State Government News for October 2002

The Voice of Business, Industry & the Professions Since 1942
North Carolina's largest business group proudly serves as the state chamber of commerce

State Government

Why session limits failed in the House

By Steve Tuttle

In the end, the choice came down to restoring North Carolina’s part-time citizen legislature or possibly ceding some power to a governor with a veto pen. And power, naturally, won last month when the state House defeated session limits legislation.

The vote was 54-59, an outcome that surprised NCCBI, which led the effort to pass the constitutional amendment. Association leaders, who had carefully counted noses in the days leading up to the historic vote, said they were stunned because several House members who had given verbal and written commitments to vote for the bill or who had said they were leaning toward supporting it, switched and voted against the legislation.

The bill would have limited the length of legislative sessions to 180 days in odd-numbered years and to 90 days in even-numbered years, with a 20-day extension available if needed. Because the legislation would require an amendment to the state Constitution, it needed three-fifths approval in the House, or 72 votes.

Republicans and Democrats were almost equally divided on the issue. Of the 54 who voted for the bill, 29 were Democrats and 25 were Republicans. Of the 59 who voted against it, 29 were Democrats and 30 were Republicans.

Among those whose votes surprised NCCBI was Minority Leader Leo Daughtry of Smithfield. He had told NCCBI on several occasions that he supported session limits. But when it was time to vote, Daughtry didn’t vote at all, either for or against the bill.

“The people lost on this issue,” said NCCBI President Phil Kirk. “It is becoming increasingly clear that one has to be wealthy and/or retired in order to serve in the General Assembly, and that is not right.”

NCCBI Vice President of Governmental Affairs Leslie Bevacqua said, “I think the public is going to be very disappointed in this vote. I think it shows they they simply do not want a deadline. I think that came through loud and clean that they do not want to be constrained by deadlines.”

The Senate has passed session limits five times in recent years. But last month’s House vote was the first time the issue has come up in that chamber.

The vote came on the 100th day of the legislative session, which began in late May and should have ended around the first of July with adoption of a revised state budget for the fiscal year. The General Assembly has failed to adopt a budget on time in 20 of the past 22 years. Last year, the General Assembly set a record for length of its sessions; it convened in January and finally went home in early December.

Majority Leader Phil Baddour of Goldsboro spoke forcefully for the legislation. “This bill is perhaps the only way that we are going to be able to preserve for the state of North Carolina a citizen legislature,” he said. “More and more of us come from the ranks of the retired or the ranks of the independently wealthy. We find that young people with families, we find that professionals, we find that people with active businesses are not willing to serve because they don’t know when we’ll be done.”

Rep. Joni Bowie (R-Guilford) said many legislators do have real jobs. “I am mystified why people think we don’t have a citizen legislature. There are going to be a lot of people who can’t come down here because it’s not their time in life. If you have young children, you don’t belong here,” she said.

House Speaker Pro Tem Joe Hackney (D-Orange) argued that limiting the length of legislative sessions would cause the General Assembly to lose some power to the governor. “We take too long sometimes, and we engender sometimes a feeling that we are an unruly bunch. But it is democracy, and it’s one-third of our government,” he said.

North Carolina is the only state in the Southeast without any limit on how long its legislature can remain in session. Thirty-eight states impose session limits, either in the constitution, by statute or by cutting off legislators’ pay after certain dates.

How they voted in the House on session limits:

