Civitas Capitol Connection - September 2010

NC Legislature Regulates Milk Out of Day Care

Growing NC Budget DeficitCAPITOL CONNECTIONCivitas

September 2010

• BY ANDREW HENSON

• BY BRIAN BALFOUR

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE

1Deficit Defeats Job Growth

NC House Bans Milk

2Eminent Domain and University Expansion

From The EditorSubscribe to Capitol Connection

3How Your Legislator Voted

4Report Card on County Govt Growth

Speakers Bureau

5Legislative District PollingUnemployment Statistics

Donate

6Phantom Voters

7SBI Probe

Drunk Driving - Legislative Vote Block

8Scandal

NC Unemployment Map

O ur state’s slow and steady increase of government in-trusion continues with the

passing of House Bill 1726, “Im-prove Child Care Nutrition.”

This bill, sponsored by Reps. Jennifer Weiss (D-Wake), Bob Eng-land (D – Rutherford), Marian McLawhorn, (D – Pitt), and Douglas Yongue (D – Scotland), represents a big step towards a “nanny state,” as it seeks to subject children in child care facilities to a strict dietary regimen.

The bill directs the Child Care Commission to “consider” a laundry list of stipulations regarding chil-dren’s nutritional intake that would

turn something as in-nocent as daycare

snack time into a mountain

of red tape. These impo-sitions in-clude:• Limit-ing or pro-h i b i t i n g

the serving of sweetened

beverages, other than 100 percent

fruit juice, to children o f any age.• Limiting or prohibiting the serving of whole milk to children two years

N orth Carolina will be facing a structural deficit of $3.2 billion for the 2011-12 state

budget, according to a recent report issued by the General Assembly’s Fiscal Research Division.

How did this “structural deficit” come about? State budget writers re-lied on major revenue sources that will not be available next year, along with some one-time spending cuts to recurring spending obligations. More specifically, $1.6 billion in federal stimulus funds and $1.3 bil-lion in temporary taxes were tapped to help balance the current year’s budget. But those funds dry up at the end of this year and won’t be available to finance state spending in the 2011-12 state budget.

Round-ing out the $3.2 b i l l i o n s t r u c t u r -al deficit is another $300 million in one-time spending cuts uti-lized in the current year budget that were applied to on-going spending programs. In other words, the spending levels for these programs will return to their previ-ous higher levels, and thus will need to be funded in next year’s budget.

But the structural deficit doesn’t account for spending demands that are projected to rise rapidly in the coming year. Of particular note are exploding burdens of state employ-ees. Estimates of the State Health Plan, the insurance provider for state teachers and employees, proj-ect an additional $200 million will be required in 2011-12 to keep up

Strongly Support 11%Somewhat Support 9%Somewhat Oppose 22%Strongly Oppose 52%Not Sure 6%

Do you support or oppose banning whole milk or chocolate milk from being served in day care centers?

Civitas Poll July 2010

of age or older or flavored milk to children of any age. (Yes, they are in fact trying to do away with chocolate milk).• Limiting or prohibiting the serv-ing of more than six ounces of juice per day to children of any age.• Limiting or prohibiting the serv-ing of juice from a bottle.

This bill further mandates, in addition to “kosher” kiddie meals, that children receive a nap time and a designated amount of time spent outdoors. These activities, however, are simply what is ex-pected from daycare facilities, and if these activities were not pro-vided by said daycare center, many parents would simply find a differ-ent daycare service provider.

This provision is indicative of government’s irresistible desire to control societal affairs and enforce legislation, even when it’s not nec-essary to ensure that those practic-es are properly carried out. In this example, the invisible hand would be more than sufficient to provide what the public would expect from a day care facility.

The bill’s final passage was in July. The House voted 63-45 and the Senate voted 35-3. w

Milk vote box continued on page 3.

with rising health care costs. Fur-thermore, the state’s pension sys-tem for retired teachers and state workers will require an additional $450 million above this year’s ap-propriation in order to keep the system fully funded.

Another consideration will be the increasing cost of health benefits being provided to state retirees. If recent growth trends continue, we should expect an ad-ditional $40 million in taxpayer money will be needed to pay for growing retiree health care costs next year.

Added together, the revenue hole and growing state employee

and retiree benefits create a mas-sive budget gap of close to $4 bil-lion for the 2011-12 state budget. And this doesn’t even factor in rising costs of Medicaid, educa-tion or transportation that will certainly continue to add to the budget deficit’s size.

The looming massive deficit will likely tempt lawmakers to ex-tend the temporary taxes and pos-sibly create even more tax hikes in order to balance the budget. But with unemployment still hovering around double-digits, extending

High Govt Spending 65%Low Taxes 6%Both 18%The Recession 6%Not Sure 6%

North Carolina has recently been experiencing state budget deficits.

In your view, which was the single most important cause

of the budget problems?

Civitas Poll April 2010

Budget continued on pg 3

2 September 2010 nccivitas.org

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Numerous businesses located along West Lee Street in Greens-boro, which stand in the area where the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) wants to ex-pand its campus, may encounter an eminent domain battle in the near future.

The University of North Caro-lina at Greensboro (UNCG) was granted authority by the General As-sembly in this year’s budget to use $17 million toward purchasing land and constructing a railroad under-pass as part of the university’s expan-sion. Plans for expansion, however, have not yet been finalized.

