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Republican leaders meeting in Greensboro today selected Linda Daves of Charlotte as their chairman, replacing Ferrell Blount, who resigned on Election Day.

Hometown boy Marcus Kindley says he will likely run for the post again in the Spring.

More to come.

Update: Click here for Sunday's story.

Linda Daves and Charlotte will head up the North Carolina Republican Party for the next six months. She was elected by the party’s Executive Committee during a meeting in Greensboro Saturday.

For local folks, this of course means that Marcus Kindley, who heads the Guilford County GOP, didn’t get the job. (Nor did State Sen. Andrew Brock.)

Kindley said after the meeting that he wasn’t planning on running for county chairman next year. He has held the post since 2001. Six years is seen as a pretty long tenure for a county party chairman, at least around Guilford County.

When asked to be clear, would he run or would he not, Kindley said this (after the jump):

I’ve been at a conference most of this afternoon and evening. I just got the following e-mail from the N.C. Senate minority leader’s office (formatting and links added):

The Republican Senate Caucus today met at the Joseph S. Koury Convention Center in Greensboro to discuss their agenda for the upcoming Legislative session and to elect new officers. The elected officers for the 2007-2008 Legislative sessions are:

• Republican Leader - Phil Berger
• Deputy Republican Leader - Tom Apodaca
• Republican Whip - Jerry Tillman
• Republican Policy Committee Chair - Jean Preston.

  Senate Republican Leader Phil Berger made the following statement:

  "I'm honored my peers have chosen me to serve again as the Republican Senate Leader. We have a knowledgeable, hard working group of Republican Senators in our corner and we will work diligently, as a team, to make North Carolina a better place to live, work and raise a family. I look forward to furthering our agenda in the upcoming session."

Of local note, Berger’s district covers all of Rockingham County and parts of Guilford. Tillman represents Randolph and Montgomery counties.

Also, you’ll notice Jean Preston’s link goes to her House member page. The Emerald Isle Republican will make the jump from the House to the Senate in January.

From the light governor’s office:

Raleigh: Today, Lt. Governor Bev Perdue announced the formation of the North Carolina Military Foundation. The Foundation will identify and pinpoint new and existing avenues to bolster a military economy in North Carolina. The Foundation board is comprised of highly-decorated military leaders and the state’s top corporate citizens.

“We intend to nurture and grow a defense industry economic presence in North Carolina. The military base economy is critical to North Carolina with a tremendous economic impact,” said Lt. Governor Bev Perdue. “This military presence is significant and strong. I’m working with the North Carolina Military Foundation and others to make it an even bigger part our state’s economic future.”

Click here for the full release.

Just in case it doesn’t go without saying, Perdue is a likely candidate for governor in 2008 and keeping military bases in North Carolina from closing will be a big part of the portfolio she brings to the voters.

The N+O’s Rob Christensen wrote for this morning’s paper about the Speaker’s race. He has some interesting history in his story and is typically exhaustive on the various permutations on the works right now. You’ve probably related stories stories from myself and others. (Prior bloggage here.)

Now, I’ve been holing up at the southern political writers shindig yesterday and this morning (hat tip to the good folks at UNC’s Program on Public Life) and as you might imagine there was a fairly strong North Carolina contingent there.

The fact that Black is still in the conversation for Speaker still seems somewhat remarkable to us scruffy media types. Even if you believe the guy has done nothing wrong (and there are those out there, including Rep. Earl Jones), one might well imagine the past two years of baggage that he has developed would not be something other House Democrats want to lug into their 2007 session.

I’ve heard a lot of theories on the topic, and the right one has probably escaped my notice. I’ve spoken to lots of house members about this, but I’m not sure I (or anyone else for that matter) is getting a totally accurate read at the moment because folks are being pretty cagey about what they say about the Speaker’s race.

So here’s the dime-store analysis I’m going with for the moment: Black is uncommonly good at organizing and holding together the caucus, which can be a fractious lot. Those who want to keep him may be loathe to part with someone who has the ability to both enforce discipline and massage egos to the point where no one person feels too put-on when they don’t get their way.

