PINE KNOLL SHORES — This county’s state senator says he’s “tremendously optimistic” about the economy in the year ahead as a result of actions the Republican-controlled General Assembly has taken during the past two years.
Speaking Friday during the Carteret County Chamber of Commerce’s annual spring legislative luncheon held at the Country Club of the Crystal Coast, Sen. Norm Sanderson, R-Pamlico and also representing Carteret and Craven counties, said there’s a new tone of cooperation in the two branches of the legislature. He said past efforts are beginning to have positive results and that work will continue when the 2015 session convenes Wednesday.
“Two years ago when I was here for this legislative (luncheon) and even last year, I was cautiously optimistic about where we would be or where were going in the next year or two. I am tremendously optimistic about 2015, the growth we are going to see in our economy, because the things that we have been doing are beginning to show us that they’re working. I never had any doubts,” Sen. Sanderson said.
Rep. Pat McElraft, R-Carteret, was also slated to appear but she was a no-show, after calling in sick with a case of the flu. Sen. Sanderson handled the bulk of the discussion with County Manager Russell Overman providing remarks from his perspective.
During his remarks, Sen. Sanderson dismissed critics of the sweeping tax reforms enacted two years ago, including those who say the changes are leading to revenue shortfalls that could reach critical levels.
According to reports, the legislature’s top economist said in December that revenues were about $190 million below expectations for the first five months of the fiscal year ending Nov. 30. The first-quarter gap through September was $62 million.
Much of the shortfall was attributed to weak individual income tax collections. A decline in employees’ income tax withholdings in the first half of the calendar year contributed to a $450 million gap in the previous fiscal year, according to Associated Press reports.
Sen. Sanderson said Friday he didn’t think the shortfall would persist come tax season this year.
“I think when we get to April 15th, that we’re going to have the money that we projected we’re going to have. In fact, I think we are going to have more,” he said.
Sen. Sanderson said the new leadership’s direction appeared to be more conducive to both branches of the legislature working together.
“We are really going to do a whole lot more jointly, as far as our caucuses are concerned. The joint caucus leader in the House, Senator Berger has appointed me to be her counterpart in the Senate, so I’m going to be working hard to keep or two chambers on speaking terms,” Sen. Sanderson said without naming the House designee.
He said the legislature had succeeded in keeping “old ideas that worked” and combining them with new ideas to bring positive change.
Sen. Sanderson said he was “thrilled to be a part” of the six-hour Republican caucus meeting held earlier in the week in Kannapolis – a closed-door session he said focused mainly on education matters.
He said the atmosphere in the General Assembly has become one that reflects the Boy Scout’s motto – “Be prepared.”
“That’s exactly what we in the General Assembly have been trying to do and that’s prepare North Carolina for what we believe is coming,” he said, mentioning technology advancement, population growth and infrastructure and education needs.
He said hard decisions must be made, but the new relationship between the House and Senate would lead to less contentious work together on common goals.
He said the top five priorities are jobs and the economy; education; transportation; regulatory reform; and taxes. All are affected and influenced by revenues.
Many of those issues are addressed in the chamber’s legislative agenda – a wish list for reforms and measures deemed vital to business in Carteret County and beyond. Top chamber priorities include:
•Increased transportation funding.
•Maintaining the statewide uniform school calendar law.
•Insurance reforms.
•Funding for community college and pre-kindergarten through 12th grade public schools.
•Health care concerns, such as Medicaid, behavioral health and sales tax exemption for public hospitals.
Sen. Sanderson said the biggest challenged the state faces in the next 20 years is how to fund its transportation needs. He said the state already has the highest gas tax in the Southeast and that is an unstable funding source because higher prices tend to curb usage. Transportation funding surpluses of years ago were spent on other things, he said, and dedicated funding is needed for roads projects.
“It’s time that we have a conversation about how we can have dedicated funding for our transportation needs because everybody in this state is affected by transportation,” he said.
Although the senator said he’s tired of dealing with it, the issue of funding and tolls for North Carolina’s ferry system would likely be up for discussion during this session.
He said the school calendar law – considered an important to coastal counties’ economies and to western communities as well – is also likely to come up again.
“Tourism is important to us, it’s our lifeblood,” he said, adding that a week of revenue from visitation has a big impact on tourism-dependent communities such as Emerald Isle. Starting school earlier would hurt those economies, he said.
Regarding education, Sen. Sanderson said the issue of pay for veteran teachers must be addressed. He said studies have shown that teachers become their most effective after eight or nine years on the job. Those teachers must be retained, he said.
Longtime teachers received the smallest increases in the teacher pay plan approved last year in the General Assembly.
Sen. Sanderson called on community colleges to take a stronger stand than they have historically, with regard to legislative measures. The community college system has traditionally just accepted changes handed down by the legislature while university system advocates have been more vocal in regard to funding.
“The community college system hasn’t made enough noise, compared to the university system,” he said.
He said a plan is in the works to form a joint House-Senate caucus to look into better transitioning for high school seniors into the community college system. Input would be sought from both college officials and K-12 administrators, he said.
Sen. Sanderson said insurance reform is still needed, despite the insurance commissioner’s recent ruling against property insurer’s request for a massive rate hike. He said the insurance industry has been diligent and influential in its lobbying.
“I don’t owe anything to insurance lobbyists,” he said.
Regarding Medicaid, Sen. Sanderson said it is important to a lot of people and there is talk of expanding the program, although the House and Senate differ on the details. A compromise is needed, he said.
Other health care problems, such as behavioral health, also need to be addressed, he said, adding that it’s not right to just “push (those with mental illness) over to emergency rooms and sheriffs’ departments.” He called it a “critical situation. We’ve got to do something about it. The longer you put it off, the worse it’s going to get.”
County Manager Russell Overman also spoke during the luncheon.
During his remarks, Mr. Overman called for changes to state lottery laws that would restore funding guarantees for school construction. He said that fund was capped during the 2011-12 session and without the guarantees, the money raised by the education lottery could be easy pickings to cover other non-education-related expenses.
Mr. Overman said the county opposes unfunded mandates and the shifting of Medicaid and other expenses from the state to the county level.
Mr. Overman said there’s also “chatter” that changes to the state’s sales tax proceeds distribution method could be coming, changes he said would be detrimental to Carteret County.
Contact Mark Hibbs at 252-726-7081, ext. 229; email mark@thenewstimes.com; or follow on Twitter @markhibbs.
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