Time out

Senate Finance co-chair David Hoyle confirmed today budget negotiators will be taking the weekend off after a week which accomplished little besides a deadline extension. Hoyle says the Senate and House are still far apart philosophically, and for now at least, that’s not likely to change.

Governor Bev Perdue called on lawmakers today to get on the stick and pass a budget – a time-honored gubernatorial tradition that means pretty much zip as far as the talks in 612 go. Hoyle was deferential, but not optimistic.

"Her idea and ours are different. I respect her, love her, she’s a dear friend.  But you know, we’re in tough times. We’re gonna do the best we can do. "

Hoyle's unedited comments are here.

Earlier this week, House Speaker Joe Hackney made the case for the House’s position.  That’s here.

So there

Most of us onlookers were mystified by Sen. Maj. Leader Tony Rand’s decision to delay pretty much everything on the Senate’s 5-page calendar today.  Senators and staffers blamed it on budget talks, but a source who ought to know says it was actually an intercameral pi**ing contest.  

The Speaker and the Pres Pro Tem are said to have met this afternoon and "all is well now." So, okay, then. 

Baby Daddy (not?)

The AP’s Mike Baker caught former Edwards aide Andrew Young entering the federal courthouse in Raleigh today, where a grand jury is meeting to weigh allegations that Edwards misused campaign money to underwrite his affair with campaign videographer Rielle Hunter.

Edwards has denied any wrongdoing, but the NYT reports Young’s book proposal says Edwards offered to “take care” of his aide “for life” if Young would claim paternity of Hunter’s baby.  Like sands through the hourglass…

On the agenda:

Thursday kicks off with a regular crowd-pleaser: Annexation Reform (H524) is up in House Finance at 8:30AM.  C0-chair Paul Luebke said today the committee has no intention of rehashing the arguments covered in J2 last week. They’re aiming to move it out in one day.  Listen here.

Comments? Drop me a line. 

Tonight’s edition brought to you by the letter F:  I’m being assisted by a foster kitten, Fergus, so please forgive any R4tttttttttttttttt typos I miss. 

Fifteen it is

A week of drama notwithstanding, there wasn’t much shouting today as the Senate agreed to the House’s 15-day continuing resolution.  The Senate had argued for an open-ended deadline extension, but Senator Linda Garrou told her colleagues today it wasn’t to be.

"The House asked that we put a – what you might call a “drop-dead date” on here, and  I may just drop dead by that point if we don’t get something done."

The Governor signed the CR late this afternoon. The new budget deadline is July 15th.

Four-legged

It’s a big week for pets on Jones St. Today, the House approved a measure (S467) aimed at easing overcrowding at county animal shelters by allowing county governments to enter into placement agreements with local rescue groups, with no liability for the animals at those outside placements. 

The bill also requires a minimum 3-day hold for impounded animals (other than feral cats) statewide, and requires all shelters to be open at least 4 hours on 3 days a week to let people come in to search for lost pets.  Pets housed offsite must have photos available at the shelter for public inspection.

State HSUS spokesperson Amanda Arrington supports the bill. She says some counties have already enacted ordinances allowing offsite placement. The current bill would let all counties try it.

"I think that it’s a good thing because we have so many great rescue groups around the area. And this allows them to pull some of the more adoptable animals from the shelter and ease the overcrowding for them."

The measure passed the House almost unanimously, and is headed back to the Senate for a final vote.

Four-legged, Part II

Senate Finance today narrowly approved S460, a measure that would require state licensing of puppy mills.  The measure defines a “commercial” breeding operation as 15 breeding females and 30 puppies, not including hunting, herding, or “show” dogs.  It’s a series of loopholes a dog could drive a truck through, never mind a breeder. But advocates say it’s a start.

The measure would ban the breeding of female dogs younger than 18 months and older than 8 years, and would require commercial breeders to get a vet health certification before breeding eligible females. In addition, big breeders would be required to have all dogs seen by a vet at least once a year, and comply with minimal care standards yet to be determined by the Ag Dept.