So, what’s your theory?

If you’re in downtown Raleigh today and feel like being all festive, here’s something from the governor’s office:

RALEIGH – Gov. Mike Easley and First Lady Mary Easley will participate in the annual Christmas Tree Lighting at 6 p.m. TODAY (Dec. 5) on the west side of the Capitol grounds (off Salisbury Street).

The festivities begin at 5 p.m. with musical performances by the Saint Mary’s Chorale and the Raleigh Concert Band. The Governor and First Lady will hang wreaths on the Capitol’s west doors to begin the official tree lighting ceremony at 6:15 p.m.

Following the ceremony, the Junior Woman’s Club of Raleigh will host a holiday festival featuring music and children’s activities on the Capitol Square, Bicentennial Plaza and in the Museum of Natural Sciences and the Museum of History.

Here’s another perspective on the House Speakership race and Black’s viability, this one from Chris Fitzsimon:

Black’s support is a startling reminder of how unusual the race for Speaker is. People not involved in the legislative process are mystified how Black could be a serious candidate when several of his close allies have been indicted, convicted, or pleaded guilty to various criminal charges and Black himself remains under a dark cloud of suspicion.

But Black’s supporters are unfailingly loyal. Some of the loyalty comes from Black’s decision to elevate them to leadership roles they had never held. Other members believe they owe their election to the House to Black for his political contributions and special projects approved for their legislative district that helped win the support of local voters.

Click here to read the whole thing.

And if you're really interested in all this, click here to read Scott Mooneyham's column on one of the Speaker's more curious powers.

You remember Joe Sinsheimer, the www.jimblackmustgo.com guy? Well, while he’s done haranguing the Speaker, he’s not out of the business of pointing out what he sees as corrupt practices by legislators.

His latest target is Thomas Wright, a House member from Wilmington and mid-level member of the Democratic leadership. (He wouldn’t be on anyone’s top 5 but he would be somewhere in the top 25 and he does have enough influence to kill a bill every so often.)

According to a complaint he's filing with the Board of Elections, Sinsheimer's beef is this (after the jump):

The goofy state of modern political campaigns is such that people who are clearly going to run for president, like say maybe John Edwards, won’t say they're running even as they assemble an apparatus one would use for nothing else but running for president.

Edwards' latest step, via our friends at the Associated Press:

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Rep. David Bonior, a one-time leader in Congress who has close ties to labor unions, has signed on to manage a future John Edwards presidential campaign.

The more liberal/online/activist folks in the Democratic Party who hang out on Blue NC don’t seem to like the idea of Jim Black returning as Speaker. One has gone so far as to create on a stand-by website to be used in the case that Black is re-elected. From the lone post on that site:

Through the years Jim Black has done a tremendous amount of good for this state and for Mecklenburg County. I respect him for that. The problems surrounding him have not yet resulted in an indictment, but they have resulted in a cloud of doubt about the Democrats in NC and their ability to lead our state.

The current level of mass-produced corruption by the Republicans on the national level may not have been reached in our state, but the backroom deals and the lack of transparency give the aura of corruption even where none might exist.

Jim Black won re-election by a very, very slim majority. In a state where many Democrats won handily, Black squeaked by. Prior to this latest trouble, Black was very popular and rarely, if ever, even faced opposition. His slim victory is a clear message from the voters. Still, some Democrats in the NC House plan to back Black for re-election to the Speaker's position.

That just won't do.

I wonder if any of the honorables are still paying attention to these activists now that the election is over. In general, Speaker elections are inside baseball sort of affairs that politically interested folks pay attention to but don’t really muck around in.

It will be interesting to see if outside pressure comes to bear on the Democratic caucus and whether such pressure would be heeded. Background here.

I was going to write a bit about High Pointer S. Davis "Dave" Phillips being appointed U.S. ambassador to Estonia.

