Bladen Farm Bureau visits William at the NC LegislaturePerdue vetoes budget, says it moves N.C. backward
Published: 07:39 PM, Sun Jun 12, 2011 as in Fayetteville Observer
By Gary D. Robertson
The Associated Press
RALEIGH Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue vetoed the North Carolina budget plan Sunday, saying the Republican-led legislature's proposal would do "generational damage" to public education.
Perdue's announcement in the old Capitol building made history. She's the first North Carolina chief executive to ever veto the state government budget bill. Perdue also continued her criticism on GOP legislative leaders, who could still win this fiscal battle with expected override votes this week.
"North Carolina has a legislature that is turning its back on our schools, our children, our longstanding investments in education and our future economic prospects," Perdue said. "This budget results in generational damage, to tear at the very fibers that's made this state strong. Not only our schools and our universities and our community colleges are damaged, but also our communities, our environment, our public safety system and our ability to care for those who need us most."
Perdue had until Tuesday to sign into law the bill that spends $19.7 billion next year, veto it, or let it become law without her signature. Her veto wasn't unexpected. She's traveled the state over the past few weeks deriding the budget for next year, saying it will devastate public education and lay off thousands of workers.
She talked about her discussions with local educators, business leaders and other citizens over the past week before she sat down in the old Senate chambers and thumped on the budget document a red-stained veto stamp handed to her by Chief of Staff Britt Cobb.
"They came to me as North Carolinians, and they asked me to stand up for what is right for our children and grandchildren, for what moves North Carolina forward, not backward," she said.
North Carolina governors have vetoed 15 previous bills since they received the power in 1997. But none has ever rejected the budget.
Republicans were all but predicting victory late last week, even with a veto, since five Democrats joined GOP lawmakers in giving a two-year spending bill final approval last weekend.
None of the five have yet wavered, despite an onslaught of criticism from Perdue as well as her allies, who have been running TV ads, sending mailers and holding impassioned meetings in the districts of the defectors in hopes of turning them back. Just four would have to side with Republicans in the House. The Senate Republican majority is already veto-proof.
Local reaction
One of the Democrats, a Cape Fear region lawmaker, said he will vote to override Perdue's veto.
"I can assure you my vote is going to stay with the budget," said Rep. William Brisson, who serves Cumberland and Bladen counties.
Brisson said he thinks the budget is fair.
"I just think it's the best thing to do," he said. "My word is my bond."
Brisson said he would have preferred to keep a one-cent sales tax in place, but Republicans in the General Assembly were not open to that.
"They let us know from the word go that everything was an option with the budget except the one-cent sales tax," he said. "They are solid on that. They are not going to bend."
If the veto stands, lawmakers could stay in Raleigh until December and not have a budget, Brisson said.
"They're not going to give up," he said.
Rep. Dewey Hill also said he will not support Perdue's veto, and that he was a bit surprised by its timing.
"I thought she might wait until Tuesday," Hill said.
Hill, who represents Columbus and Brunswick counties, said he talked with Perdue last week, several times, and while she asked for his support on some legislation, the budget was not mentioned.
Hill said Perdue's veto was more about politics than changing the legislation.
"She's running for re-election, that's part of it," Hill
said.
Perdue has missed the moment to work with the GOP majority, Hill said.
"Conservative Democrats got back about $400 million more for education," Hill said. "I think she could have gotten that, but she wanted to raise the sales tax again, and the leadership just wasn't going to do it."
Hill said he's had hundreds of constituents thanking him for his votes, with only a few critics, at least to his face.
"I think Beverly needs to re-examine herself a little
bit," Hill said. "There are a lot of people who are happy with what we are doing. I have no regrets."
Republicans return fire
Republican legislative leaders quickly returned the criticism at Perdue. House Speaker Thom Tillis, R-Mecklenburg, said in a statement he looked forward to overriding her veto very soon. While Perdue and education leaders have said the budget will eliminate at least 13,000 public education jobs, Tillis and other GOP leaders argue the actual number of layoffs will be a small fraction of that due to attrition and vacancies.