If this sounds like a no-brainer to you, you might be surprised by the fervor of the opposition.  Lobbyist Joe McClees told the committee today that stories of puppy mill abuses are “fluff,” that existing laws are tough enough, and that this proposal is the first step in a plot by PETA (animal rights activists) to eventually outlaw owning any pets whatsoever.

Bill supporters say all three above arguments are untrue.  If you don’t remember the horrors of the last two NC puppy mill raids, they weren’t “fluff.”  Wayne County Animal Control chief Vicki Faulkner helped rescue nearly 300 dogs from squalor in Goldsboro earlier this year. She told lawmakers today that puppy mills are a pervasive problem, and that current law doesn’t do enough to prevent abuse.

"The statute only covers neglect and abuse at a criminal level, and doesn’t prevent this from happening again in the future,. The intent of this law is to be proactive – to prevent situations from getting to the level of criminal origin, such as animal cruelty."

As for existing laws, there really aren’t any.  Breeders who sell to pet stores or other businesses are regulated by the USDA, but those who sell direct to the public are subject to no federal or state regulation whatsoever.  And, supporters say the PETA connection is nothing more than blatant fearmongering by the measure’s opponents.

Still, plenty of Senators have clearly spent more time listening to those opponents than reading the actual bill.  One Senator after another asked sponsor Don Davis (D-Wayne) about PETA’s involvement and the specter of animal rights.  Andrew Brock (R-Davie) even asked whether a neighbor would have to pay a fee if his backyard dog got pregnant.  

But the best line of the day came from Steve Warren, arguing against the bill on behalf of NC’s AKC-affiliated “dog clubs.”  He says commercial breeders are business owners like any other, but they’re being unfairly demonized.

"In England, they have another name – puppy farmers. That may be a more accurate description. North Carolina farmers are more like – they’re like most citizens, they’re law-abiding and pay their income taxes."

One is forced to assume he’s talking about farms like this, since no one’s writing bills to protect free-range golden retrievers. But here’s the irony: factory pork and chicken farms undergo inspection for animal health.  Puppy mills?  None.

The measure may or may not make it onto the Senate floor, depending on its level of support among Democrats. 

Farewell

Today was the last day on Jones St for veteran NCNN reporter Matt Willoughby.  He’s been around the place for twenty-some years - as long as the most senior legislators – and covering it fulltime for Capitol Broadcasting.for more than ten, making him the de facto den father of the press corps.

Matt announced earlier this month he’d taken a buyout from NCNN.  Today, a host of friends gathered to see him off in the 1300 court. (Okay, some probably came for the cake, but still.)   Matt’s charming wife, Kim, was there as well.

Matt says he doesn’t know what he’ll do next. But he’s too young to retire, and since Kim probably doesn’t want him hanging around the house on a long-term basis, I’m betting we’ll see him going to work for some politico or other sometime soon.  We’ll miss you, Matt.

Comments? Drop me a line.

Tech blogs Data Center Knowledge and MacNN are reporting that Apple has chosen the Catawba County town of Maiden as the site for its new billion-dollar data center. 

From MacNN:

"Though the company confirmed intentions for an iDataCenter on June 3rd, with plans to invest $1 billion in the state over the course of nine years, it has not so far announced a specific location. Representatives for the town of Maiden, however, have scheduled a July 6th press conference, in which they are expected to formally acknowledge a deal with Apple."

The rest of the MacNN post is here, and the related Data Center Knowledge post is here. 

I've got a call in to Maiden Mayor Bob Smyre for confirmation.  I'll let you know here if and when I hear back. 

UPDATE:  Credit where it's due:  The "local media" item these posts reference is John Dayberry's story at the Hickory Daily Record.  Read it here. 

Comments? Drop me a line.

Pols and polls

The N&O’s Rob Christensen looks at what’s behind Gov. Perdue’s declining approval numbers.

W-SJ's James Romoser says the state’s top Democrats aren’t exactly lining up for the 2010 Senate race. 

At the Char-O, Marty Minchin says the Indian Trail town council has banned the mayor from the town’s website for “whiny” comments. 

