Fitzsimon File

The House and Senate both convene at 9:00 Friday morning with legislative leaders predicting the session will adjourn for good at noon, though the odds of that happening are about the same as striking it rich in the North Carolina lottery.

The flurry of hastily called committee meetings continued Thursday, as did floor sessions that convened and recessed all day long and proposals that appeared out of nowhere. Legislative calendars are almost meaningless, changing by the minute, with lawmakers occasionally voting on versions of legislation not available to the general public and sometimes not even to the legislators themselves.

Late afternoon or early Friday evening seems a more likely adjournment time and even that may be optimistic unless House and Senate leaders agree soon on how to address a shortfall in the State Health Plan.

The House voted Thursday to make $100 million from the state's rainy day fund available to cover the increased costs of proving health care to state workers and their families. 

Senate leaders seem to favor increased premiums and co-pays to cover part of the shortfall, which could negate much of the 2.75 percent pay hike for state workers that was in the budget lawmakers approved last week.

No other major philosophical disagreements between chambers have emerged that could delay the end of the session that began in early May, but the logistics of resolving several issues could take most of the day Friday, leaving several hours for legislative mischief. 

This week's chaos has produced mixed results, thoughtful legislation that will help families in the state who are struggling and more giveaways to corporations and concessions to the trucking and tourism industries that could make state highways more dangerous.

Important bills that would protect kids from bullying at school and address the role of race in the capital punishment are both unlikely to pass. A number of Democrats, particularly in the Senate, seem unwilling to confront the misleading claims of the Religious Right that the bullying bill promotes a homosexual agenda, whatever that is, and gives "special protections" to gay and lesbian students-as if freedom from harassment at school is something that should be reserved for heterosexual teenagers.

Many of the same Senators are also balking at opposing the state's district attorneys and supporting the Racial Justice Act that gives defendants facing the death penalty a chance to present evidence that race influenced their case. 

The reluctance of some legislators to support the bills may be philosophical, but some is also clearly based on political considerations, which makes no sense. Hard to imagine that voters would rather elect candidates who put their political future ahead of protecting kids at school and restoring some fairness to the system that determines who is executed.

Governor Mike Easley may veto legislation that allows drivers to tow wider boats on state roads day and night. Lawmakers also voted to allow longer trucks on more state highways. Happy motoring.

On the positive side of the ledger, the House and Senate approved plans to help families facing foreclosure keep their homes and to let Durham voters decide if they want to pay a one percent tax on prepared food to raise revenue for local projects.

Governor Easley signed the budget late Wednesday afternoon with little fanfare, issuing a news release instead of the usual press event with television cameras and ceremonial pens.

The budget is a mixed bag too of course, with important investments in higher education and children's health care, but woefully inadequate funding for affordable housing, child care and other human services. The budget underfunds teacher bonuses and doesn't provide enough money to offset the increased cost of fuel for school buses, leaving state officials and local school districts scrambling to make up the difference.

The budget delays until next year both an increase in the State Earned Income Tax Credit for the working poor and the repeal of the state gift tax that is primarily paid by the wealthy. 

It authorizes $857 million in debt over the next four years without voter approval to build prisons and state government and university buildings. Progressive and conservative advocates alike have criticized legislative leaders for not putting the debt package before the people for a vote.

The last few days have also brought an assortment of absurd quotes, including one from Rep. George Cleveland, who last year said one way to tell if someone is an undocumented immigrant is if he has "a pair of shaggy boots on, and jeans and a t-shirt, and he's got a straw hat on." This week Cleveland said in a debate about the Real ID Act that Raleigh is a known location for terrorist cells. 

It is definitely time to adjourn.

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This entry was posted on Friday, July 18th, 2008 at 5:34 am and is filed under Fitzsimon File. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.