Mike Byers, assistant vice chan-cellor for Auxiliary Services at UNCG, says that the $17 million will come from money not spent on the UNCG School of E d u c a t i o n building. That project came in under budget.

The goal of cam-pus expansion is to increase the number of students that live on campus. As of now, less than 30 per-cent of UNCG students are campus-dwellers. A parking garage, a police station, a recreation center and stu-dent housing are planned for the ex-pansion site.

Currently, the campus of UNCG is bounded to the south by railroad

Eminent Domain Battle Lurks in Back-ground of University’s Expansion Plans• BY JASON SUTTON tracks. The university hopes to ex-

pand its reach across those railroad tracks into the Glenwood neigh-borhood in the area of Lexington and Glenwood Avenue’s. The new southern boundary for the expanded campus would be Haywood Street, which is two blocks south of the rail-road tracks.

The university owns a few small parcels of land south of the railroad tracks in the Glenwood area where it plans to expand, yet none of the property has been developed for uni-versity use. Glenwood can currently be accessed from the university using two railroad crossings, one on South

Aycock Street and another on Tate Street, which are one-half

mile apart. The railroad underpass will serve

in the future as a connection between the current campus and the intended area of expansion. While Glenwood residents have agreed to work with the university, they have not yet for-mally agreed to the university expan-sion plans. Residents are concerned that expansion plans will change the

character of the neighborhood and drive rent prices upwards.

At a meeting in March of this year, some of the residents in the area did not appear willing to sell their homes to the university just yet. Pre-viously, attempts by developers to purchase property in the area have been unsuccessful because residents have been unwilling to sell. Byers in-dicated that if plans progressed with only a few holdouts standing in the way, that eminent domain might be invoked to obtain property.

Expansion appears to be a sure thing for the university, but road-blocks such as the residents unwilling to sell stand in the way. Meanwhile, the university, which has raised tu-ition and must manage funding cuts, has $17 million to build and con-struct a railroad underpass to the intended area of expansion immedi-ately. The system-wide UNC budget will be $170 million less than two years ago and tuition at UNCG will increase by $653 per student for the upcoming year. w

Civitas Poll June 2010

Do you approve or disapprove of the NC senate voting to increase North

Carolina’s debt by $500 million to construct new buildings even

though the State Treasurer said North Carolina was at its debt capacity?

Disapprove 77%Approve 12%Not Sure 11%

BY JANA BENSCOTER

F R O M T H E E D I T O R

Budget Cuts: The Start of Something Big

North Carolina has encountered billion-dollar budget deficits for the last several years. Opting for only short-term band-aid fixes instead of adopting meaningful spending reform, state legis-lators implemented temporary tax increases and relied on federal stimulus funds to plug much of the recent budget holes.

Unlike previous years, however, there is a slight chance in the 2011 long session, actual spending cuts could be administered.

Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue issued a recent memo finally acknowledging the impending budget road block guaranteeing another massive budget deficit next year. The road-block, among several other factors, is the temporary solution of one-time finan-cial support from federal stimulus money and “temporary” taxes used to resolve a long-term situation.

Perdue wrote, “The challenge we face together in developing the FY 2011-13 budget will be significant. The cumulative impact of the national economic downturn, expiration of federal recovery dollars and sun setting of recent revenue changes leaves our short-fall at approximately $3.3 billion.”

According to Perdue’s directive, each state agency has until Oct. 29 to return 5 percent, 10 percent and 15 percent reduction options in spending to the Office of State and Budget Manage-ment. In addition to the cuts, Perdue claims she doesn’t want to extend a temporary 1-cent sales tax increase that was approved during the 2009 session.

Much of this language juxtaposes a Legislature that increased taxes across-the-board during the previous long session, the only state in the Southeast to do so. At that time, legislators were confronted with revenues coming in roughly $1.3 billion less than original estimates combined with billions more in escalating spending commitments.

For cuts, Perdue has directed agencies to:- Eliminate duplicative and underperforming programs.- Reduce layers of management and administration.- Streamline and consolidate programs, offices and services.- Reduce operating funds due to service efficiencies.While much of this seems to be a move for the betterment of

North Carolina, Perdue might also be reading the writing on the wall, realizing that she’s going to have to get along with a new General Assembly gang.

On page 1, “Deficit Continues to Defeat Job Growth” high-lights the fiscal irresponsibility that is slowing job growth and hurting the state unemployment rate. The North Carolina season-ally adjusted unemployment rate remained in double digits for 16 months, and still remains above the national average.

Should state budget writers get serious about implementing the state agency spending reductions being requested by Gov. Perdue, however, the state will take a significant step in reversing years of irresponsible and short-sighted budget mismanagement.

3September 2010nccivitas.org


IN FAVOR OF INCREASING SPENDING SB 897

Senate Republicans (2)Bingham Stevens

Senate Democrats (28)Albertson Atwater Basnight Berger, D Blue ClodfelterDannelly Davis Dorsett Foriest Garrou GossGraham Hoyle Jenkins Jones Kinnaird McKissickNesbitt Purcell Queen Shaw Snow SolesStein Swindell Vaughan Walters

House Republicans (1)West

House Democrats (65)Adams Alexander, K Alexander, M Bell Bordsen BraxtonBrisson Bryant Carney Coates Cole Cotham

