HOUSE DEMOCRATS RELEASE CAUCUS AGENDA FOR 2010 SESSION

Plan will focus on economy, education, ethics

RALEIGH – North Carolina House Democrats today introduced their 2010 session agenda, a plan designed to create jobs, support small business, protect education and strengthen ethic rules.

The caucus’ Plan to Protect North Carolina’s Future focuses on four major priorities:

1) JOBS: Putting North Carolinians back to work and supporting our small businesses

2) EDUCATION: Protecting our future by ensuring our students receive a quality education

3) FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY: Making sure our state government lives within its means and protects its citizens

4) ACCOUNTABILITY: Demanding a more responsible government

The 68 representatives who make up the House Democratic Caucus developed the plan over the past several months and will use it as a blueprint to guide their legislative work in the months ahead. Rep. Larry Womble and Rep. Deborah Ross led the committee that wrote the plan, which was approved unanimously within the caucus.

“This plan outlines the priorities of House Democrats as we start this year’s session,” House Majority Leader Hugh Holliman said. “We intend to help move North Carolina along through this economic recovery with ideas that will bring jobs, protect education and show that we take our fiscal and ethical responsibilities to this state seriously. We have rolled this plan out on the first day of session to show our resolve. Now, it’s time for us to get to work.”

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Plan to Protect North Carolina’s Future

North Carolina House Democrats

2010 Session

While our nation endures one of the toughest recessions in history, North Carolinians remain resilient. As many families cut back their household budgets, so is the state of North Carolina. Now, we must continue to lay the groundwork for more prosperous times and secure the future for our children.

As House Democrats, we will continue to help North Carolinians cope with the current economic uncertainty by working to preserve essential services for our state. We will: create and expand job opportunities; support our small businesses; protect education at all levels; and strengthen the public’s confidence in its elected and appointed leaders. As Democrats, we will move North Carolina forward and protect our future.

Under our Plan to Protect North Carolina’s Future, we will focus on four major priorities in 2010:

JOBS: Putting North Carolinians back to work and supporting our small businesses

EDUCATION: Protecting our future by ensuring our students receive a quality education

FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY: Making sure our state government lives within its means and protects its citizens

ACCOUNTABILITY: Demanding a more responsible government

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JOBS: Putting North Carolinians back to work and supporting our small businesses

Our number one priority is and must continue to be getting North Carolinians back to work and supporting our small businesses, which are essential to our economic recovery. We must:

- Recruit jobs into the state and protect the ones we have

- Build a workforce to fit the needs of the 21st Century

- Invest in existing job development funds for new and expanding businesses

- Assist small businesses in creating jobs

- Provide tax credits for small businesses that provide health insurance to their employees

- Increase worker training at community colleges

- Promote green jobs and green technology

- Create jobs now through critical infrastructure improvements

- Support our small business centers

- Increase business’ capacity to procure federal and military contracts

EDUCATION: Protecting our future by ensuring our students receive a quality education

This economic downturn won’t last. We are preparing for a strong recovery by continuing to invest in our education system. We must:

- Make protecting our teachers a top priority

- Support our community colleges and university system to ensure an educated workforce

- Protect class size, especially in K-3

- Keep our students on track to graduate

FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY: Making sure our state government lives within its means and protects its citizens

We will continue to meet our constitutional obligation to balance the state’s budget. We made the largest cuts in the state history in 2009 and like most families in North Carolina, it is necessary that we continue cutting back. We must:

- Streamline, economize and prioritize government spending

- Continue to find ways to make government more efficient

- Fund essential services, particularly for our state’s most vulnerable people

ACCOUNTABILITY: Demanding a more responsible government

We must ensure an open and transparent state government that acts responsibly and finds solutions. We must:

- Continue to lead by example and earn the respect of our citizens through our actions

- Make sure government records are available and accessible to the public

- Improve the integrity of government contracts

- Continue to strengthen our ethics laws

- Crack down on those who defraud the government

“Ike Andrews was a mentor and friend to me for many years and his death is a great personal loss to me and many others in our shared home of Chatham County. He gave me my start in politics and perhaps more than anyone convinced me to pursue a life of public service.

