|
|
|
| Social Services Consortium, Short Session 06 will begin next week and we can expect to see a very different landscape then in previous years. Speaker Black is under criminal investigation which left many wondering if he would still be Speaker once session started (yes!) and if he will remain speaker throughout short session. Some House Democrats have publicly declared that the Speaker should step down while others have not made a public statement but are no longer willing to accept campaign contributions from him. This has raised concern about the Speaker's ability to draw consensus within his party. The Speaker will also face trouble in working with the House Republicans as some of his key allies lost their bid for re-election after some fierce battles by the Republican Party to defeat them. The Republican Party was very unhappy about the shared power agreement that took place between Speaker Black and (republican) Speaker Morgan two years ago and has been trying to oust any of the republicans who participated in the deal (which they called RINOs -Republican in Name Only). Some other major change include: Representative Ed Nye lost his race. Representative Nye has had a huge influence on the human services budget and was one of the Appropriations Chairs last year. Representative Bill Culpepper left the House to sit on the Utilities Commission. Representative Culpepper was the House Rules Chair – this powerful position determines which committee a bill will go to and which will be heard on the floor. It has not yet been decided who will replace him. I've attached some articles below that I think you will find of interest if you would like to learn more about these changes. Thanks! Karen NOT SEEKING A RECOUNT : Ed Nye will not be seeking a recount after losing a close Democratic primary on Tuesday. Nye, who has served in state legislature all but one term since 1975, lost to William Brisson by 98 votes, according to preliminary results. Nye said redistricting probably worked against him. The 22nd District covers all of his home turf of Bladen County, but since 2003 it has included part of southern Cumberland County, where Nye says he's not as well known. "My greatest accomplishment in 30 years is being able to serve the people of the district, talking to people and helping meet their needs," he said. (John Fuquay, THE FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER, 5/04/06). BUDGET SURPLUS : Legislative leaders have learned that tax collections surged in April, prompting their analysts to project a revenue surplus of nearly $1.1 billion when the fiscal year ends June 30. The expected surplus is more than $400 million than was projected a few weeks ago. The new amount equals a 6.7 percent budget surplus, the highest recorded since the state started adjusting state budgets annually in the early 1970s. Combined with money unused by state agencies or unallocated by budget-writers, as well as unexpected revenue growth expected for next year, the General Assembly will have roughly $2 billion available to meet needs beyond the $17.3 billion budget that take effect July 1, according to lawmakers. Much of the surprising bump in revenue can be attributed to a strong jobs recovery that has generated tax withholdings for the state. Sales tax revenue growth also continued at a robust rate of about 8 percent, and homeowners who sold their homes at a large profit are filling up the state's income tax coffers, according to David Crotts, a General Assembly fiscal analyst. Budget-writers have said there will be enough money left over to pay for routine annual expenses not included in next year's annual spending plan. They also are discussing whether to give 5 percent raises to all state employees for the upcoming year and at least $100 million toward mental health programs. (Gary D. Robertson, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, 5/04/06). BLACK TALK : House Speaker Jim Black said the days of Democrats and Republicans working together in the legislature likely ended Tuesday with the outcome of several primary races. Black, speaking to a group of reporters on Wednesday in advance of the start of next week's legislative session, said the defeat of as many as three Republican incumbents who had cooperated with Democrats sent a message to other GOP legislators -- don't reach across the aisle. "Art Pope, with his millions and millions and millions of dollars, made a great splash last night," Black said. A 527 group financed by Pope, a wealthy retailer and former House member, had targeted Reps. Richard Morgan, R-Moore; Rick Eddins, R-Wake; and Stephen LaRoque, R-Lenoir. Morgan and Eddins were defeated. A recount loomed in LaRoque's contest against Willie Ray Starling. Attempts to reach Pope on Wednesday were unsuccessful, but he told The Associated Press that the results were, as much as anything, a referendum on Black's misconduct. Several of the mailers sent out by the 527 group -- Republican Legislative Majority of N.C. -- tied the Republican incumbents to Black. Black, whose campaign finances have become the subject of a criminal probe, said he recognized that the same type of campaign literature would be directed at Democrats in the fall. "I'm next, and I'll be ready," he said. In talking about the upcoming legislative session, Black predicted that some substantial ethics reform legislation would be approved. He also said that the House would try to help counties defray some Medicaid costs. The interview session turned testy at times, with the Mecklenburg County Democrat saying that the media is helping to turn people against government by failing to report on the positive things that legislators do. Black was noncommittal when asked whether the House would vote on legislation to ban video poker, an industry whose campaign contributions to him and others have become the subject of a federal investigation. (THE INSIDER, 5/04/06). MORGAN LOSES : Former House Co-Speaker Richard Morgan won't be returning to the legislature in 2007. Morgan, after becoming the target of state Republican Party officials angered by his 2003 power-sharing arrangement with House Speaker Jim Black, lost to businessman Joe Boylan in the Republican primary in Moore County. The bitter contest followed Morgan's ouster from the state Republican Party executive committee and included a direct mail campaign financed by rival and former state Rep. Art Pope. Boylan won the race 52 to 48 percent, receiving 333 more votes than Morgan, according to unofficial returns. Morgan sounded philosophical late Tuesday night, noting that his wife, Cindy, had won a county commissioner's seat in Moore County. "Maybe one Morgan steps backward for now, and another one steps forward," he said. He also pointed out that losing wasn't unfamiliar territory, having lost three elections in the 1970s and 1980s. But he added that he isn't through pursuing an elections complaint against the 527 group financed by Pope, which peppered the legislative district with unflattering mail pieces. State GOP chair Ferrell Blount, in a written statement, said the results sent a clear message to Republican officeholders. "The Republican voters, volunteers and activists have certain expectations of Republican officeholders … They have little tolerance for those who would leave the Party to negotiate a deal with the Democrats for their own self aggrandizement or use the power entrusted to them by the people to pursue personal political vendettas," Blount said. Leading up to the race, Blount said Morgan's ouster was needed before Republicans could pursue a majority in the House. State GOP officials organized door-to-door campaigning on Boylan's behalf during the campaign. (THE INSIDER, 5/03/06).
|