Crawford Earle England Faison Farmer-Butterfield Fisher

Floyd, E Gibson Gill Glazier Goforth Resigned 7/31/10 Goodwin

Hackney Haire Hall Harrison Heagarty HillHolliman Hughes Insko Jackson Jeffus LoveLucas Luebke Martin May McLawhorn MichauxMobley Owens Parfitt Parmon Pierce RappRoss Spear Stewart Sutton Tarleton TolsonTucker Underhill Wainwright Warren, E Warren, R WeissWhilden Wilkins Williams Womble Wray

AGAINST INCREASING SPENDING SB 897

Senate Republicans (17)Allran Apodaca Berger, P Brock Brown BrunstetterClary East Forrester Goodall Hartsell HuntJacumin Preston Rouzer Rucho Tillman

Senate Democrats (0)

House Republicans (51)Avila Barnhart Blackwell Blackwood Blust BolesBrown Brubaker Burr Burris-Floyd Cleveland CurrentDaughtry Dockham Dollar Folwell Frye GillespieGrady Guice Gulley Hilton Holloway HowardHurley Iler Ingle Johnson Justice JustusKillian Langdon Lewis McComas McCormick McElraftMcGee Mills Moore Neumann Randleman RhyneSager Samuelson Setzer Stam Starnes SteenStevens Tillis Wiley

House Democrats (1)Jones

NOT VOTINGSenate (1) Blake (R)House (2) Brown (R) Mackey (D)

ABSENTSenate (4) Boseman (D) Dickson (D) Goodall (R) Shaw (D)House (2) Killian (R) Young (D)

Roll CallSenate #1399 House #1596Read how your legislator voted and get contact information at www.civitasaction.org

BudgetCONTINUED FROM PG 1

and implementing more job-kill-ing tax increases would be devas-tating for those North Carolinians already struggling to find work.

Implementing and then ex-tending “temporary” tax increases is nothing new to North Carolina lawmakers. Recall that in 2001-02 during a similar budget crisis, North Carolina created so-called temporary tax increases as well. These taxes were extended several times before finally most were al-lowed to expire in 2007 (part of the sales tax increase was made permanent).

The results were not encourag-ing. Because higher taxes discour-age investment and job growth by sapping resources from the private sector, North Carolina re-

covered from the last recession slower than most of the nation. N o r t h C a r o -l i n a ’ s a n n u a l u n e m -p l o y -m e n t rate has remained above the national av-erage ever since – compared to the 25-year period prior to 2001 in which our unemployment rate ex-ceeded the national average only once. Moreover, in the seven years following the 2001-02 tax increases, North Carolina’s per capita income fell further behind

FOR BANNING JUICE & MILK IN CHILD CARE CENTERSHB 1726

Senate Republicans (7)Allran Bingham Forrester Hartsell Preston RouzerStevens

Senate Democrats (28)Albertson Atwater Basnight Berger, D Blue BosemanClodfelter Dannelly Davis Dickson Dorsett ForiestGarrou Goss Graham Jenkins Jones KinnairdMcKissick Nesbitt Purcell Queen Snow SolesStein Swindell Vaughan Walters

House Republicans (5)Avila Brown Gulley Lewis Samuelson

House Democrats (62)Adams Alexander, K Alexander, M Bell Bordsen BraxtonBrisson Bryant Carney Coates Cole CothamEarle England Faison Farmer-

ButterfieldFisher Floyd, E

Gibson Gill Glazier Goforth Goodwin HaireHall Heagarty Hill Holliman Hughes InskoJackson Jeffus Jones Lucas Luebke MackeyMartin May McLawhorn Michaux Mobley OwensParmon Pierce Rapp Ross Spear StewartSutton Tarleton Tolson Tucker Underhill WainwrightWarren, E Warren, R Weiss Whilden Wilkins WilliamsWomble Wray

AGAINST BANNING JUICE & MILK IN CHILD CARE CENTERS HB 1726

Senate Republicans (13)Apodaca Berger, P Blake Brock Brown BrunstetterClary East Goodall Hunt Jacumin RuchoTillman


House Republicans (44)Blackwell Blackwood Blust Boles Brubaker BurrBurris-Floyd Cleveland Current Daughtry Dockham DollarFolwell Frye Gillespie Grady Guice HiltonHolloway Howard Hurley Iler Ingle JohnsonJustice Justus Langdon McComas McCormick McElraftMcGee Mills Moore Neumann Randleman RhyneSager Setzer Stam Starnes Steen StevensWest Wiley

House Democrats (2)Harrison Love

ABSENTSenate (2) Hoyle (D) Shaw (D)House (4) Killian (R) Parfitt (D) Tillis (R) Yongue (D)

NOT VOTINGHouse (3) Barnhart (R) Crawford (D) Hackney (D)


the national average, and the child poverty

rate climbed from 17th highest to seventh highest

in the nation.North Carolina already im-

poses some of the highest tax rates in the nation, and has an unem-ployment rate among the 15 high-est in the country. A long-term trend of out-of-control spending commitments continues to land the state in one budget crisis after

From Page 1: NC Legislature Regulates Milk out of Day Care

another, and state lawmakers too frequently rely on tax hikes, rath-er than fiscal restraint, to balance the state budget. This “spend and tax” cycle has created a business climate ranked as one of the worst in the nation, and is a significant reason why so many North Caro-linians can’t find work.

The structural deficit issue was brought up often in the last session of the general assembly but the legislative leadership did not address it in the 2010 bud-get revision. Proposed spending in the 2010 budget bill was an increase over the amount actu-ally spent the previous fiscal year. So with a looming budget gap of more than $3 billion the legisla-ture passed a budget that actually increased spending. w

To your knowledge, has North Carolina’s state budget increased

in recent years, or has it been cut?

