Fitzsimon File Archive

There are plenty of things to complain about in any review of a legislative session and the one that adjourned last week is no exception. Progressive and conservative groups generally agree that the decision to borrow $857 million without a vote of the people is a bad idea and expanding questionable corporate welfare programs was a mistake.

After several delays caused by staffing shortages, design problems, and safety concerns, the state’s new mental hospital in Butner opened this week, at least partially. Two hundred patients were transferred from the John Umstead Hospital to the new Central Regional Hospital that when fully operational will also serve the patients currently at Dorothea Dix in Raleigh.

Three days before the General Assembly adjourned last week, not long after speeches about the growing shortfall in the State Health Plan and the shrinking end-of-year state budget surplus, the House voted 94-19 to spend up to $10 million a year more on the Job Development Investment Grant Program (JDIG).

The General Assembly session that began May 14 at noon and ended just before 5:00 in the afternoon July 18 is now being wrapped up, critiqued and evaluated. Pundits and partisans are assigning letter grades to lawmakers, proving detailed reviews of what passed the House and Senate and what didn’t, and speculating about what it all might mean for the fall election.

The General Assembly adjourned for the year just before five o’clock Friday afternoon after no major issues arose to divide House and Senate leaders. The expected fight over how to address a significant funding shortfall in the State Health Plan never materialized.

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.

One of the documents available in the education resources section on the website of the North Carolina General Assembly is called “how an idea becomes a law.” It explains how bills are introduced, how the committee process works, that each chamber must pass legislation and it must be signed by the governor before it becomes law. The House Clerk’s has a paper version of the explanation, complete with graphics and cartoon characters presumably to make the lesson more appealing to kids.

There are other budget items in the more than technical corrections budget bill and there are still important policy decisions left on the table too, including efforts to protect kids from bullying at school and reducing the role of race in the application of the death penalty.

Internal polls and worries about the November election hang over many of the important debates left in the General Assembly as lawmakers begin what may be the last week of the legislative session.
Bills to address the role of race in the capital punishment system, protect children from bullying at school, and make it more difficult for people with a serious mental illness to buy a gun are among the contentious pieces of legislation before House and Senate members this week.

One of the most contentious issues in the General Assembly in the last two years has been something that doesn’t seem all that complicated, protecting kids from being harassed or bullied at school.

The November election hangs over every short session of the General Assembly, as legislative leaders in both parties hear from political consultants about what will play well with potential voters.

Tuesday may have marked the beginning of the state’s new fiscal year, but it was just another day in the budget negotiations between House and Senate leaders.

It is likely that at some point this week, House and Senate leaders will come up with a final budget agreement they can live with and that Governor Mike Easley will sign, and the rush will be on to adjourn the session and get back to the campaign trail.

Closer to a deal

House and Senate budget writers worked until almost dawn Friday morning in their rush to reach a final budget agreement and will resume talks Sunday afternoon. It still seems highly unlikely that lawmakers will approve a final agreement before the state’s fiscal year ends at midnight Monday.

The House and Senate adjourned for the week Thursday and will reconvene Monday evening, making it virtually impossible that lawmakers will pass a final budget agreement before the state fiscal year ends at midnight Monday.