PRESS RELEASE President Pro Tempore

Senator Phil Berger

(919) 733-57082007 Legislative Building

Raleigh, N.C. 27601

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contacts: Amy Auth, 919-301-1737July 13, 2011 Ray Martin, 919-301-1740

Senate Veto Overrides Promote Job Creation

Raleigh, N.C. – The North Carolina Senate on Wednesday overrode Gov. Beverly Perdue’s ill-advised vetoes of bills private-sector leaders resoundingly say will help them put people back to work.

Five of the six vetoes considered Wednesday were overridden with bipartisan support.

Unemployment in North Carolina remains higher than the national average, which increased again in May. More than half of North Carolina counties have unemployment rates higher than 10 percent, and thousands more jobless citizens are not included in the unemployment figures because they stopped looking for work. Over the past two years, the state’s economy shed more than 100,000 jobs.

Still, the governor vetoed several measures that businesses big and small insist are desperately needed.

SB 781, Regulatory Reform Act:

The Senate unanimously overrode the governor’s veto of the Regulatory Reform Act. It clarifies and simplifies some of North Carolina’s confusing and outdated regulations, making it easier for citizens and businesses to attain permits and rely on more predictable guidelines. State agencies have added or changed more than 15,000 rules over the past decade, many of which create uncertainty in the private sector and impede job creation.

“We will not let the governor stand in the way of job creation and economic recovery,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger. “Now is not the time to play games with bills that create new energy and medical jobs and get government off the private sector’s back.”

SB 709, Energy Jobs Act:

The Energy Jobs Act directed the governor to begin negotiating a tri-state pact with the governors of Virginia and South Carolina to encourage President Obama’s administration to allow offshore energy exploration.

It also directed her to work with North Carolina’s Congressional delegation to advocate for state revenue-sharing for resources off the coast, and determined how that money would be spent. Nearly half of the funds would have gone to jobs training, energy research and conservation.

Virginia’s Democratic U.S. Senators last week introduced a bill to open the east coast for energy exploration and send half of the profits to Virginia, but none to neighboring states.

“Skyrocketing energy costs are crippling North Carolina’s working families and businesses, and we’re being left in the dust by neighboring states trying to take our resources and well-paying jobs created by clean energy off our coast,” said Senator Bob Rucho (R-Mecklenburg), one of the bill’s primary sponsors. “Leaders in our neighboring states must be thrilled that Gov. Perdue refuses to stand up for North Carolina jobs.”

SB 33, Medical Malpractice Reform

The medical malpractice reforms in SB 33 expand access to care and attract scores of new medical jobs.

Under the current system, North Carolina doctors are forced to administer expensive and unnecessary tests and procedures. The high cost of that defensive medicine is then passed on to consumers in the form of higher insurance costs and to taxpayers in the form of costlier taxpayer-funded medical programs for the poor.

The bill still allows patients to recover full medical costs and lost income in the event of medical malpractice.

“This is about attracting new jobs, ensuring more North Carolinians receive health care, and lowering costs,” Berger said. “Anyone serious about reforming health care should support these reforms.”

The Senate also overrode vetoes of:

SB 532, ESC Jobs Reform, which makes necessary changes to one of the state’s most dysfunctional agencies; SB 496, Medicaid and Health Choice Provider; and SB 727, NCAE Dues Check Off.

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