Money, money, money

Greensboro’s Mark Binker looks at what’s holding up the budget talks.

The AP’s Gary Robertson says the UNC tuition exemption is still on the table in 612.

Asheville's John Boyle says online enterpreneurs are reeling after Amazon decided to cut off its partnerships with them.

And RMT’s Mike Hixenbaugh reports Rocky Mount business owners are worried about proposed tax increases.  


In non-budget news

Do mixed drinks equal economic development?  Harnett residents sure hope so, according to Fay-O’s Jennifer Calhoun.    

G'boro's Mark Binker explains the controversy over proposed changes to the Beach Plan. 

Wilmington’s Gareth McGrath says officials are scrambling to revise environmental laws to clear the way for green energy projects.

Annexation opponents in Pinewild were “flabbergasted” by the reform bill that came out of House J2 last week.  Hunter Chase has more at the SoPines Pilot.  

Comments?  Drop me a line.

Thanks so much to the more than 3300 (!!) people who called in for our FY-end fund drive. 

We raised $295,000, which is a pretty amazing total for three days, and well over our stated goal of $250K.  As I explained last night, our actual shortfall was $370K, so we’re still a little short.  But we’re in far better shape than we were four days ago. 

Again, thanks for coming through for us.  I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised -- you always do --but the generosity of this community never fails to amaze me.

Comments? Drop me a line.

The state House voted largely along party lines today, 60-55, to approve a watered-down version of H88, the comprehensive sex ed bill.

The House version offered two separate tracks – abstinence-only and comprehensive – but defaulted to no sex ed at all if parents didn’t make a choice.  The Senate version defaults to a combination – abstinence and a couple of days of comprehensive for all students unless their parents opt out.

Rep. Susan Fisher (D-Buncombe) wasn’t happy with the Senate version when it came out, and sounded only marginally more pleased with it today, in one of the least enthusiastic concurrence speeches in recent memory.

“If all the sides involved with this bill are still a little bit unhappy, then we may have made some progress.”  

Here’s the rest of her commentary. (1:30)

But Fisher’s distaste couldn’t hold a candle to Robeson Dem Ronnie Sutton’s open disgust for his caucus’s decision to concur.  

“We’re letting the Senate call the shots. And whatever they send back over here, we’re gonna take it and run with it like a dog with their tail between their legs.” 

The rest of his screed is here. (:42)

The bill is headed for the Governor’s desk.  She’s indicated she’ll sign it, though no word yet on whether that’ll be a public ceremony.

Catching up

The House is set to vote Monday night on a continuing resolution that looks a lot like the Senate CR, except that it's not open-ended:  the House version of S311 would expire July 15th.  Meantime, House and Senate chairs say they’re close to an agreement, but it sure doesn’t look that way from outside 612.  Senate Finance co-chair David Hoyle told WRAL today the two sides have agreed on $990M in new revenue next year, but not on how they’ll raise the money. I saw Perdue budget chief Charlie Perusse walking into the building yesterday.   It could be a long summer.

Annexation reform backers finally got their day in court. After a series of delays, House J2 got down to business on the Annexation bill, H524, after session today.  Chair Bruce Goforth said Tuesday that forty proposed amendments had been filed.  I don’t know the total number debated this afternoon, but Fayetteville’s Paul Woolverton reports the bill was approved by voice vote and is now headed for House Finance.

Beach plan

State Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin stopped by House Insurance today to plug a compromise reform bill, H1305, to patch up the Beach Plan.  Goodwin said the state’s coastal insurance pool is badly underfunded, and it’s only a matter of time before Mother Nature makes that shortcoming apparent.

Early proposals put the majority of the burden on insurers. Some responded by threatening to stop writing policies in NC.  Goodwin said today that’s a real possibility, and if it came to that, homeowners would ultimately pay the prices in higher rates for coverage.   

Under the measure introduced in committee today, some $800M in Beach Plan surplus (also known as insurer profits) would be held in reserve to cover a bad season.  After that’s exhausted, insurers would be on the hook for $1B.  If claims run higher than $1.8B, insurers could impose a 10% premium on every homeowner in the state to recoup their losses.

