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Posted on 10/18/2002 11:35:26 AM PDT by Constitution Day
N.C. Rep. Gene Arnold, R-Nash, says the General Assembly is totally out of control. "During the last four years, the General Assembly has been reactionary rather than having a long-range plan and has reacted to the event of the day," Arnold told Rocky Mount Kiwanis Club members Thursday at the Carleton House. "There is no fiscal policy. The state has no fiscal policy and simply reacts to the moment. It determines projects and then goes out to find the money." Arnold said the General Assembly's last session lasted 129 days and cost taxpayers more than $7 million. A total of 706 bills were introduced and 191 passed, he said. "There was no agreement among party leaders," he said. "They could never agree on issues and could never win a majority. Committees started six weeks late." Arnold said there was limited legislation due to a shortfall in the budget. The Democrat factions, he said, had no clear leader and no defined objectives. A state lottery was defeated in the House, and needed three votes to pass, Arnold said. "Democrats feared the Christian right and block vote," he said. "Republicans feared a minority block vote. Both were wrong. The lottery was not the issue. The issues are the economy, the threat of war in Iraq and stock market issues. But the lottery is like Arnold Schwarzenegger when he says, 'I'll be back.'" On redistricting, Arnold predicted after the November election there will be 59 Democrats and 57 Republicans in the House and 22 Democrats and 22 Republicans in the Senate. "Four seats in the House and six seats in the Senate are a toss up," he said. "Redistricting was a major issue. The Senate will most likely go Democrat, but it could go Republican. There is a lack of good people running for office, which is evidenced by 42 percent of the General Assembly being already elected because candidates are unopposed – but it's still important to vote." Arnold said the General Assembly passed legislation that will increase tuition for in-state students at UNC schools by 8 percent and by 12 percent for out-of-state students. The state will keep reimbursements that once went back to counties and municipalities, Arnold said, and the General Assembly will continue to keep money owed to local governments in June because it has no choice. "A bipartisan compromise would have given money back to counties and municipalities without a tax increase, but that was opposed by the N.C. League of Municipalities and county commissioners," he said. "Some local governments sued the state for reimbursements. If they win, it could cost the state $330 million." Arnold said the state budget was $13.7 billion in 2001 and $14.3 billion in 2002. "The budget was $7 billion my first term in office 10 years ago," he said. "Now the state has made up revenue by taking $44 million from public school funds, $43 million from the Medicaid Trust Fund, $200 million from the Highway Trust Fund, $385 million over two years from the State Employees Retirement Fund; delaying tax cuts by $51 million, increasing the UNC system tuition by $51 million and depleting the Rainy Day Fund." And finally, Arnold said, the state has paid for recurring expenses with non-recurring money. "That is the primary reason for the loss of the state's AAA bond rating," he said. "The state's budget shortfall will increase from $800 billion to $1.1 billion on July 1, 2003. We need zero-based budgeting. We need to eliminate duplication and end the turf war between departments in state government." "The General Assembly is out of control," Arnold said. "Someone is going to have to bite the bullet and stop spending." Arnold said North Carolina tax stands at 7 percent. Only California and Tennessee have higher taxes. "The General Assembly raised taxes by $1.3 billion in 2001 and $322 million this year," he said. "Due to the fiscal expansion and new programs, the state budget increased $600 million, or 4.3 percent over last year. "There are 278,000 Carolinians out of work. Lobbyists controlled the General Assembly more than ever before. Lobbyists explained bills in committee. That never happened before. The most frequently asked question is how does a lobbyist group feel about it? And finally, there has been no meaningful education legislation passed in the past four years." Arnold is not seeking re-election to the House. Arnold: 'General Assembly out of control'
By Tom Murphy, Rocky Mount Telegram
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But also,Tennessee does not have a state income tax! Hence, we get the shaft twice!
CD
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