Sen. Berger’s Greetings from Raleigh


We are hard at work here at the General Assembly.

I wanted to let you know about some of the issues that I am working on for both the 7th District and North Carolina as a whole.

The Stimulus Package: It’s effect on North Carolina Jobs

The economic stimulus package that was recently passes by the United States Congress will be funneling billions of dollars into our state. One goal of the stimulus package is to create more jobs throughout the country. It is a simple theory that helping create jobs will put more money back into the economy over the long haul. People who are working and earning a consistent wage will, in turn, be more comfortable spending that money. This re-invests money back into the local economies and communities. In this way job growth positively affects the entire community. Job creation is not limited to those working directly on the projects. Ancillary jobs will also be created due to the projects as there will be opportunities for growth in the industries that support the projects.

With this in mind, the North Carolina Department of Transportation has put together a list of “shovel ready” projects that some of the stimulus money would directly flow into. There are over 100 different projects that have been proposed, with start dates ranging between March and June. These projects are spread across the state and some are scheduled to last as long as 2 years. These projects would use approximately $467 million from the stimulus outlet with the state adding an additional $230 million. As you can see, the state would be getting over $700 million in road work for about one-third the cost. That means that 3 times as many jobs will be created as would have been, and that is only over the next few months. There will be many more projects proposed for the last six months of 2009.

In the 7th District there are seven proposed projects with a cost of over $17 million. There are four bridge replacement projects for the district; one in Franklin County (SR 1146), one in Warren County (US 401) and two in Granville County (SR 1307 and SR 1309). There are also three resurfacing projects; two in Franklin County (US 1 and US 64) and one in Granville county (US 158 Bypass). The jobs created by these proposed projects would infuse our local economy with much needed capital. The majority of these projects are expected to be long term, and therefore the jobs that accompany them would also be long term. As of now the Department of Transportation is still reviewing all the projects and has only posted a final approval of projects slated for March. That list can be found here, and it includes the bridge project in Franklin County. The subsequent projects listed above are scheduled for June and should be finalized in late April or early May.

Community Health Centers

This week Senators Purcell, Hartsell and I will be holding a press conference to announce the requested funding for Community Health Centers in North Carolina. These health centers provide an invaluable service to the community, particularly to rural communities. In essence, they make sure that the population has the services that are essential to providing adequate medical care. Their service also helps to lower the cost of health care by making the entire system more efficient. In addition to the medical and social benefits of Community Health Centers, they also provide jobs for people in our community. They work as part of the NC Health Safety Net, which helps to provide for people who live below the poverty line and cannot afford health insurance. Please read this article from the NC Medical Journal for more information on the purpose of Community Health Centers and their role in the Safety Net.

The funding for Community Health Centers is done through what are called “Community Health Grants.” These grants are not just for Community Health Centers. They provide funding for many non-profit facilities including free clinics and public health departments. For the 2008-2009 fiscal year Community Health Grants received $2 million in recurring funding and $4 million in non-recurring funding, approximately $350,000 of which went to our district. Non-recurring means that the funding is not carried over from year to year and has to be re-appropriated in each new budget. Recurring funding is automatically budgeted for each year. Last year money from these grants helped fund Medical facilities in all four of our counties. This year we will be requesting $10 million dollars in recurring funding. If granted, recurring funding would allow Community Health Centers to make long term plans, including permanent job hires. It would also allow for long-term planning more in tune with the changing needs of our community as apposed to one that focuses on the needs of just one fiscal year.

I strongly support Community Health Centers and recurring funding for them. Their work helps to lower the cost of health care for everyone, not just those who make direct use of them. They provide an important infrastructure to our community, helping with health care solutions and job creation.

Influencing Legislation: A Story from your fellow constituent

Lawmakers are not the only people who help create legislation. One important source for legislative ideas is you, the constituency. During my time here at the General Assembly I have always been receptive of your opinions and ideas. Sometimes those ideas become legislation. I’d like to tell you about one such instance.

Not to long ago I received a call from Charles Jefferson which dealt with a concern that had been passed along to him. Mr. Jefferson is a delegate to the NC Senior Tar Heel Legislature. This legislative body is an advocate for issues relating to older citizens. Mr. Jefferson is exposed to many issues facing the senior citizen community through his work with the Senior Tar Heel Legislature. One such issue is identification cards. Mr. Jefferson was approached by a gentleman who expressed concern over why his mother had to pay for a new identification card when she was forced to surrender her driver’s license. Mr. Jefferson relayed this conversation to me and I felt that it was an issue that deserved to be looked at. At the start of this session I began drafting legislation that would eliminate the charge for a new identification card if the driver’s license had been revoked due to a medical disqualification prior to the expiration date. The resulting bill was introduced last week. It has been referred to the Transportation Committee and I have asked Mr. Jefferson to speak before the committee when that bill is debated. The bill can be found here.

I’d like to leave you with some advice from Mr. Jefferson:

I would encourage you, if you’re interested in your community, if you care, [to] attend your community functions as much as you can, get to know your mayor, your commissioners, [your] county manager, [your] town clerk, your state elected officials. They need you. They want to hear from you. They want you to know that they are working in Raleigh for you…

I could not have said it better myself. As always, please know that it is an honor serving you here at the General Assembly. I am grateful for the opportunity to work for you.

Sincerely,

Signature

Doug Berger