Civitas Poll April 2010

Increased 41%Been Cut 45%Not Sure 14%



From 2000 to 2009, 72 of North Carolina’s 100 county governments grew their workforce at a faster pace than their respective private sector em-ployment.

Furthermore, 59 county govern-ments expanded their payrolls at a rate that exceeded the county’s population growth over the same period.

Some of the most glaring examples of unchecked county government ex-pansion include:• Hoke County - County officials more

than doubled the county government workforce from 2000 to 2009, a rate roughly 10 times that of the anemic 11 percent job growth in Hoke’s pri-vate sector. Meanwhile, the county’s population grew by only 37 percent.

• Alamance County – Even though the county suffered the loss of 18 per-cent of its private sector workforce from 2000 to 2009, the number of county government workers rose by a healthy 55 percent, a rate more than four times faster than the coun-ty’s population growth rate of 13 percent.

• Yancey County – From 2000 to 2009, Yancey County’s population grew by only 4 percent and its private sec-tor workforce shrank by 25 percent.

Report Card on County Government Growth• BY BRIAN BALFOUR Amazingly, however, during that

time the number of county govern-ment workers rose by 81 percent.

In total, the number of county government workers in North Caroli-na grew at a 13 percent pace from 2000 to 2009. At the same time, however, the size of North Carolina’s private sector workforce dropped by nearly 4 percent. The 13 percent county gov-ernment employment growth rate is slightly less than the statewide popula-tion growth rate of 16 percent over the same period.

While the expansion of county government was a consistent theme over the past decade, 20 county gov-ernments in North Carolina did man-age to trim their number of county employees from 2000 to 2009. Inter-estingly, 13 of those 20 counties who reduced the number of county employ-ees did so at a time when their county population actually increased.

That 20 percent of county gov-ernments across North Carolina have been able to reduce the size of their government workforce at a time when most counties have been expanding employee rolls at a pace that exceeds both county population growth and private sector job growth should give one pause.

Especially in light of the cur-rent economic crisis, elected officials throughout North Carolina need to take a cue from those counties who are successfully doing more with less. w

Grade CardThe Civitas Institute examined all 100

North Carolina counties, and graded them based on their county employee growth from 2000 to 2009 relative to the county’s population growth.

Among the state’s counties, 13 re-ceived a grade of “A,” 7 received a “B,” 33 received a “C,” 24 received a “D,” and 23 more received an “F.”

The grading scale for the study is as follows:

A counties that managed to shrink their government workforce while their popu-lation increased

B counties that shrank their government workforce while their population also shrank

C counties that grew their government workforce at a rate either less than the rate of their population growth, or at a rate less than twice the rate of popula-tion growth

D counties that grew their government workforce more than twice (but less than four times) the rate of their population growth

F counties that grew their government workforce despite a drop in the county’s population; or grew their government workforce more than four times the rate of the county’s population growth.

For a spreadsheet with data for all 100 counties, see “Report Card on County Government Growth” available at www.nccivitas.org.

State Budget

Election Law

Education

Poll Results

NC Legislature

Voter Statistics

NEED A SPEAKER?The Civitas Speakers’ Bureau offers knowledgeable policy and research specialists to speak to your organization. Wither you attend a civic group, area college or university, business, non-profit, or lo-cal activist group, a Civitas speaker is right for you. Contact us today to bring a speaker to your next meeting!

Request a speaker at www.nccivitas.org/outreachOr email [email protected] for more information

Past speaking engagements include:North Carolina Tea Party SummitsAnnual Conservative Leadership ConferenceCollege Campus ToursLocal Conservative MeetingsCivic and Political ClubsAnd much more!

Counties that Trimmed Govt as Population IncreasedCounty % Change in County

Govt Workforce 2000-2009

Population Growth 2000-2009

Beaufort -22.4% 5.4%

Bertie -19.4% 1.7%

Burke -3.2% 0.6%

Catawba -15.6% 10.8%

Cumberland -3.8% 6%

Graham -14% 4.2%

Guilford -4.7% 13.1%

Mitchell -27.4% 1.8%

Onslow -13.6% 19.4%

Stokes -0.7% 4.7%

Surry -5.7% 3.7%

Swain -6% 6.8%

Wayne -4.9% 2.9%

County Government vs. Private Sector Employment Growth in NC

2000-2009

12.9%

-3.7%

-6%-4%-2%0%2%4%6%8%

10%12%14%

County Gov't Private Sector

Sources: N.C. Association of County Commissioners, NC Employment Security Commission



T he latest July report from the North Caroli-na Employment Securi-ty Commission (NESC)

shows the majority of the state’s counties are still facing double-digit unemployment rates. The statewide unemployment rate was recorded at 9.9 percent, marking a decrease from the revised 10.2 percent recorded in the previous

Over Half of North Carolina Counties Still Facing Double-Digit Unemployment Rates in July• BY MARIANNE SUAREZ month.

The Commission reports that unemployment rates decreased in 86 counties as well as 14 metro-politan areas in the state. Six of the 14 metropolitan areas reported rates consistently above the state average of 9.9 percent. Unemploy-ment increased in six counties and remained the same in eight. The state’s lowest unemployment rate was reported by Currituck County

at 4.5 percent, while the highest unemployment rate was reported in Scotland County at 16.2 per-cent. The state paid out a total of $138.8 million in unemployment insurance benefits.