But editorialist (and a proud High Pointer himself) Doug Clark has already done it. So click here to read what he had to say.

The N.C. Wildlife Resource Commission essentially took a non-position today on allowing hunting on Sundays. (Click for story.)

Now, I did a fair bit of target shooting and a little fishing when I was younger, but never got much into the hunting side of the sport so I don’t really have a good gauge on all this. Is Sunday hunting really all that in demand? And are the downsides really that dire?

E-mail me at mbinker@news-record.com or comment via the link below.

Three of the North Carolina’s first four lottery games will be going out of play this month. From the lottery:

RALEIGH – The North Carolina Education Lottery (NCEL) officially announces the end of four instant scratch-off games effective Dec. 8. The instant scratch-off games that will end are North Carolina Education Lottery, Tic Tac Toe, $100,000 Carolina Cash and Firecracker Cash.

More after the jump.

Sen. Trent Lott, Republican of Mississippi, will be the Republican whip in the Senate when it convenes next year. To help him, he’s appointed a passel of deputy whips, including North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr.

What does a whip do? The job varies from group to group, but in general the whip is the part of a legislative organization that is the enforcer of party discipline and counter of votes. Basically, the whip figures out if party leaders have the votes to do something it wants to do. And if the votes aren’t there, it’s typically the whips that are sent to, um, explain things to the problematic members.

If you’re counting at home, there are 49 Republican Senators in the new Congress. Lott has appointed a chief deputy and seven other deputy whips. So that’s about six members per member of the whip organization.

That’s a lot of discipline right there.

Sen. Richard Durbin will be the majority whip in the new Senate. I’ve not seen hop many deputies he’s appointed.

Update: Speaking of Burr, how many successes like this can a guy take:

Nearly two years of negotiation on a bill to fight bioterrorism ended in a partial win for North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr — the Senate approved the measure, but it will probably die within days when Congress adjourns.

Update(12/8):Click here for Friday's story on this.

We’ll have more on this in Friday’s paper. But the headline is not wrong: the state says it has a $23.8 billion liability for its health plan that is, at this point, unfunded.

Part One: What does this mean

The North Carolina State Health Plan is the branch of state government that provides health insurance for teachers, other public workers and retirees.

Not too long ago, the Government Accounting Standards Board told states that they would have to account for their pending health care liabilities, such as the health plan.

This came as quite the shock to the system, since no one had ever figured out exactly how much the benefits that we promised all those public workers and retirees would cost.

The numbers are in, and I'll upload the report as soon as I can.

Update:

• Press release here.
  
• Report here.

So what does a $23.8 billioin unfunded liability mean? The $23.8 billion figure is a cost calculate out over a matter of decades. No one expects that taxpayers would have to set all that money aside in a matter of one year.

So why is this important? A few reasons:

• Bond rating agencies will look at that liability and may start looking for states to start setting some money aside to meet the anticipated demand. That will be one more strain on a state budget that was looking kind of tight next year anyway.
  
• Seeing the number in black and white might cause lawmakers to re-evaluate how generous we are to state workers. That in turn would make state workers grumpy and prompt a show down at the General Assembly.
  
• All governments are going to deal with this. Look for Greensboro, Guilford County and your home town to be calculating this number and then struggling with what it all means.

This is something that government leaders are first going to struggle to understand, and then struggle to figure out exactly what they should do about it.

Update: I’ve chatted with a few of the honorables since posting this.

Sen. Kay Hagan, a Greensboro Democrat, says there are a number of possibilities that have been discussed. Among those, she said, has been asking state employees to contribute some to the health plan, which they don’t do now.

According to the actuary’s report, the state would need to play about $849 million a year to make up the ground that has been lost. Hagan say there’s no way the state would do that much, but it might start setting aside more money to take care of some of the future payments.

And, she said, the state needs to more vigorously pursue a wellness plan for workers. The logic here is that healthier workers will mean fewer health care costs in the future.