"She has shown no leadership on this issue and no willingness to work with the legislature, choosing instead to veto a budget that protects education and creates jobs," Tillis said.
A successful override would be a painful defeat for Democrats and for Perdue, who offered a budget four months ago that would have extended most of a penny temporary increase in the sales tax set to expire June 30 to prevent the kinds of cuts she said the Republican budget plan would cause.
"They know that much of the damage that this budget is going to wreak on North Carolina is quite simply unnecessary," Perdue said. "I believe they chose to risk our children's future and our state's brand and country around the world for less than a penny."
The renegade Democrats interviewed were convinced GOP leaders would never agree to anything short of the entire penny sales tax expiring, which would mean $1.1 billion in lost revenues.
"The Republicans and the governor were just way, way apart," said Rep. Jim Crawford, D-Granville, the most senior legislator of the five and a former top budget-writer when Democrats were in charge. "A lot of people don't like to admit that we came to a better conclusion in the middle, but the truth is we have a much better budget than we'd have any other way."
A successful override would build muscles of the new GOP House and Senate majorities after they lost a series of veto showdowns with Perdue earlier this year. They would enact a budget two weeks before the new fiscal year begins, the earliest date in about 30 years, according to General Assembly data.
Perdue insisted the bill wasn't about politics or power, as Senate leader Phil Berger said in an interview after the announcement. Otherwise, Berger said, she would have tried harder to reach a consensus with the legislature.
"How dare he. How dare he," Perdue said. "This message has nothing whatsoever to do with power. ... This is about the future of North Carolina."
Staff writer Steve DeVane and correspondent Deuce Niven contributed to this story.
Voter ID Bill - Not Smart Business!!!
March 21, 2011
As the debate heats up, I thought I should take a minute to let you know some facts concerning HB351. As I have stated in previous press conferences, this bill has a direct impact on rural districts across this state. It is a partisan bill introduced by the Republican Party that suppresses voter participation for the elderly, low-wealth, and yes, even our young voters. In no way do I condone voter fraud, but it is a very small problem with many consequences and high costs associated with the proposed solution. Would you go out and buy a brand new car because of one broken belt? Would you plow up your whole field because there were a couple of bad plants in it? Let's let our Board of Elections do their job. If you say "we must have photo id's", you are saying "the Board of Elections is not doing a good enough job"!
The State Board of Elections recently matched voter records with those of the Division of Motor Vehicles and found that 556,513 voters do not hold driver’s licenses. It also found 329,017 voters whose licenses had been revoked or expired, and 114,417 names where there was not a complete match between the names on the voting and DMV records. (Published in the News & Observer, March 15, 2011.)
According to my calculations, that's about One Million people affected by this bill. Yet, the Republicans will tell you, "it's not a big deal, most people have a picture ID already".
Now let's look at the projected costs of such an endeavor from the Institute for Southern Studies.
REPORT: N.C. VOTER ID LAW COULD COST STATE $20 MILLION OR MORE
Analysis from other states finds that GOP’s proposed voter ID measure would likely cost
N.C. taxpayers tens of millions over next three years, exacerbating budget shortfall.
"Even in good times, voter ID laws were suspect given the miniscule number of voter impersonation cases and the unnecessary barriers they pose to many voters," said Chris Kromm, director of the non-profit Institute and author of the analysis.
"Now, with North Carolina poised to eliminate 18,000 teaching jobs due to the budget crisis, such an expensive bill would seem nearly impossible to justify," Kromm said.
Please see the following chart for a list of likely costs needed to carry a voter ID bill in North Carolina.
For the full report, you can visit southernstudies.org
‘Respect my Vote’: Backlash grows against voter ID push
Saturday, February 17, 2011
When Republicans launched campaigns in 20 states this year for laws requiring voters to show photo ID at the polls, they likely saw it as a chance to score a quick political victory on one of their favorite causes.But the GOP's urgent and coordinated push is encountering growing resistance, led by citizens who fear they could be disenfranchised by new barriers to voting, as well as election officials who balk at the price tag of a costly new government program.