There are some striking trends to note when comparing North Carolina’s unemployment statistics to the federal statistics. Since December 2007, the of-ficial start of the current reces-

sion, North Carolina’s labor force has decreased 0.9 percent, which is striking compared to the 0.2 per-cent total decrease nationally. The total number of employed people in the state has decreased 6.0 per-cent compared to 4.9 percent na-tionally. The total number of peo-ple unemployed in North Carolina has increased by 97 percent. w

Statewide Polling: Competitive House DistrictsOver the past five years, the Ci-

vitas Institute has produced monthly statewide polls of voters in North Carolina, detailing their thoughts and opinions on critical issues in North Carolina. In 2010, with the balance of power in the NC House and Senate up for grabs and vitally important redistricting on the ho-rizon, Civitas decided to expand its polling this year to produce a look into competitive legislative races around the state. Through this poll-ing and data, it is hoped to give citi-zens greater insight and awareness into the key races that will decide which party controls the General As-sembly in 2011. w

For more information visit www.nccivitas.org/media/press_releases

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One-stop voting and same day registration have created two classes of voters. The first being citizens who register to vote ahead of the 25 day deadline and whose addresses are checked for validity through the address verification process. The second are the voters who wait to register to vote at one-stop voting and then vote. Voters who register to vote during Same Day Registration (SDR) bypass the necessary address verification pro-cess all other voters must undergo when registering to vote.

This year’s deadline to regis-ter to vote is Friday, Oct. 8, 2010. On the State Board of Elections calendar, the entry reads: “Voter registration deadline for November 2 Gen-eral Election. Forms must be p o s t m a r k e d or delivered in person by 5:00 pm to-day [NCGS 163-82.6(c)].” That is the val-id deadline until early voting begins on Thursday, Oct. 14 when a voter can register to vote and vote at the same time during early voting.

In years past, the deadline, which is 25 days prior to Elec-tion Day, was intended to give the county boards much needed time to complete the administrative work that is required to maintain a voter list with some integrity. After the deadline, boards of elec-tions’ staff enter registration data and mail out the required verifica-tion notices (voter cards) to ensure that registrants’ addresses were val-

Trend Could Lead to Phantom Voters• BY SUSAN MYRICK id. Address verification process is

part of the list maintenance process that is required by law.

It is virtually impossible to complete the address verification process for voters registering to vote and voting in the two weeks leading up to Election Day. The process requires the county boards of elec-tion to print and mail voter cards to all new registrants and repeat the process if the cards are returned un-deliverable. As a result, thousands of voters in the 2008 presidential election, who registered and voted, had their registrations “denied” af-ter their vote was counted and the election certified because their ad-dresses were not validated.

NC first instituted one-stop voting for the 2000 general election on a limited basis, only the county board of elections offices were used as early voting sites. By the 2008 general election, more than half the 4,353,739 voters cast their ballots at 368 one-stop (early voting) sites. 3/31/2009 -North Carolina State Board of Elections: Report on Same-Day Registration

IN FAVOR OF ONE-STOP VOTING HB 91

Senate Republicans (4)Bingham Brunstetter Hartsell Stevens

Senate Democrats (30)Albertson Atwater Basnight Berger, D Boseman ClodfelterCowell Resigned 2008 Dalton Dannelly Foriest Garrou Goss

Graham Hagan Hoyle Jenkins Jones Kerr Resigned 2008

Kinnaird MaloneDeceased 4/18/09 McKissick Nesbitt Purcell Queen

RandResigned 12/31/09 Shaw Snow Soles Swindell Weinstein

Resigned 9/30/09

House Republicans (3)Justice McComas Walker

Resigned 2008

House Democrats (66)

Adams Alexander, M Allen Resigned 4/6/10 Bell Blue

Resigned 5/19/09 BordsenBraxton Brisson Bryant Carney Church CoatesCole Coleman

Resigned 1/11/09 Cotham Crawford Cunningham Resigned 12/31/08

Dickson Resigned 1/21/10

Earle England Faison Farmer-Butterfield Fisher Gibson

Glazier Goforth Resigned 7/31/10 Goodwin Haire Hall Harrell, J

Harrel, T Resigned 9/20/09 Harrison Hill Holliman Insko JeffusJones Love Lucas Luebke Martin McAllisterMcLawhorn Michaux Mobley Owens Parmon PierceRapp Ross Saunders

Resigned 10/31/08 Spear Sutton TarletonTolson Tucker Underhill Wainwright Warren, E Warren, RWeiss Wilkins Williams Wray Wright

Removed 4/8/08 Yongue

AGAINST ONE-STOP VOTING HB 91

Senate Republicans (15)Allran Apodaca Berger, P Blake Brock BrownEast Forrester Goodall Hunt Jacumin Pittenger

Resigned 5/27/08

Preston Smith Tillman


House Republicans (47)Allred Resigned 6/1/09 Avila Barnhart Blackwood Blust Boylan

Brown Brubaker ClaryResigned 2008 Cleveland Current Daughtridge

Daughtry Dockham Dollar Folwell Frye GillespieGrady Gulley Hilton Holloway Howard HurleyJohnson Justus Killian Kiser

Resigned 2008 Langdon LewisMcElraft McGee Moore Neumann Pate RaySamuelson Setzer Stam Starnes Steen Stiller