“We need to have better nutrition, we need to have better exercise, we need to make our state employees healthier.”

Sen. Phil Berger, an Eden Republican, was also of the opinion that the state needed to set aside more money. He also said the state may consider shifting to a health savings account-type scheme, such as the one pushed by the Locke Foundation.

Berger said that this is a case where the General Assembly is planning short term when it makes its budget deals but should be looking further down the fiscal road.

“A lot of times, the fiscal horizon we’re looking at is two or three years,” he said. “There’s not a practice a looking at something asking what this does to the next generation and we need to start doing that.”

Part two, after the jump.

From a New York Times story today: (Registration may be required.)

New federal guidelines, along with legislation given a strong chance to pass in Congress next year, will probably combine to make the paperless voting machines obsolete, the officials say. States and counties that bought the machines will have to modify them to hook up printers, at federal expense, while others are planning to scrap the machines and buy new ones.

Dang, but this all sounds familiar. Oh, I remember now.

For all the angst that the legislature when through in deciding whether to require a paper backup, it looks like it may save North Carolina some hassle in the long run.

Update1: From the “great minds think alike” office, Nate over at our sister blog took note of the same story.

Update2: As Nate noted, the folks at NC Voter are probably happy about the paper requirement. Although, that group would like to see us all using optical scan machines. They’ve been circulating this memo, sent after the election by the SBOE, on how to deal with malfunctioning paper roles attached to the touch screen equipment.

So, State Treasurer Richard Moore headlined a shindig this morning where he backed a state-level Earned Income Tax Credit. From his news release:

“With the cost of health care, food and gas on the rise, too many families continue to struggle to make ends meet. Last year, we were successful in raising the state’s minimum wage by one dollar, and now we should build on that success by enacting a state version of the federal earned income tax credit. A state EITC rewards North Carolina values – hard work, family and playing by the rules. The EITC will work hand-in-hand with the increased minimum wage to help North Carolinians improve their situation and that of their families. Now that business has done its part with the minimum wage, enacting an EITC is the right thing to do to help 700,000 North Carolina families.”

The federal EITC was created in 1975 to offset the effects of federal payroll taxes on low-income families. It is administered through the personal income tax and is based on the individual’s income, filing status and number of dependents, encouraging work and responsibility. Research shows that the credit has contributed to a significant increase in labor force participation among single mothers and that many recipients use the refund to pay off debt, invest in education or pay for housing.

So close on the heels of that release, Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue sends this one:

Lieutenant Governor Bev Perdue and a key group of lawmakers will once again push for working families’ tax relief during the upcoming legislative session that begins next month.

“The Rewarding Work Tax Credit will provide much need tax relief for working families,” said Lt. Governor Beverly Perdue. “They should have a seat at the legislative table every time tax relief is discussed,” added Perdue.

The Rewarding Work Tax Credit is a state earned income tax credit. It’s similar to the federal EITC. Last year, around 600,000 families were approved for the federal EITC. Under the proposal, a family would have to be approved at the federal level before becoming eligible for the state earned income tax credit.

“This is one of the pillars in a permanent working families agenda in North Carolina. A third of North Carolina’s families are still living paycheck to paycheck and are unable to meet basic living needs. This tax relief will put more money into the pocket of our working families,” said Perdue.

Can’t we get along and restructure the tax code the help less fortunate people together? Man, it’s like these two are running for something...oh, yeah, they are the frontrunners for the Democratic nomination for governor in 2008.

Perdue’s release, in a show of one-upmanship, includes quotes from notables such as Greensboro Rep. Alma Adams:

“I’m proud to be working with the Lt. Governor on a working families agenda. A state earned income tax credit is a big part of that. It will help hundreds of thousands of families in North Carolina.”

Click here for Moore’s release.

Click here for Perdue’s release.

Gov. Mike Easley held his annual chat with reporters at the governor’s mansion this morning. I’ll have more on this later, including some audio, but for now I’ll offer up his thoughts on the sales tax.

