Correction to my Op-Ed in the Sunday, Sept 1, 2013 Fayetteville Observer For those of you who may have read my Op-Ed today, the title I submitted was "Bi-Partisanship in the North Carolina Legislature." My intent for writing this was to show that much of what we accomplished this year actually had bi-partisan support. Some editor at the paper changed the title to "It’s not all bad in Raleigh." Words have meaning. By changing the title it implies that I think what the Legislature accomplished in Raleigh was bad except for when we had bi-partisan agreement. This could not be further from the truth. I am proud of what the Republican led Legislature accomplished in Raleigh this year and believe that these policies are moving North Carolina in the right direction: Reforming our out of date tax system, eliminating job-killing regulations, developing natural resources within our state to lessen dependence on foreign oil, lessening dependence on government, preserving the integrity of our elections and reforming education to reward high performing teachers based on performance. If you haven’t read today’s Op-Ed yet, here it is (with the original title). Post your comments to let me know what you think. Bi-Partisanship in the North Carolina Legislature There has been so much reported about Voter ID, Medicaid, and Education Reform that you might think Republicans and Democrats in the Legislature can’t agree on anything. That is a distorted view of what actually happened the last six months in Raleigh. While I haven’t counted the number of bills that passed with overwhelming bi-partisan support, my estimate is that it is greater than 90%! House Bill 322, CDL Requirements/Military Experience, a bi-partisan sponsored bill that became law gives recently retired and honorably discharged soldiers credit for driving experience in the military and makes it easier for them to get an NC Commercial Driver’s License. North Carolina trucking companies need to hire over 4,000 truck drivers and this law makes it easier for “new civilians” to get a high paying job. Another bi-partisan sponsored bill, House Bill 402, TRICARE Supplement for Flex Accounts offers a TRICARE supplemental insurance option for retired military personnel who are now state employees. For an eligible state employee who is married and moves from the state health plan to TRICARE and the TRICARE Supplemental Plan, their monthly health insurance premiums will decrease by approximately $475. It is estimated that the state will save approximately $20 million next year due to this law. Yet another bi-partisan sponsored bill that became law, House Bill 692, Amend Predatory Lending Law, makes North Carolina mortgage lending law no more restrictive than Federal Law. Because of conflicts between Federal and State law, people of modest means who live in modest neighborhoods were being denied the opportunity to refinance their homes at today’s current low rates. This law will save thousands of dollars for thousands of low-income homeowners who can now refinance. I am proud to say that I was a primary sponsor of these three bills and that all passed almost unanimously in both chambers. Working in a bi-partisan spirit in the Senate was Senator Meredith, primary sponsor of companion bills to H322 and H402 and Senator Clark who co-sponsored both. House Bill 679, Utilities/The Military Good Neighbor Act, another bi-partisan bill that I sponsored, got stuck in committee, but it started a very important dialogue on renewable energy and how North Carolina can be a good neighbor to Fort Bragg and our other important vital installations. The U.S. Military is far out in front in its support for renewable energy. The Department of Defense, whose annual energy budget is $20 billion (roughly equivalent to the entire state budget in North Carolina) – is the largest consumer of energy in the US, responsible for 80% of the entire federal government energy use. For the Department of Defense, renewable energy is a matter of national security. The military needs on-site generation because it provides bases with grid security in the case of a power outage due to a natural disaster or an attack. Renewable energy is a good choice in choosing on-site generation because it allows operating flexibility and independence, and is increasingly cost-effective due to alternative financing mechanisms such as third-party power purchase agreements (PPAs), also known as third party sales. This financing mechanism is currently not available in North Carolina due to existing laws that prohibit non-utility companies from selling electricity directly to customers, and therefore our military bases are limited in purchasing electricity from on-site projects. While H679 addressed this issue, the solution we proposed turned out to be not entirely workable. My colleagues and I are working on writing a policy that addresses stakeholders concerns and allows private industry to compete directly for these projects without using North Carolina taxpayer subsidies. On September 4th, I’ll be participating in the Military Energy Roundtable hosted by the North Carolina Military Business Center and the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association at Wake Technical Community College. I look forward to meaningful discussion with representatives from military installations, utility companies, the Utilities Commission, the clean energy industry, and the General Assembly to work towards a legislative solution. Your Representatives and Senators in the Legislature do have major disagreements on many issues, but we also agree on quite a bit. We know that our duty is to make good public policy that benefits the citizens of our great state.
Posted on: Sun, 01 Sep 2013 20:44:22 +0000
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