“Congressman Andrews was a World War II veteran who served as a district attorney, a school board attorney, a state senator and a state representative before his 12 years as a U.S. congressman. That is a remarkable legacy. He was devoted to improving the education of our children and to creating equal opportunity for all of them, a belief he carried out by helping to end segregation in our schools. Our state and nation are better today because of his work.

“I will miss my friend and the wisdom and values that he shared with me. I will miss his good-humored annual celebration of Groundhog Day, his kindness and his spirit and I send my deep regrets to his family during this time of mourning.”

– North Carolina Speaker of the House Joe Hackney

Group to examine alcoholic beverage control structure, effectiveness, ethics

Raleigh – A new General Assembly study committee will examine the state’s alcoholic beverage control system and discuss ways to reform it, legislative leaders said Thursday.  The Joint Study Committee on Alcoholic Beverage Control, comprised of legislators and a cross-section of public members representing various perspectives, will make recommendations to the General Assembly prior to the legislative session that begins in May. Senator Don Vaughan of Guilford County and Representative Ray Warren of Alexander County will Co-Chair the Committee.

“Our ABC system needs to evolve just like any other business,” Speaker Hackney said. “We need to determine how best to make these changes and bring our system in line with modern-day standards of ethics and transparency.”

“We already know that we need more accountability and ethics reform in the ABC system.  What we need to explore further is what is working now and what we can improve,” Senator Basnight said.

The Committee will consider the following issues:

1. The report of the North Carolina General Assembly Program Evaluation Division on the effectiveness of the ABC system, and its recommended improvement options for the system.
2. The need for Statewide consistency and uniformity in ABC structures, rules, and ethics standards.
3. The current compensation structure for both State and local ABC board members and employees and making recommendations for any salary limitations or oversight that might be needed.
4. The governance structure of local ABC boards, the geographical proximity of local ABC boards, and making recommendations for any changes or reforms.
5. The amount and distribution of revenues from the current ABC system.
6. Ethics rules that are currently applicable to ABC Board members and employees, and making recommendations for any ethics rules that should be applied. 
7. The oversight and accountability of ABC boards, and making recommendations for any increase in oversight or procedures in order to increase accountability.
8. Whether additional gubernatorial authority over ABC Boards and employees, including the power to remove employees, should be granted.
9. The issue of privatization of the ABC system, and making recommendations as to the advisability of privatization and any potential savings to the State.  

Business Climate  -  Site Selection Magazine, October 2009

Favorite Destination for Retirees - Kiplinger.com, August 2009

Best Place for Data Centers - Tishman Technologies, October 2009

Top 10 Metros for Economic Growth Potential (Charlotte)

Business Facilities, The Location Advisor, August 2009

America’s Smartest Cities (Raleigh-Durham)  - The Daily Beast, October 2009

Fastest-Growing Metropolitan Area in the Country (Raleigh-Cary) - U.S. Census Bureau, March 2009

Top City for Small Business (Raleigh) - Bizjournals, February 2009

Best Places for Business and Careers – Metros (Raleigh) -  Forbes, March 2009 
  

#2

Best State to Do Business In - Chief Executive Magazine, March 2009

Most Competitive State - Site Selection Magazine, May 2009 

America’s 25 Best Places to Move – Population 25,000 + (Charlotte) - Forbes.com, July 2009

Top Five Best Economic Potential – Large Cities (Charlotte) - fDi Magazine, April 2009

Best Place to Start a Small Business (Charlotte)  - Bizjournals.com, February 2009

Best Places for Business and Careers – Small Metros (Greenville)  - Forbes, March 2009 
 

#3

Pro-Business State  - Pollina Corporate Real Estate, June 2009 

Economic Strength Ranking (Charlotte MSA)  - Policorn Corporation, June 2009

Large City of the Future (Charlotte)  - fDi Magazine, April 2009

Most Popular Move Destination (Charlotte Metro)  - United Van Lines, January 2009

Best Places for Business and Careers – Metros (Durham)  - Forbes, March 2009 

Best Places to Launch a Small Business (Raleigh)  - CNNMoney.com, October 2009
 

#5

Best States for Business  - Forbes, September, 2009 

Mind Magnet/Youth Magnet (Charlotte metro)  - Wall Street Journal/Brookings Institution, May 2009
 