You may remember a few years back that the state imposed an extra half-cent sales tax to help deal with an ongoing fiscal shortfall. And you may recall that half-cent was added with the understanding that it would come off.

The legislature took half of it off last year, effective Dec. 1. That makes the effective sales tax rate in most of the state 6.75 percent.

During his chat with reporters today, Easley said the legislature should talk about keeping the other .25 percent.

“The question I want to take up with the legislature is, ‘is there something we’d rather do with that quarter cent,’” Easley said. He said that the revenue the tax generates – about $200 million – could be put toward programs that have been reduced by the federal government or aren’t otherwise funded.

“I don’t want to get to far out there with that,” Easley said, noting that he hadn’t talked to legislators yet.

The pitch sort of struck me as a trial balloon. Easley points out that if you spent $750 on Christmas presents this year, that extra quarter-percent cost you about $1.87. Still, you can expect some pretty fierce push back from both conservatives – who will say the state is breaking a promise to reduce taxes – and more progressive/liberal folks – who complain that the sales tax is regressive.

Sen. Elizabeth Dole had surgery to replace a hip this morning, according to her spokeswoman, Katie Norman.

“She planned to have this surgery for some time but it was a matter of finding time in her schedule,” Norman said.

Norman said the Senator is expected to recuperate over the next few weeks and be back to her duties early next year.

Update: For those who have asked: Dole is 70. And it was her right hip.

This AP news alert is making cell phones ring all over Cap City tonight:

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Embattled state House Speaker Jim Black said Tuesday night he will not seek another term as speaker, ending an eight-year tenure as the top official in the state House.

"I've been speaker for four terms," Black told The Associated Press. "This is, again, not about me. I don't have any need for me to be speaker forever."

In many respects, this makes things easier for House Democrats, many of who did not want to reject Black but did not want to have him as their leader again.

We’ll carry the wire story on this for tomorrow’s paper. You can get a head start after the jump.

Note: Audio link below.

This post and
this story regarding Easley talking about keeping the remnants of the temporary sales tax on the books has stirred some e-mails, phone calls as well as comments on other sites.

In summary: folks don’t seem to be happy with the idea. There is a strong sense that Easley is suggesting the state break a promises that has already been bent somewhat.

He was conscious of that yesterday when he spoke, saying the state had committed to reducing its share of the sales tax down. If nothing else, this whole episode will contribute to a big old chorus of “yeah, right” (said with skepticism) the next time anyone brings up the idea of a temporary tax.

“We ought to try to keep that commitment unless we find a better way to give the money back to the people,” he said.

He spoke for about three minutes regarding the sales tax. The original question was whether he thought the state budget could balance next year while still phasing out both the sales tax and the upper-end income tax.

Click here to listen to his full answer.

Notice that one of the things he suggests putting the extra sales tax money toward the EITC, or a state-level Earned Income Tax Credit. That would create an interesting dynamic, with one tax break being funded by what amounts to an off-setting tax hike.

Update: More from an e-mail from Phil Berger:

In response to Governor Easley’s comments regarding his desire to keep the quarter-cent sales tax increase that is slated to expire next year, Senate Republican Leader Phil Berger (R-District 26) released the following statement:

“One of the lessons from the recent election was that voters do not like it when politicians say one thing and then do another. Governor Easley and legislative Democrats have repeatedly broken promises about the end date for "temporary" tax hikes passed in 2001. Now we are being told that the Governor wants to again deny North Carolina's families promised tax relief.

“The Democrats' failure and refusal to keep their word is apparently driven by an ongoing desire to continue to grow state government at rates that far exceed the rate of inflation. It is time to reform our state budget process and exercise fiscal discipline; the first step will be to keep the promise to end these "temporary" taxes. The Governor and legislative Democrats should control spending instead of continuing their non-stop raid on taxpayers’ wallets.”