For, 54
Rep. Cary Allred, R-Alamance
Rep. Gene Arnold, R-Nash
Rep. Phil Baddour, D-Wayne
Rep. Dan Barefoot, D-Lincoln
Rep. Jeff Barnhart, R-Cabarrus
Rep. John Blust, R-Guilford
Rep. Donald Bonner, D-Robeson
Rep. Marge Carpenter, R-Haywood
Rep. Walter Church, D-Burke
Rep. Debbie Clary, R-Cleveland
Rep. Lorene Coates, D-Rowan
Rep. Leslie Cox, D-Lee
Rep. Mark Crawford, R-Buncombe
Rep. Arlie Culp, R-Randolph
Rep. Michael Decker, R-Forsyth
Rep. Andy Dedmon, D-Cleveland
Rep. Rick Eddins, R-Wake
Rep. Zeno Edwards, D-Beaufort
Rep. Stan Fox, D-Granville
Rep. Pryor Gibson, D-Montgomery
Rep. Mitch Gillespie, R-McDowell
Rep. Wayne Goodwin, D-Rockingham
Rep. Michael Harrington, R-Gaston
Rep. Dewey Hill, D-Columbus
Rep. Hugh Holliman, D-Davidson
Rep. Bill Hurley, D-Cumberland
Rep. Maggie Jeffus, D-Guilford
Rep. Mary McAllister, D-Cumberland
Rep. Marian McLawhorn, D-Pitt
Rep. Ed McMahan, R-Mecklenburg
Rep. David Miner, R-Wake
Rep. Richard Morgan, R-Moore
Rep. Mia Morris, R-Cumberland
Rep. Edd Nye, D-Bladen
Rep. Bill Owens, D-Pasquotank
Rep. Art Pope, R-Wake
Rep. Jean Preston, R-Carteret
Rep. David Redwine, D-Brunswick
Rep. Gene Rogers, D-Martin
Rep. Carolyn Russell, R-Wayne
Rep. Mitchell Setzer, R-Catawba
Rep. Wilma Sherrill, R-Buncombe
Rep. Ronnie Smith, D-Carteret
Rep. Ronnie Sutton, D-Robeson
Rep. Junior Teague, R-Alamance
Rep. Joe Tolson, D-Edgecombe
Rep. Russell Tucker, D-Duplin
Rep. Trudi Walend, R-Transylvania
Rep. Alice Underhill, D-Craven
Rep. Tracy Walker, R-Wilkes
Rep. Alex Warner, D-Cumberland
Rep. Edith Warren, D-Pitt
Rep. Connie Wilson, R-Mecklenburg
Rep. Doug Yongue, D-Scotland

Against, 59
Rep. Alma Adams, D-Guilford
Rep. Martha Alexander, D-Mecklenburg
Rep. Gordon Allen, R-Person
Rep. Rex Baker, R-Stokes
Rep. Bobby Barbee, R-Stanly
Rep. Larry Bell, D-Sampson
Rep. Joni Bowie, R-Guilford
Rep. Flossie Boyd-McIntyre, D-Guilford
Rep. Harold Brubaker, R-Randolph
Rep. Monroe Buchanan, R-Mitchell
Rep. Russell Capps, R-Wake
Rep. Nelson Cole, D-Rockingham
Rep. Jim Crawford, D-Granville
Rep. Billy Creech, R-Johnston
Rep. Bill Culpepper, D-Chowan
Rep. Pete Cunningham, D-Mecklenburg
Rep. Don Davis, R-Harnett
Rep. Jerry Dockham, R-Davidson
Rep. Beverly Earle, D-Mecklenburg
Rep. Ruth Easterling, D-Mecklenburg
Rep. Sam Ellis, R-Wake
Rep. Teresa Esposito, R-Forsyth
Rep. Robert Grady, R-Onslow
Rep. Lyons Gray, R-Forsyth
Rep. Jim Gulley, R-Mecklenburg
Rep. Joe Hackney, D-Orange
Rep. Phil Haire, D-Jackson
Rep. John Hall, D-Halifax
Rep. Bob Hensley, D-Wake
Rep. George Holmes, R-Yadkin
Rep. Howard Hunter, D-Northampton
Rep. Julia Howard, R-Davie
Rep. Verla Insko, D-Orange
Rep. Mary Jarrell, D-Guilford
Rep. Linda Johnson, R-Cabarrus
Rep. Larry Justus, R-Henderson
Rep. Joe Kiser, R-Lincoln
Rep. Marvin Lucas, D-Cumberland
Rep. Danny McComas, R-New Hanover
Rep. Gene McCombs, R-Rowan
Rep. Mickey Michaux, D-Durham
Rep. Paul Miller, D-Durham
Rep. Frank Mitchell, R-Iredell
Rep. Martin Nesbitt, D-Buncombe
Rep. Pete Oldham, D-Forsyth
Rep. John Rayfield, R-Gaston
Rep. Drew Saunders, D-Mecklenburg
Rep. Wayne Sexton, R-Rockingham
Rep. Fern Shubert, R-Union
Rep. Edgar Starnes, R-Caldwell
Rep. Gregg Thompson, R-Mitchell
Rep. William Wainwright, D-Craven
Rep. John Weatherly, R-Cleveland
Rep. Jennifer Weiss, D-Wake
Rep. Roger West, R-Cherokee
Rep. Shelly Willingham, D-Nash
Rep. Gene Wilson, R-Watauga
Rep. Larry Womble, D-Forsyth
Rep. Thomas Wright, D-New Hanover

Return to magazine index

Visit us at 225 Hillsborough Street, Suite 460, Raleigh, N.C.
Write to us at P.O. Box 2508, Raleigh, N.C. 27602
Call us at 919.836.1400 or fax us at 919.836.1425
e-mail: info@nccbi.org