Resigned 6/15/09

Thomas Tillis WalendResigned 2008

West Wiley

House Democrats (0)

NOT VOTINGHouse (1) Hackney (D)

ABSENTSenate (1) Dorsett (D)House (3) Almond (R)

Resigned 7/12/07Holmes (R) Resigned 2008

Womble (D)


0

500000

1000000

1500000

2000000

2500000

3000000

2004 Primary

2004 General

2008 Primary

2008 General

One-‐stop 2,411,116

Civilian Absentee 215,258

Military Absentee 8,443

Overseas Absentee 4,098

Elec@on Day 1,714,824

One-‐stop 2,411,116

Civilian Absentee 215,258

Military Absentee 8,443

Overseas Absentee 4,098

Elec@on Day 1,714,824

ONE-STOP VOTERS2008 GENERAL ELECTION VOTES

Should a person be able to come to a polling place on election day

and register and then vote on the same day?

Civitas Poll August 2005

Yes 33%No 63%Not Sure 4%

Same Day Registra-tion was first used dur-

ing the May 2008 primary. It is ironic to have a state dead-

line to register to vote a week be-fore you can register and vote again through Same Day Registration.

If this trend continues and grows along with one-stop vot-ing, it will not be too long before unverified, phantom voters decide elections.

One-stop (early voting) for the upcoming General Election begins on Thursday, October 14 and ends on Saturday, October 30. Contact your local Board of Elections for specific information. w



SBI Probe: An Agency with Blood on Its Hands

Habitual Drunk Drivers Get Licenses Back

• BY JESSICA ANDERSON

A Durham man charged of first-degree murder, first-degree sexual assault of a child and felony child abuse resulting in death walked free from a jail cell he inhabited since 1998. Derrick M. Allen, 31, was released on Friday, Sept. 10 to family and friends awaiting a new trial amid questionable evidence used in his case, including lab work by the now under inspection State Bureau of Investigation (SBI). While a new trial date for Allen has yet to be set, his release is the first, in what promises to be a series of releases in the aftermath of a report finding questionable SBI practices. The Forensic Biology Section within the SBI is under investigation after the highly publicized exoneration of Gregory Taylor’s life sentence. Tay-lor was released earlier this year due to concerns surrounding tested blood admitted as evidence in his trial. Upon his exoneration, the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office commis-sioned an Independent Report into the workings of the SBI agency. The report looked for consistencies simi-lar to the Taylor case where “positive indications for the presence of blood” were found, followed by subsequent confirmatory tests reflecting “nega-tive” or “inconclusive” results omitted from the final report.According to the report, prepared by Chris Swecker, Attorney at Law and Michael Wolf, Consultant, 15,419 lab files were screened and examined. Of the files, 230 were identified to have questionable laboratory reports, including Allen’s case. The revelations have spurred a crisis of confidence in courthouses around the state, said Senate Minority Leader Phil Berger, a Republican from Eden, “When folks in law enforcement see something like this occur, it can re-ally call into question everything they are doing,” Berger told the Charlotte Observer in a recent interview. A reading of the report did not con-clude that each case resulted in a wrongful conviction, but rather, the significant issues surrounding labo-ratory reporting and accountability

FOR REINSTATING DRUNK DRIVERS’ LICENSES

Senate Republicans (9)Bingham Brunstetter East Forrester Goodall HartsellJacumin Preston Rouzer

Senate Democrats (16)Albertson Atwater Blue Dannelly Dorsett ForiestJenkins Kinnaird McKissick Nesbitt Purcell QueenSnow Soles Stein Weinstein

House Republicans (25)Allred Avila Barnhart Blackwood Boles ClevelandCurrent Daughtry Guice Gulley Hurley JohnsonJustus Langdon Lewis McCormick McElraft MillsSager Samuelson Stam Steen Stevens WestWiley

House Democrats (54)Adams Alexander, K Alexander, M Allen Bell BlueBordsen Braxton Brisson Mryant Coates ColeCotham Crawford Dickson Earle England Farmer-

ButterfieldFisher Floyd, E Glazier Goforth Haire HallHarrison Hill Holliman Hughes Insko JeffusJones Love Lucas Luebke Mackey MartinMichaux Owens Parmon Pierce Rapp RossSutton Tolson Tucker Wainwright Warren, E Warren, RWeiss Wilkins Williams Womble Wray Yongue

AGAINST REINSTATING DRUNK DRIVERS’ LICENSES

Senate Republicans (10)Allran Apodaca Berger, P Blake Brock BrownClary Hunt Rucho Tillman

Senate Democrats (10)Basnight Berger, D Clodfelter Davis Goss GrahamJones Rand

Resigned 12/31/09Swindell Vaughan

House Republicans (27)Blackwell Blust Brown Brubaker Burr Burris-FloydDockham Dollar Folwell Frey Gillespie GradyHilton Holloway Howard Justice Killian McComasMcGee Moore Neumann Randleman Rhyne SetzerStarnes Stiller Tillis

House Democrats (12)Faison Gibson Goodwin Harrell Jackson McLawhornMobley Spear Stewart Tarleton Underhill Whilden

ABSENTSenate (4) Boseman (D) Hoyle (D) Shaw (D) Stevens (D)House (1) Carney (D)