If you are a frequent reader here, you may remember that Rep. Earl Jones of Greensboro has been a vocal supporter of Speaker Black. From a recent story :

"Speaker Black should not be punished because of people’s opinions or speculation or conjecture over his behavior," said Rep. Earl Jones, a Greensboro Democrat who has been one of Black’s staunchest supporters.

When asked what he told hopefuls for speaker that called him looking for support, Jones said, "I told them the same thing I’m telling you — we have a speaker."

So now that Black is out of the running for next session, who will Jones support? I caught up with him in the legislative office building today and his first answer was that he didn’t know.

“Now that he (Black) is out, I’m going to weigh all my options. I’m not locked into any of the candidates one way or the other,” he said.

I asked him if having Speaker Black step aside in some way allowed the Democrats to get on with other business. Jones brushed that notion aside.

“I’ve been getting on with other business anyway,” Jones said. “I was comfortable going into the next session with Speaker Black.”

Click here to listen to our whole conversation.

The following is the text of an E-mail House Speaker Jim Black sent to members today:

Dear House Democratic Members,

As I’ve said many times before, I have been deeply honored and humbled to serve as Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives since 1999. As Speaker and Minority Leader during the last 12 years, I have always fought to make education our #1 priority, and I’m proud of our many accomplishments on behalf of the people of our great state.

Put this story from the Washington Post on your politics radar:

Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) suffered a "possible stroke" today, and the prognosis for his recovery remains unknown, according to his office.

Should Johnson be unable to serve when the 110th Congress convenes in January, it could mean a 50-50 split in the Senate. Gov. Mike Rounds (R) would be tasked with appointing a successor to Johnson -- presumably a Republican. That could effectively put the Senate, which is slated to switch to Democratic control in January, in Republican hands because Vice President Cheney would cast the tie-breaking vote.
However, in modern history the Senate has never declared a seat vacant as a result of a senator's physical condition.

Click here for today's story on Jim Black and what local legislators think of his decision not to run for Speaker again.

More from the past two days here and here and here.

As I’ve noted here before, there has been some speculation about what Gov. Mike Easley might do after 2008, when the state constitution puts him out of a job.

Some of that speculation has centered on a possible run for U.S. Senate, despite him saying last year he wasn’t really interested in serving as part of any legislative body. He reinforced that point earlier this week when meeting with us scruffy media types.

“I think I would find the legislative process frustrating,” Easley said. “I just don’t think the Senate would be my highest and best use.”

Click here to listen to him riff on the idea for a minute or so.

So, what about a job in some future Democratic administration?

He’s not really enthusiastic about that idea. Click here to listen to him put the damper on that idea.

Then why are you taking a higher public profile of late as your administration draws to a close?

“I know I’m out there more now doing national speeches and that kind of thing to a national audience. And I do plan to be engaged in that debate, and I want to be because , like so many other people, am frustrated by what I see in Washington.”

Click here to listen to Easley vent that frustration.

This is just further evidence that governors need to stop betting on stuff.

Gov. Mike Easley and Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney today agreed to a “friendly wager” on the outcome of tomorrow night’s NCAA Division 1-AA football championship between the Appalachian State University Mountaineers and the University of Massachusetts Minutemen. At stake is a box of Ashe County cheeses along with a basket of North Carolina treats including summer sausage, Blue Ridge Mountain dried fruit mix and some Cheerwine. Romney has countered with a New England Lobster Clambake with all the trimmings.

Cheese? We’re betting cheese now? Is the state treasury so depleted we can’t come up with barbecue and hushpuppies? Or are we just afraid the New England palate isn’t sophisticated enough to appreciate ‘cue?

Note: Audio link here or below.

Yes, we scruffy media types are still processing our sit-down with the governor from earlier this week. Charlotte’s Jack Betts makes the latest contribution:

Reporter Kerra Bolton of the Asheville Citizen had asked him how often he used the Western Governor’s Residence in Asheville and tried to get him to tell some funny stories about the place. Easley wouldn’t tell a story about an old patrol car the staff keeps nearby to discourage mischief, but "It does run, I'll tell you that." Or at least did. There must be more to this story.

