RALEIGH – The historic 2011 General Assembly commenced on Wednesday with Republicans in charge of both chambers for the first time since 1870.
Senators elected Sen. Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, to be their leader over the next two years. He’ll be the Senate’s president pro-tempore. The vote was unanimous by acclamation.
The House elected Rep. Thom Tillis, R-Mecklenburg, as its speaker. House Democrats nominated their minority leader, Rep. Joe Hackney, D-Orange, for speaker. However, Tillis was elected generally along a party-line vote. Six Democrats joined 67 Republicans and one unaffiliated representative in voting for Tillis. The vote was 74-46. There are 52 Democrats in the House.
In remarks to the Senate, Berger reminded the body about the daunting task members face when it comes to bridging the budget gap.
“Policy choices made over the last 20 years deepened the recession in North Carolina,” Berger said. “The result is that our principal order of business this session is to eliminate a $3.7 billion budget deficit.”
Berger said that the body needs to change the business climate to allow for more job creation.
“First and foremost, improving North Carolina’s business climate — the costs associated with the set of regulations that must be followed, the fees and taxes that must be paid, and the government red tape that must be cut in order for private business to turn a profit,” Berger said.
Berger said the Senate would reduce spending, balance the budget and remove the cap on charter schools.
Tillis, in prepared remarks, also discussed the state’s budget crunch.
“We are confronted with a budget deficit that threatens our ability to fund critical services and we are spending beyond our means,” Tillis said. “We must lower the heightened expectations as to what government should do for us and we must raise the expectations for what we must do for ourselves.”
He said lawmakers must be smarter and more efficient in the delivery of health care and to provide funding to detain violent offenders.
THE SENATE ELECTED Sen. Jim Forrester, R-Gaston, as its deputy president pro-tem. The House elected Rep. Dale Folwell, R-Forsyth, as its speaker pro-tem.
Before the session got under way, Sen. Martin Nesbitt, D-Buncombe, said that Democrats would be vocal about dealing in issues that mean more to people, such as public schools and health care.
“We will not win, but perhaps we will be able to move the needle a little bit closer to the center,” Nesbitt said. “The people I represent didn’t send me down here to throw in the towel on this state.”
In the Senate, Republicans outnumber Democrats 31 to 19, a figure that Nesbitt acknowledged put his party in a difficult position.
“If we vote as a block, we’re going to lose, and if we don’t we’re going to lose,” Nesbitt said.
Hackney said on the floor that the Democratic caucus would be civil in its debate.
Both chamber leaders spent time during after-session press gatherings to discuss rules and procedural moves. Berger said a change in Senate rules establishing a parliamentarian’s position wasn’t intended as a partisan move against Lt.Gov. Walter Dalton, a Democrat. He said he intended to have more senators presiding over Senate sessions in the past and that it would be a good idea to have a parliamentarian to consistently interpret the chamber’s rules.
Tillis said the House was doing away with a procedural move that Republicans had complained about when they were in the minority. That rule allowed committees to restrict floor amendments to bills.
Both Tillis and Berger say they expect lawmakers to hit the ground running. Tillis said that a bill to exempt North Carolina citizens from the federal mandate to purchase health insurance, which was filed on Wednesday, is expected to be heard in a House committee on Thursday.
Berger said that this year’s General Assembly has set “a historic pace” for the beginning of a session.
Other bills expected to come up early in the session include one giving Gov. Bev Perdue more budget management authority, a bill lifting the cap on the number of charter schools and a bill providing for a photo ID requirement to vote.
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