House Bill 274 (Taxpayer Bill of Rights) was introduced by primary sponsors John Blust (R-Guilford), Bert Jones (R-Rockingham), Bryan Holloway (R-Stokes) and Edgar Starnes (R-Caldwell) yesterday. The key features of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) include: a limit on the annual growth rate of the state budget (based upon the average sum of population plus inflation [...]
Did the state budget produce big job losses in education?
The Republican budget will result in the loss of thousands of education positions. Remember that oft-repeated claim? Some critics put the job losses at 10,000 or more. Were the doomsdayer’s right? This morning the Department of Public Instruction posted public school personnel statistics for 2012 -13 to its web site. The data is on full-time [...]
Council of State Approves Dix Deal, Berger Looks to Repeal It
The Council of State approved a deal worked out with the city of Raleigh and Governor Bev Perdue to lease the Dorothea Dix property to the city for a park. The agreement is worth well below the value of the land. The two Republicans on the Council, Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler and Labor Commissioner Cherie [...]
Sen. Berger: Council of State Must Vote Down Bad Deal on Dix
The Council of State will meet Tuesday morning at 9:00 and will face a decision of what do with the Dorothea Dix property in Raleigh. Governor Bev Perdue wants the other elected officials on the panel to approve a deal she worked out to allow the city of Raleigh to lease the land for 75 [...]
Will New State Leaders Finally Rein in State Spending?
WRAL’s Mark Binker writes about the prospect of a Taxpayer Bill of Rights getting serious consideration under the new legislature (and governor) in 2013. While ballot measures are never a sure thing, this does give Republicans a chance to lock in some ideas and policies that could reverberate into future General Assemblies. Even if Republicans lose their [...]