NOT VOTINGSenate (1) Garrou (D) House (1) Hackney (D)


practices from 1987-2003. The poten-tial result of such incorrect reporting could have led to the withholding of information favorable to the defense. Such factors, according to the report, include; “poorly crafted policy; lack of objectivity, the absence of clear re-port writing guidance; inattention to reporting methods that left too much discretion to the individual Analyst: lack of transparency; and ineffective management and oversight of the Fo-rensic Biology Section.”Berger is one of many lawmakers of-fering bi-partisan support for a more thorough investigation of the entire SBI lab. Senate President Pro Tem Marc Bas-night, a Manteo Democrat, wants to take the results of the investigation a step further and remove the lab from SBI control so that the lab reports to an agency are independent from po-lice or prosecutors.“You have to separate that connec-tion,” Basnight said in a recent in-terview with the Charlotte Observer. “There were people who did anything to secure a conviction. How many in-nocent people have been convicted?”As a result of the report, nine-year SBI director Robin Pendergraft has been reassigned and crime lab director Jer-ry Richardson has been removed, ac-cording to the Raleigh News and Ob-server. The News and Observer was the first to publish the findings of the report and continue to question how such an important law enforcement agency went this long without ad-equate oversight and accountability. Attorney General Roy Cooper recent-ly announced former Court of Ap-peals chief judge Gerald Arnold to be the lab’s interim director as an effort to return public confidence into the courts. While the future of North Carolina courts may be unclear, one point remains, the SBI had little to no ac-countability from 1987-2003 result-ing in hundreds of forensic-based convictions now found in a list of questionable cases. w

During the long legislative session of 2009 defined by increased spending, increased taxes, and a statewide smoking ban, the General Assembly found time to make several other significant changes to the General Statutes. One such revision – largely unnoticed and with little media attention – drastically altered current laws on the books by putting drunk drivers back on the roads.

House Bill 1185, sponsored primarily by Rep. Ronnie Sutton (D-Robeson), allows convicted “habitual” impaired drivers to petition to restore their driver’s license after 10 years provided that they have maintained a clean criminal record and are no longer users of drugs or alcohol. The state considers anyone who has four DWI convictions in fewer than 10 years a habitual impaired driver. At the time the bill was being considered, the law stipulated that anyone convicted of four DWIs would be forced to surrender their license for life, now offenders may seek a new license. w

This story was originally reported in the August 2010 issue of Capitol Connection but the below vote block was left out of the story for space reasons. For the entire story go to http://www.nccivitas.org/media/publication-archive/policy-reports/lawmakers-give-habitual-dwi-offenders-drivers-licenses

Attorney General Roy Cooper, who oversees the State Bureau of Investiga-tion, has been scrutinized for not managing employees involved in agency misconduct, which allegedly has led to falsified blood samples used in criminal investigations. A bomb threat, supposedly linked to the current review of the SBI and Cooper, was made at the Department of Justice on Sept. 9. The depart-ment houses Cooper’s office. Photo: Jana Benscoter



The State Board of Elections voted 3-to-1 to end its investigation into Gov. Beverly Perdue’s use of private air travel during her 2008 campaign. Chair-man Larry Leake, pictured on the right, was under heavy fire regarding his role in the investigation of Perdue’s campaign. Photo: Don Carrington, Carolina Journal

• S C A N D A L •

State Board of Elections Not Willing to Give Perdue Campaign Flights Full Review

Despite an emerging cloud of unanswered questions concerning 42 unreported campaign flights by the Perdue for Governor Cam-paign, and despite receiving in-formation from its own investi-gator that the Perdue campaign kept extensive travel records, last month the State Board of Elec-tions (SBE), voted to end its in-vestigation into Governor Beverly Perdue’s use of private air travel during her 2008 campaign.

On a straight party vote (three Democrats and two Republicans) the board voted to fine the Perdue campaign $30,000 for sloppy re-cordkeeping and failing to report on campaign flights during the time period January 2007 to De-cember 2008. The board stopped short of finding the campaign guilty of “intentional wrongdo-ing.”

The three member demo-crat majority voted down a mo-tion by Republican board mem-ber Charles Winifry to make the fine $75,000. Additionally, the three member majority also voted against a republican-backed mea-sure to hold hearings about the unreported flights and to require members of the governor’s staff to testify under oath.

Adding to the intrigue was the knowledge that board mem-bers had received a lengthy report from deputy director of cam-paign reporting and State Board of Elections investigator Kim Strach. Strach’s report referenced a spreadsheet listing 17 of the 42

unreported flights. The report also mentioned how Perdue supporter and prominent New Bern attorney Trawick “Buzzy” Stubbs had been advised on several occasions how to handle $30,000 in unreported campaign flights.

Strach’s report raises questions about several comments made by John Wallace, attorney for the Per-due campaign. During comments before the board, Wallace had said the campaign had failed to report the flights because of sloppy re-cords. Wallace also said the flights weren’t disclosed because he was unaware Stubbs was paying for the flights.

Strach’s report contains de-tailed information about commu-nication and the handling of pri-vate flights by the campaign. In addition, information contained in the report clearly shows Wallace became aware of Stubbs’ payments for the flights in October of 2008 when Stubbs had unsuccessfully identified them as an in-kind con-tribution to the Democratic Party.

Throughout the investigation, State Elections Board chairman Larry Leak and Elections director Gary Bartlet have also been dogged by accusations of politics and bias.

When questioned, Leake and Bartlett had admitted to re-edit-ing, Kim Strach’s final report re-garding the Perdue investigation. In addition, Leake said he did in-form Kim Strach which members of the Perdue campaign she would be allowed to interview and those she would not.

