Trick or Treat? State Legislature Keeps Us Guessing

Legislative News by Nelda Holder –

It’s that time of year again, when scary things happen.

It’s not as though the earlier part of this year has been a piece of cake. Some of the most volatile objects flying around the North Carolina General Assembly need to get themselves into focus in short order.

The two hydra-headed monsters are the state budget, which we’ve written about repeatedly (in the hopes of seeing the legislature actually produce and pass one, after two years of failing to do so); and the imminent redistricting maps, which will color the next 10 years of Congresssional representation for this growing state.

Let’s stop at look, for a moment, at that growth.

Who Are We These Days?

When the belated US Census figures were released this year (said delay throwing elections all over the state into mild chaos), we found that the snapshot total of our population was 10,488,084 people—a 10% increase in North Carolinians in the past decade. And just to have a more concrete picture of how all those people are represented in our General Assembly, here’s how the population percentages break down in the new count: 51.4% of these 10+ million are female persons; 22.2% are Black or African American; 9.8% are Hispanic/Latino; 3.2% are Asian alone; and 70.6% are white alone.

It’s interesting to note, then, that the “representatives” in the Legislature don’t quite fit the same profile. Here’s how the 50 senators and 120 representatives stack up in terms of 2020 representation.

One more set of statistics—the current Joint Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting in the General Assembly (per the GA website) has the following profile. Of the 16 appointed members, 15 are male and 1 is female; 8 are white and 3 are Black; and 7 are Republican and 4 are Democrat.

The new state figures will mean an added representative in Congress, for a total of 14, when we elect federal representatives post-map-making. Hold on for the ride!

When Half a Loaf Only Makes Half the People Happy

Other business in the hallowed halls have included a major compromise on the hard-fought energy bill (HB 951) that seems to have totally pleased no one, yet Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper is taking it as a victory for his Clean Energy Plan. It does include a large (70%) reduction of carbon emissions from power plants by 2030 (moving toward carbon neutrality in 2050), but it also drew heavy criticism from many environmental groups and left power player Duke Energy with benefits it sought such as the ability to file three-year rate plans, and to potentially hit rate payers with significant increases. Gov. Cooper is expected to sign the bill. Future “corrections” that a newly elected 2022 General Assembly might undertake could be further/faster reduction of carbon fuels, and some type of assistance for low-income consumers.

State Budget Creeps Towards Reality

With Gov. Cooper and his Republican legislative sparring partners, Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger and Speaker of the House Tim Moore ostensibly walking a path headed toward compromise on a state budget … albeit walking slowly … we may finally have a new state budget after two years of stalled financing. And if you think you read this same statement in last month’s column, it’s because that hoped-for progress is still moving at a snail’s pace. But perhaps the October winds will blow away the mists and clarity will settle upon the financial landscape.

Courtside Maneuvering

There have been two critical battles going on involving the North Carolina court system and connections to the Legislature. One is the attempt by Republicans to usurp more power from the executive branch of government, specifically the state’s attorney general, who now may enter into certain settlement agreements directly without the Legislature’s participation. The bill (SB 360) was passed by the Republican majority but then vetoed by Cooper when it arrived on his desk.

The bill would have required joint approval from the Speaker of the House and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate “before the attorney general may enter into a consent judgment or settlement agreement in a dispute, claim, or controversy in which the speaker … and president pro tempore … have intervened or are otherwise named parties.” Cooper’s veto called the bill unconstitutional and unwise, and said it would “prevent the Attorney General from doing his job to protect the people of North Carolina.”

Also in the state court system, another direct connection between the courts and the Legislature appeared under the guise of a legal case that is now on appeal to the NC Supreme Court. The question is whether a member of the state court can be too closely tied to a case it is about to hear. More specifically, should Phil Berger, Jr.—son of the NC Senate leader Phil Berger—recuse himself from a case in which his father is a main defendant? In a second case, former state Republican Sen. Tamara Barringer voted in favor of amendments passed by the legislature that are now involved in a suit before the state court. Her recusal is also being sought.

And these are only a few of the specters in the Legislative Building.

Still Looking for a Treat—a Sizeable One

We mention the Leandro plan in this column repeatedly. That’s the outcome of the 1994 school funding case filed by low-wealth school districts seeking “a sound basic education” for all the children of the state—as called for in the NC Constitution. Since that time (that would be 27 years ago), the court order to fund education fully has been dodged by the Legislature in one snarl after another. In June of this year, a 7-year plan set a $5.6 billion plan in place to provide for a 5% pay raise for teachers, upgrade the funding of low-wealth school districts, and expand the state’s early childhood education (pre-K) and give the state’s teachers a 5% raise.

Yet despite repeated wins in court for the equal education goals and mechanisms, the current Senate and House budget proposals for the next two years total some $405.3 million (Senate) or $752.1 million (House). We call that a trick—not a treat. And certainly not what our schools deserve.

Last But Not Least

This is a personal note—calling on columnist’s privilege, because I do tend to take these things personally. I’m a native of this state, long interested in and supportive of its struggles to preserve the vast beauty and natural resources of the land, and to shepherd the human resources—its residents—with kindness and intelligence and educated largess.

I have taken it personally in the past few weeks as I have witnessed elected officials who are supposed to represent (in my mind) the best of what we aspire to be, take themselves far afield and forget the health and goodness of this state as a whole. I am speaking directly of the two hurtful public stunts by US Congressman Madison Cawthorn (R-11) and NC Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, also a Republican.

I doubt I need to describe them, but briefly—Cawthorn took himself far afield from District 11 in western NC to tell the Johnston County School Board down east what he thought they should do with masks in schools. This was in defiance of established health practices and safety statistics and was out of place in so many ways—not to mention unbecoming and reckless. One feckless finger of shame for the representative who went astray.

And how sad we all should be that the man who was elected lieutenant governor of this beautiful state, Mark Robinson, has taken it upon himself to judge his fellow/sister humans and constituents in a way that will potentially cause more hurt and anger in a society crying out for healing and love and understanding. His diatribe revealed a deeper level of “filth” than the one he was personally describing. It’s time to address that layer of prejudice and anger in this state and country. We need healing—not provocation. Healing of the sort one might think one could expect from state leaders.

No treats for these two guys. But for the rest of you, happy Halloween! And enjoy those masks!

Nelda Holder is the author of The Thirteenth Juror – Ferguson: A Personal Look at the Grand Jury Transcripts.