The proposal also includes some major coverage changes.  Commercial property owners would be subject to the same wind and hail surcharges homeowners already have to pay. Coastal structural coverage limits would be halved from $1.5M to $750K, and the limit on content coverage would fall, too, though new credits would be granted for damage mitigation efforts. 

Proponents, including Goodwin, concede it’s an imperfect bill, but say it’s the best solution to a bad situation.   They’re far outnumbered by its critics, from coastal residents (especially business owners) who think it’s unnecessarily punitive to inland homeowners who don’t think they ought to be liable for rich folks’ investment properties. 

There was no vote on the bill today.  House Insurance is set to return to the bill Tuesday.

Dig deep

As you know if you’ve tuned in over the past two days, WUNC’s doing a fiscal-year-end fund drive.  We’re using a lot of euphemisms on the air, but here’s the bottom line: we’re short.  Seriously short, to the tune of $370K.  It’s not that we haven’t cut spending – trust me, we definitely have – but our corporate underwriting is way down because of the economy. 

So we’re asking for your help.  If you’ve already given, thank you. Could you give a little more?  If you haven’t ever given because you didn’t think it mattered, I’m here to tell you:  it does.

The mini-fund-drive ends Friday evening.  If you can help us out at any level, please consider it. Call us at 1-800-962-9862, or pledge online - and thank you!!

Comments?  Drop me a line.

After 48 hours of wild speculation about his unexplained walkabout,  SC Gov Mark Sanford admitted this afternoon to having had an affair with a woman in Argentina. 

Sanford apologized profusely to his family, friends, and constituents. "Bottom line, I've been unfaithful to my wife....what I did was wrong, period."

The SC Gov said he'd befriended the unnamed woman eight years ago.   It turned romantic about a year ago. He admitted to having made three trips to see her before the affair was exposed 5 months ago.   He says his wife, SC First Lady Jenny Sanford, knew about the affair before this weekend's trip.  She was conspicuously absent from the press conference.

"I've spent the last five days of my life crying in Argentina," Sanford said,  trying to "get my heart right."  

He thanked friends who've been trying to help the couple work through the aftermath. Sanford said he and his wife are not officially separated, but "I'm here and she's there" with their four sons at the couple's beach house. 

Sanford said he's stepping down from the chairmanship of the Republican Governors Association, but didn't respond to a shouted question about whether he will resign as governor.    He also apologized for "creating a fiction" about his intention to go hiking on the Appalachian Trail, but denied he set out to mislead his staff.

Comments? Drop me a line.

In between the many controversies of the day (keep reading), Senate leaders held a couple of around-the-desk committee meetings today to move a continuing resolution, S311, on to the floor. 

The CR is a permission slip for the state to keep spending money into the new fiscal year while lawmakers iron out budget details. Its appearance generally signals that the conference committee isn’t likely to reach a deal by July 1.

Senior Sen. Approps chair Linda Garrou didn’t go that far, exactly. She said the measure was “just in case” no deal was reached.  But, she said, the state stands to lose "$5M a day" if spending cuts aren’t in effect as of July 1.

The CR would okay spending at 85% of the levels approved by the Senate in 2008.  In addition, it would let agencies keep the money they haven’t spent at the end of the fiscal year, but would also bar the Controller’s office from writing any checks for last-minute requests. It appropriates federal recovery funds as needed to draw them down from DC, and possibly most controversial, it would remain in effect till the final budget is passed.

That’s not normally how CRs work, but in this case, it may not be a bad idea.  Most years, the CR includes a date certain for expiration, at which point lawmakers and the Gov either have to reach a compromise or go through the five-day rigamarole again for another CR extension.   

Proponents of this practice say it adds needed deadline pressure to the negotiation process.  Skeptics, on the other hand, say it’s more like the snooze button on an alarm clock.  If you know you can reset a deadline as many times as you need to, is it really a deadline?  Plus, the more time lawmakers spend skirmishing over CRs, the less time they have to spend on the budget.