Leake has been criticized for

• BY BOB LUEBKE

North Carolina Unemployment Rates by CountyJuly 2010

Dare6.3

Hyde6.0

Pitt9.8

Carteret7.1

Wake8.0

Pender10.2

Duplin8.5

Bladen11.6

Bertie10.6

Onslow8.0

Wilkes12.7

Beaufort10.6

Moore8.8

Union9.2

Craven9.3

Halifax12.4

Robeson12.2

Nash12.0

Brunswick10.1

Surry11.1

Sampson8.3

Tyrrell8.8Iredell

11.4

Columbus11.9

Burke13.0

Johnston8.8

Anson12.6

Guilford10.8

Ashe10.9

Randolph9.7

Harnett10.5

Wayne8.4

Jones9.1

Chatham6.5

Macon9.0

Rowan11.8

Hoke8.3

Stanly11.4 Lenoir

10.5

Franklin9.5

Buncombe8.0

Warren11.6

Gates7.6Person

10.1

Caldwell12.7

Wilson12.4

Forsyth9.5

Polk7.7

Caswell11.5

Yadkin9.1

Gaston11.1

Davie9.3

Swain10.3

Martin10.2

Pamlico9.1

Stokes9.0

Lee11.6

Granville10.0

Davidson11.7

Jackson7.9

Haywood8.5

Currituck4.5

Cumberland9.1

Orange6.5

Rutherford14.6

Madison8.7

Clay9.6

Cherokee13.3

Richmond13.1

Cleveland12.8

Catawba12.5

Rockingham11.3

McDowell11.5

Hertford9.2

Alamance10.8

Vance12.4

Avery8.0

Lincoln12.1

Yancey10.5

Mecklenburg10.7

Northampton11.5

Edgecombe14.5

Montgomery12.5

Cabarrus10.4

Durham7.6

Graham13.4

Scotland16.2

Washington11.2

Camden7.0

Greene10.1

Watauga7.4

Henderson7.7

Transylvania8.5

Mitchell10.1

Chowan9.8

Perquimans8.6

Alexander13.1

Pasquotank9.2

New Hanover9.0

Alleghany10.1

July 2010 UnemploymentCounties

4.5% to 7.7%

7.71% to 9.5%

9.51% to 11.1%

11.11% to 12.8%

12.81% to 16.2%

North Carolina Unemployment Rates By County July 2010

For more information, refer back to page 7.

North Carolina Unemployment Rates by CountyJuly 2010

Dare6.3

Hyde6.0

Pitt9.8

Carteret7.1

Wake8.0

Pender10.2

Duplin8.5

Bladen11.6

Bertie10.6

Onslow8.0

Wilkes12.7

Beaufort10.6

Moore8.8

Union9.2

Craven9.3

Halifax12.4

Robeson12.2

Nash12.0

Brunswick10.1

Surry11.1

Sampson8.3

Tyrrell8.8Iredell

11.4

Columbus11.9

Burke13.0

Johnston8.8

Anson12.6

Guilford10.8

Ashe10.9

Randolph9.7

Harnett10.5

Wayne8.4

Jones9.1

Chatham6.5

Macon9.0

Rowan11.8

Hoke8.3

Stanly11.4 Lenoir

10.5

Franklin9.5

Buncombe8.0

Warren11.6

Gates7.6Person

10.1

Caldwell12.7

Wilson12.4

Forsyth9.5

Polk7.7

Caswell11.5

Yadkin9.1

Gaston11.1

Davie9.3

Swain10.3

Martin10.2

Pamlico9.1

Stokes9.0

Lee11.6

Granville10.0

Davidson11.7

Jackson7.9

Haywood8.5

Currituck4.5

Cumberland9.1

Orange6.5

Rutherford14.6

Madison8.7

Clay9.6

Cherokee13.3

Richmond13.1

Cleveland12.8

Catawba12.5

Rockingham11.3

McDowell11.5

Hertford9.2

Alamance10.8

Vance12.4

Avery8.0

Lincoln12.1

Yancey10.5

Mecklenburg10.7

Northampton11.5

Edgecombe14.5

Montgomery12.5

Cabarrus10.4

Durham7.6

Graham13.4

Scotland16.2

Washington11.2

Camden7.0

Greene10.1

Watauga7.4

Henderson7.7

Transylvania8.5

Mitchell10.1

Chowan9.8

Perquimans8.6

Alexander13.1

Pasquotank9.2

New Hanover9.0

Alleghany10.1

July 2010 UnemploymentCounties

4.5% to 7.7%

7.71% to 9.5%

9.51% to 11.1%

11.11% to 12.8%

12.81% to 16.2%

his role in fundraising for Easley as well as his use of private planes – at state expense – to attend meet-ings where Strach was interviewing Perdue campaign officials.

Wake County District Attor-ney has agreed to review the State Board of Elections investigation and the penalties. Let’s hope that office shows more courage in fol-lowing the evidence, wherever it leads.

The Civitas Institute offers training in investigative journal-ism and exposing government cor-

ruption. We hold monthly meet-ings for those who want to learn more and connect with others to combat public corruption. For more information contact Bob Lu-ebke at 919-834-2099, Ext. 135. w

Scandal is a regular column in Capitol Connection that will explore public corruption in NC Govern-ment. Have a local corruption story? Email us at: [email protected]. or call 919-834-2099.

Documents

Civitas Capitol Connection - September 2010