The diverse group reflected the range of N.C. voters who could be affected -- seniors, students, the disabled and low-income and homeless citizens who may not have photo ID cards. Rep. William Brisson (D) called the measure a “slap in the face” to his largely rural district in Bladen County:
“It involves about 35 percent of my voters. These are people who still feel like they are part of this world and want to vote, even though they are in long-term care homes and might not have photo IDs. These are people this is just a direct impact on.” Read the Full Story...
You can watch WRAL's coverage here:Voter ID bill labeled “nakedly partisan”, process called “a sham”
March 15, 2011
House Minority Leader Rep. Joe Hackney says House Bill 351 (the Voter ID bill) is a “nakedly partisan” attempt to suppress the vote among seniors and college students who may be less likely to vote for conservative candidates.
During Tuesday’s Democratic press conference, Rep. Jean Farmer-Butterfield said such a bill would place constraints on many voters in her Wilson County district, discouraging minorities from going to the polls.
Bladen County Rep. William Brisson asserted the proposed bill would adversely affect rural residents, particularly senior citizens.
Rep. Larry Hall, the Minority Whip, also took exception to when the bill was filed. On Sunshine Week, Hall noted the Voter ID bill was filed Monday evening after the legislative session concluded, less than 24 hours before lawmakers would hold a public hearing on the measure.
Stam's "Dream" a Nightmare for Public Education
Saturday, February 12, 2011
NCAE released the video Stam's Dream yesterday to the public. Thousands have watched the video on Facebook and Twitter. Watch and listen to Rep. Paul "Skip" Stam explain his voucher bill to an anti-public education interest group audience in Raleigh. To view Stam’s Dream, visit www.ncae.org.Below are the DPB survey results from this week's questions on private school/home school vouchers.
Should North Carolina use taxpayer money to underwrite the cost of educating a child at home?
Yes: 82 (5.8%) No: 1333 (94.2%) Total: 1415
Should North Carolina use taxpayer money to underwrite the cost of tuition to private schools?
Yes: 90 (6.4%) No: 1326 (93.6%) Total: 1416
Do you think families of current private/home school students will take advantage of this voucher by enrolling their children in public school long enough to qualify for the voucher program?
Yes: 1119 (80.2%) No: 276 (19.8%) Total: 1395
Will a voucher bill help jumpstart the North Carolina economy and get its citizens back to work?
Yes: 74 (5.3%) No: 1327 (94.7%) Total: 1401
Will you use the link in today's DPB to contact your legislators on this issue?
Yes: 1088 (78.7%) No: 294 (21.3%) Total: 1382
2011 NC Legislative Session Begins
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
As expected, Republican Thom Tillis was elected as Speaker of the House for the 2011-2012 Session. On Thursday, we received our Standing Committee Assignments. I am pleased to be serving on the following committees for this session:Agriculture, Health and Human Services, Public Utilities, Transportation, and VICE CHAIR for Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services.
Also, I will be keeping my same office in the Legislative Building so my contact info will remain unchanged.
16 W. Jones Street, Room 1325
Raleigh, NC 27601-1096
(919)733-5772
Brisson wins 3rd term in N.C. House
Democrat William Brisson won a third term Tuesday in the state House District 22 race, complete but unofficial election returns show.
Brisson, a full-time farmer from Bladen County, received 12,605 votes to defeat political newcomer John Szoka, a Republican who got 11,249 votes.
"It's about the people," Brisson said. "It's never been about me, and as long as I stay there, it's going to be for the people."Read More...
"Thanks for all the Hard Work and Support in this election. I look forward to getting back to Raleigh and working to keep North Carolina Moving Forward."
Rep. William Brisson
Clips from Candidate Forum - Oct 12, 2010
The Arc of North Carolina Honors Representative William Brisson with Legislator Leadership Award.
On Saturday August 21, 2010 The Arc of North Carolina presented Representative William Brisson its Legislative Leadership Award at its annual conference in Wilmington North Carolina.
Representative Brisson was a key supporter of The Arc and numerous other organizations’ effort to design specific management systems to meet the needs of people with developmental disabilities.Read More...