House Maj. Leader Hugh Holliman says the House won’t accept an indefinite CR.  Guess we’ll see how it plays out later this week.

Bully Ban

By a single vote – 58-57 – the House gave final approval today to S526, the controversial bullying ban. The measure requires all school districts to draft anti-bullying policies that protect all children.  It also includes a list of groups likely to be targeted.

That list drew fire from conservatives because it includes sexual orientation and gender identity.  House Republicans said the bill would promote homosexuality and crossdressing, a charge Democratic sponsor Rick Glazier called “silly.”

Glazier said Republican ideologues miscast the bill as being about everything BUT its actual goal: protecting all kids from prejudice, even that of their teachers.

"Anti-bullying programs don’t promote lifestyles. They promote basic respect for human rights, and basic understanding that only when every child is safe will all children be safe."

Opponents fought to remove the list. Wake Republican Nelson Dollar says the emphasis on defining potential victims is misguided.

"What we need to identify is not categories -- we need to identify the bullies.  And address their bullying, address what they are doing – and in many cases, getting away with."

It was a heated debate, and a very close vote.  One Dem (Hill) and one Republican (Boles) changed from ayes last night to noes today after pressure from conservatives and constituents. If another Dem No, Ronnie Sutton, hadn’t “taken a walk” today (present but not voting), the measure would have lost by one instead.  (Two other likely No votes, conservative Dems Ray Warren and Bill Brisson, were granted excused absences today, even though both were reportedly seen in the building.)

The measure’s now on the Governor’s desk.  There’s been no official statement either way, but word is Perdue will sign it. 

Sex Ed

Today was 0-for-2 for NC’s social conservatives.  Not only did they fail to block the bullying bill (not for lack for trying, either), but H88, the Comprehensive Sex Ed bill, made it through the Senate, too, 25 to 21.  It’s headed back to the House.

Not that you could really call the current incarnation of H88 an unqualified victory for progressives, either.  The watered-down Senate version is a far cry from the House measure – so much so that House sponsor Susan Fisher (D-Buncombe) went to a Senate committee last week to speak against the substitute. 

That may have changed. After session today, Fisher wouldn’t say today whether she’d recommend concurrence in the Senate measure. She says she wants to read it and discuss it with other sponsors first.  But she implied pretty plainly that she might be willing to accept incremental progress over none at all.

Comments?  Drop me a line.

Happy Father's Day, everyone!   Pickings were on the slim side this weekend...

Catching up

At the N&O, Andy Curliss has the latest installment in the Easley scandal.   A former colleague of Mary Easley's at NCSU says the former first lady often talked about "calling in favors" from companies who profited from the state's largess.  Not good.  That's here.

The AP’s Gary Robertson wraps up last week’s very interesting House medical marijuana hearing. 

At the Fay-O, Paul Woolverton recaps Thursday’s Senate fight over big-game bullets.

And Charlotte's Jim Morrill posted on Friday’s announcement that former Charlotte Mayor Richard Vinroot is giving a $1M gift to UNC.

Looking ahead

Greensboro's Mark Binker writes on Hagan’s “reticence” about a public option in the federal health care reform plan.

In Raleigh Monday morning, a marker will be unveiled commemorating victims of the state’s eugenics program. James Romoser has the details.

The FDIC shut down Wilmington’s Cooperative Bank Friday night.  The Wilmington Star-News’s Shannan Bowen explains what’s next.

And the SoPines Pilot's Hunter Chase looks at local involvement in the push for annexation reform.

Comments? Drop me a line.

Governor Bev Perdue has signed H9, No Texting While Driving, into law.

Her spokeswoman Chrissy Pearson notified the press corps via -- yep, you guessed it. 

The text:

FYI -- Gov just signed HB 9, No Texting While Driving. This msg 2 u was composed while I was behind my desk, not behind the wheel. Hope u r not driving now. :)

The ban takes effect Dec. 1, 2009.  

 (Thanks for the laugh, Chrissy!)

Comments? Drop me a line.