#6

Best Places for Business and Careers – Metros (Asheville)  - Forbes, March 2009 

Best Places to Live and Work for Young Professionals – Mighty Micros (Cary)  - Next Generation Consulting, June 2009

Healthiest Housing Market (Raleigh)  - Builderonline.com, February 2009
 

#7

Best Places to Launch a Small Business (Charlotte)  - CNNMoney.com, October 2009
 

 #8

Top States for Nanotechnology - Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, August 2009
 

 #9 

America’s Top States for Business -  CNBC, August 2009

Top North American Cities of the Future (Charlotte) - fDi Magazine, April 2009

Best Places to Live and Work for Young Professionals – Midsize Magnets (Durham) - Next Generation Consulting, June 2009
 

#10 

Overall Biotechnology Strength - Business Facilities, July 2009

America’s Best Cities (Charlotte) - Outside Magazine, August 2009

RALEIGH _ Speaker Joe Hackney has agreed to participate in a panel discussion on university governance as part of a course at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Speaker Hackney will be joined on the panel by Roger Perry, immediate past chair of the university’s Board of Trustees. The pair will speak on Oct. 26 to about 60 students enrolled in the Role of the University in American Life course. They will discuss the making of laws, policies and rules that govern the university.

The class is an opportunity for students to hear from people who are key thought leaders and decision-makers about higher education in general and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in particular. It will begin at 11 a.m. in Room 039 of the Graham Memorial Building, home to the Johnston Center for Undergraduate Excellence.

Speaker Hackney graduated from UNC in 1967 with a bachelor’s degree in political science and earned his juris doctorate from the UNC School of Law in 1970. In 2007, he received the school’s William Richardson Davie Award for extraordinary service to the university.

What:   Speaker Hackney to participate in class discussion at UNC

When:   11 a.m., Oct. 26

Where:  Room 039, Graham Memorial Building, UNC-Chapel Hill campus

March 18, 2009

Speaker Pelosi. Good afternoon, or is it now good evening?

We have just left a very lively meeting with the National Conference of State Legislators. I am very pleased to be joined by the president of the conference, Speaker Joe Hackney of North Carolina. It is wonderful to be able to discuss the economic recovery package and how it has an immediate impact on not only the budgets of our states, but also the lives of the people there.

As I mentioned to you earlier, when I was going into the meeting, it gave many of the Members of the Democratic leadership the opportunity to thank this bipartisan group of state legislative leaders for their support in helping to pass the recovery package — to create and save three and a half million jobs, to help the states stabilize their budgets so they will not have to lay off health care workers, teachers, or public safety personnel as well, and also for how we could meet the needs of their states in a positive way and create more good paying jobs.

Speaker Hackney and I have had an ongoing association to work on issues of concern to our country. I have appreciated the knowledge and wisdom and perspective that he has brought to the issues before the Congress and it is an honor for me to be with him today.

Speaker Hackney. Thank you very much Speaker Pelosi. I am here to say thank you to you, for your leadership. I am here to say that the recovery package is, in fact, creating and saving jobs already in my state.

The leaders that we have here today are all engaged in putting together our budgets for next year. In speaking with the other leaders, the recovery act is having an enormous impact in saving jobs that would otherwise have to be cut because we all have balanced budget requirements in our states — all except one I believe. And the jobs that would be cut — teachers, health care workers — all throughout our state government apparatus. These jobs are being saved by this recovery act and putting money on the street and back into our economy.

So we are enormously appreciative to the Congress. We are a bipartisan organization — we alternate our presidency each year between a Republican and a Democrat. My state is North Carolina. Approximately half of our deficit is being covered by the recovery package in the areas of health care and education.

And as I said before, we are enormously grateful. We look forward to a continued relationship. Pleased to be here with you Speaker Pelosi.

Speaker Pelosi. And thank you very much Mr. Speaker. The Speaker and his colleagues put on the table some challenges for the future for us and we look forward to working with you on those.

Thank you again for your leadership and for your coming today. Thank you all very much.