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Wed.: The big show
posted at 2008-06-19 01:22 | Last modified 2008-06-19 01:38
In Soviet Russia, budget passes you
Senate Republicans were understandably miffed today when Dem leaders cut off debate and passed their $21.4B spending plan before GOP lawmakers had a chance to speak on the measure.
After the vote, Senate leader Marc Basnight said he cut off debate because he’d been told the GOP was planning surprise amendments intended to embarrass Democrats. He said Republicans were less interested in discussing the merits of the bill than in providing political fodder for this fall’s campaign ads.
Senate Republicans held a presser after session to say all the things they didn’t get to say on the floor. Minority leader Phil Berger was frankly incredulous about Basnight’s allegations:
“Would that be anything like the politically- motivated budget that they pulled out at the very last minute and threw in front of us?”
Henderson Republican Tom Apodaca was even more sarcastic:
“Senator [Kay] Hagan brought forth an amendment dealing with CHIPS [children’s health insurance], and I know that’s not a political issue in a senatorial campaign for the United States Senate. No, I know it was purely coincidental… Once that came out, you know, I think the political game began. And the first one across the line was Senator Hagan, off and running.”
Apodaca was alluding to Dem US Senate candidate Kay Hagan’s floor amendment to allow NC Health Choice to unfreeze enrollment before April 1st - but only IF Congress reauthorizes SCHIP before that date. Children’s advocates were underwhelmed, pointing out that the state has enough money to fund Health Choice till August regardless of what the feds do.
Tax cut?
The Senate voted 38-9 today to take back the real estate transfer tax option they granted counties less than a year ago.
The tax was part of last year’s Medicaid swap deal: the state agreed to take over counties’ share of Medicaid costs in return for a bigger share of counties’ sales tax money. Lawmakers made up the potential loss to some counties by offering them two ways to recoup it – a sales tax hike, a land transfer tax, or both.
Since then, voters in a few counties have okayed the sales tax option, but the transfer tax has gone down in flames 20 out of 20 times. Lobbyists for realtors and home builders are getting tired of sinking time and money into all these county-level battles, so they prevailed upon the Senate to take the option off the table. It worked – tentatively, anyway.
Supporters of the LTT argued unsuccessfully that 3/4 of the state's counties haven't yet had a chance to weigh in on the tax. Sen. Charlie Dannelly (D-Meck) said repealing the tax is "breaking a promise" to local officials.
The final vote on the bill is set for Thursday, but with a margin like today's, there isn’t much suspense about whether it’ll pass. The real question is what the House will do with it.
"Hello, my name is…"
Looks like nametags might be in the Senate’s future. During today’s budget debate, Lt Gov Bev Perdue referred to newly-returned Meck Republican Bob Rucho as “Senator Berger.” Her excuse: she wasn’t paying attention.
Listen Now!
Just after that, budget chair Linda Garrou (D-Forsyth) called Rucho “Berger,” too. Meck Dem Dan Clodfelter responded by calling Garrou “Hagan.” (Yes, he was kidding.)
Listen Now!
Okay, yeah, it’s been a long week, but all fifty of these folks have been hanging out in one room for the past month. Mixer, anyone?
The sideshow
ALIPAC’s Bill Gheen told reporters “hundreds of people” would show up today for a “major” anti-illegal-immigration rally across the street from the legislature.
It turned out to be more like two dozen, many of whom came in from other states. They were outnumbered by reporters, bewildered bystanders, and folks from opposing groups who came to watch. There were, however, plenty of speakers - a half-dozen or so Republican legislators, plus Civitas folks and “nativist” activists from NC, SC, and even Arizona.
Scheduled to go till 1:00 pm, the rally ran out of steam shortly after noon. But participants picked up the slack, putting down their “English-only” signs for riveting interviews about “Mexican leprosy” and the impending revolution. That’s an hour of my life I’ll never get back. Not that I’m bitter.
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