The legislature’s new leaders prepare for tough work to bridge the budget shortfall.
RALEIGH Republican lawmakers are busy preparing for their historic transfer of power, taking a series of steps aimed at both confronting a projected $3.5 billion budget shortfall as well as mastering the mechanics of running a branch of government that has been in Democratic hands for the past 112 years.
The GOP is using the 12-week period between the Nov. 2 elections and the opening of the legislative session on Jan. 26 not only to organize the House and the Senate, but also to begin preparing for what is likely to be a difficult budget crisis.
“The goal is to be ready day one,” said Sen. Richard Stevens of Cary, a former Wake County manager and co-chairman of the Senate transition team.The Republicans are hiring staff, choosing committees and committee chairmen, and eventually distributing offices. Such pre-session activity goes beyond the routine this year, because control of the legislature is shifting from Democrat to Republican control.
Such seemingly mundane back-office politicking is being closely watched in the lobbying offices, state agencies, public relations firms and advocacy group headquarters across North Carolina, because they will go a long way in establishing power relationships in state government and politics for the next two years.
The Republicans also plan to get an early start on the budget and other issues.
Anticipating that it would win control of House since February, the House Republican caucus set up eight policy committees to deal with issues that will face the legislature: budget; jobs and economic development; transportation; health care; education; environment; private property and personal liberty; and criminal justice.
This month the committees will convene meetings in Raleigh to hear from legislative staff, state agencies and affected groups. The GOP caucus is also considering holding several meetings with town hall formats across the state if time allows.House Speaker-elect Thom Tillis, a management consultant and retired IBM executive from Charlotte, said he hopes the caucus policy committee meetings will allow lawmakers to get an early start in dealing with the budget crisis.
Tillis said the committees will try to “create a general direction around focus areas.”He said the many people leading the GOP caucus committees will probably play similar roles when the House committees are appointed.
Although the meetings are the creature of the House GOP caucus, Tillis said the caucus plans to invite Senate Republicans to participate in the meetings, and said Democratic lawmakers will probably be invited as well.
All about the budget
How to close the budget shortfall will dominate the legislative session. Republican leaders have ruled out a tax increase and said they plan to let expire the $1.3 billion tax increase the Democratic legislature passed in 2009.Incoming Senate leader Phil Berger, an Eden lawyer, said the best estimates put the shortfall between $3.25 and $3.5 billion. He said Republican lawmakers have been consulting with private sector economists to gauge the state’s recovery.
Berger met with Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue two weeks ago, and is arranging another meeting with governor, this time including Tillis. Berger said he and the governor pledged mutual cooperation in their meeting.The Republicans are having to spend a great deal of time organizing their chambers. The Democrats have controlled at least one house of the legislature since 1898, although the Republicans captured the House in 1994 and 1996.
Jobs lost and gained
With their new minority position, legislative Democrats will have to lay off staff. Since they will not be in control, it is not as important that Democrats develop their own agenda. They will have an opportunity to influence developments by working through Perdue.
GOP leaders in both chambers have received numerous applications from Republicans interested in working in the legislature.Berger has hired as his chief of staff, Jim Blaine, who has worked as executive director of the N.C. Republican Senate Caucus since 2005 and before that was deputy campaign manager for Patrick Ballantine’s 2004 gubernatorial campaign.
He plans to choose his key committee chairs before the Christmas holidays. This week he named Sen. Tom Apodaca of Hendersonville as Rules Committee chair.There has been considerable jockeying among lawmakers for key committee chairmanships, which can have a large impact on a legislator’s ability to effect public policy.
Berger appointed Stevens and Sen. Robert Rucho, a Matthews dentist, as co-chairs of the Senate transition team, and they have been meeting with key legislative staffers.
Berger has also met with Sen. Marc Basnight, the longtime Democratic power who has run the Senate for the past two decades.
“Marc and his staff have been very helpful in trying to help us toward a smooth transition,” Berger said. “He has authorized his folks to work with me.”
By Rob Christensen
rob.christensen@newsobserver.com
Posted: Wednesday, Dec. 01, 2010
