A Veto Override, But Does It Matter?
The Senate on Wednesday overrode Gov. Beverly Perdue’s veto of a bill that would have taken funds from jobs-creation programs, but the effort appears to be merely symbolic.
Voting along party lines, the new majority overrode the veto of Senate Bill 13, but most observers don’t believe the House has the 72 votes necessary to complete the override.
The bill would have taken $75.7 million from three jobs-creation programs that are important to North Carolina. County economic development directors from across the district voiced concern about losing the funds. The purpose of the bill was to take about $400 million from this fiscal year and hold the funds over to next year to help balance the budget. Gov. Perdue made it clear that she would have supported the bill if it did not include these three programs, but efforts to amend the bill to take them off the chopping block failed along party lines.
House Sustains Health Care Veto
On Wednesday, the N.C. House sustained Gov. Perdue’s veto of a bill that would have exempt North Carolina from a key piece of the national health care reform legislation. Gov. Perdue vetoed House Bill 2 citing questions about the bill’s constitutionality, necessity and unintended consequences.
The constitutionality of the federal health care law is already going to be decided in the U.S. Supreme Court, which made House Bill 2 unnecessary. There were also serious questions about whether the bill itself would have been constitutional and whether it would have cost North Carolina federal Medicaid funding.
Here’s WRAL coverage of both stories.
Requiring Blood Tests
The Judiciary II committee, of which I am a member, has been working on Senate Bill 16, which will give law enforcement more tools in determining if a driver is impaired when death occurs as a result of a wreck. The committee has been working on language that would require police to request a breathalyzer or blood test from the driver charged in death-by-vehicle cases. If the driver refuses, he or she can lose their license for a year.
Louisburg resident Marbeth Holmes, a longtime advocate of this type of legislation, spoke to the committee about the 2008 death of her parents in a head-on collision near her home. Mrs. Holmes had asked for a toxicology test after the accident, but by the time she got a district attorney to agree to it, the person charged in the incident had gotten a lawyer and wouldn’t cooperate. She argued that when someone has committed a traffic violation such as speeding or passing in a no-passing zone and caused the death of another, “it’s a crime scene and should be treated as such. At times like that, toxicology testing should be mandatory, not discretionary.”
The bill will be considered by the full Senate next Tuesday.
Tax Deduction for Small Business Thwarted
One thing the N.C. General Assembly has to concentrate on is finding ways to entice businesses to be able to provide more jobs. I think most legislators would agree with that. So it’s been surprising to see the new majority voting on measures that stymie such efforts. Senate Bill 94 which passed this week won’t allow small business to take a full tax deduction for purchases of new machinery and equipment equal to that allowed by the federal government. This tax deduction encourages business reinvestment and expansion and spurs economic growth. Sen. Daniel Clodfelter, a Mecklenburg County Democrat, proposed an amendment to Senate Bill 94 that would have increased the tax break for the so-called “Section 179” deduction. An additional $53 million in tax relief would have been available for small businesses if this amendment had passed. Historically when Congress has made a tax change with regard to this deduction, North Carolina has followed in line to make state law conform with federal law. Senator Fletcher Hartsell, co chairman of the Finance Committee spoke in opposition to the amendment expressing concern for the need for revenue to address the $2.4 billion deficit facing the General Assembly. The amendment failed 23-27. Four Republicans voted with all 19 Democrats in favor of providing this tax relief to small businesses.
As always I welcome your comments on this newsletter or anything else that concerns you. My office is here to help in whatever manner we can. It is an honor to serve as your Senator, and I will do everything in my power to live up to that honor.
Sincerely,
Doug Berger