobbyist Rick Zechini told me on the record that nothing of the kind ever happened. Zechini thinks the rumor originated "with one of those blogger people - Fitzsimon, maybe."
Okay, maybe. I don't doubt a lot of lawmakers read Fitz - but I heard that story from an awful lot of House and Senate folks today. Some said they were approached, but wouldn't go on record about it for fear of retribution. Others said they believed the current rumors because they've been the targets of similar efforts in the past.
So what?
I mean, it isn't as if special interests don't pull this sort of stuff all the time, right? Because they do, and sad to say, it often works. But this case is different on a number of counts.
Scale: The Realtors are the biggest political donors in state politics, contributing more than $600,000 to state races in the last election cycle alone. And then there's the half million or so they've sunk into the "Stop the NC Home Tax" campaign. Here's the website.
Intensity: Granted, this kind of thing happens more often than you'd like to think. But you don't usually hear references to Tony Soprano. Most lobbyist efforts don't operate so overtly, or with so much such weight behind them.
Scope: The debate over the land transfer tax appears to be largely responsible for bringing the entire state budget to a screeching halt. House negotiators had included a county transfer tax option as part of their Medicaid tax-swap package. Senate leaders were apparently inclined to listen - inclined enough, anyway, to bring the proposal before the Senate Dem Caucus.
That's where all hell broke loose, according to two senators who were there. They say the transfer tax was the proverbial last straw. Several others admitted they were in fear of their political life after folks from the homebuilders and realtors assured them they'd be targeted in 2008 if they supported the option.
Rick Zechini denies any threats were made. But the difference between a threat and a statement of fact depends on which end of it you're on, I guess.
In the meantime, a nascent net resistance is attempting to fight back.
I'll have a story on this whole thing airing Friday morning. Listen for it - but if you miss it, I'll try to post a link here.
And finally...
You know, it's about time someone settled the whole vinegar vs tomato issue once and for all. Public Policy Polling's Justin Guillory did just that today with this groundbreaking poll.
Spoiler alert: If you simply must know, Eastern barbecue crushed the tomatoes of Piedmont-style fans. It wasn't even close - 47% to 29%.
Today's poll settles a lot more issues, too.
Tarheels' favorite vacation destination? It's the beach, trouncing the mountains 51% to 28%.
The best color for license plate lettering? Old faded blue at 32% beats angry new red at 26%.
And the favorite college sports team? That'd be UNC, fifteen points ahead of its closest rival, NC State. Duke barely broke into double digits. (Disclaimer - Justin's dad Ferrel is a UNC faculty member, so adjust accordingly.)
The best part? Two out of three NC residents polled do not share Governor Mike Easley's fascination with NASCAR. Suddenly, I feel less isolated.
Comments? Drop me a line.