But Easley told one story about the time he lit an old gas grill that was just under the residence's garage roof. This may be an exaggeration, but it sounds as though he nearly set the place afire when the flames came rushing out of the top of the tank. He managed to finally turn it off after getting a wet towel to smother the flames, which must have been impressive.

“I had flames coming sky high,” the governor said to the enjoyment of the assembled scribes. “Singed all the hair off my right arm.”

It gets better. Go to Jack’s place to read on, or if you want to listen click right here to listen to the governor tell his tale.

Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine outlined the budget he will propose next year to a Joint Money Committee today. This paragraph caught my eye:

Further, I propose additional investments in research, including funding for the Christopher Reeve Stem Cell Research Fund to support adult stem cell research conducted in the Commonwealth's institutions of higher education. This work gives us hope in our fight against cancer, diabetes, MS, spinal cord injuries and a series of other diseases and disorders.

Click here to read the full text.

The reason it caught my attention was because North Carolina legislators are considering their own stem cell funding proposal. The effort is lead by Rep. Earl Jones, a Greensboro Democrat who heads a committee studying the issue. That committee, which met earlier this week and will meet for one last time in January, will make a recommendation on what the legislature should do.

The committee has yet to make a recommendation and has some folks who are embryonic stem cell research opponents. But Jones said he expects the bill that is filed next session would propose state funding of embryonic stem cell research, not just adult stem cells as some have proposed.

Jones has said he wants North Carolina to be a leader among southeastern states in stem cell research funding. It looks like North Carolina may have some competition in that department from our neighbors to the north.

From the governor’s office today:

Gov. Mike Easley today announced a series of proposals that will make neighborhoods near hazardous waste storage facilities safer and improve the ability of state and community emergency workers to effectively respond in the event of an emergency. The proposals are from the Governor’s Hazardous Materials Task Force he formed after the Oct. 5 fire at the EQ storage site in Apex.

Click here for the full release.

Click here to read the Q+A featuring Gov. Mike Easley that ran in today’s paper. It is from the same interview session that generated posts and audio earlier this week:

• On the sales tax.
  
• On his political future.
  
• Fun and games out at the western residence.

I’m not planning to turn out any more audio from this interview, but if you see something that catches your eye and you want to hear it, let me know and I’ll post it if I have time.

Have a restful Sunday.

Sen. Kay Hagan, Greensboro Democrat, says she’ll most likely be running for some office in 2008. Which office, however, is up for discussion. (Click here for story.) Why are we having this discussion now? Because the type of offices for which she is considered a potential candidate require advance planning. From the story:

"I would also hope that she would be one of the folks who would take a serious look at challenging Elizabeth Dole in 2008," (state Democratic Party Chairman Jerry) Meek said.

If she really is entertaining that notion, the planning and fund raising for such a campaign needs to start early next year if not already. Something lower down on the food chain, like a congressional bid, could wait a while, but not much longer.

Click here for the full story.

Note:For the impatient: Click here for an audio link of the governor.

------

Okay, no bears. And yes, I said in this post that I wasn’t going do much more with last week’s confab with Gov. Mike Easley. But this actually responds to a request from a reader.

During the discussion, he was asked about annexation and whether the state’s annexation laws should allow cities to bring people into their boundaries against their wills. Easley artfully dodged the question itself, saying it needed to be looked at in context of a larger tax and government reform modernization effort. (Click here for a good backgrounder from the AP via Fayetteville.)

At any rate, the governor got to talking about those other things that he hoped the tax study commission would deal with and that would have to work in concert in order for a meaningful reform to happen:

“These issues are all going to have to be addressed along with what does the state pay for, versus what does the county pay for. We’re going to have to address Medicaid. We’re going to have to address highways, the loops ... We’re going to have to deal with revenues, does the state give the county’s additional revenue options and if so, what will they be.”

Some will be interested in that because the governor talks about Medicaid and the fact that the counties have to chip in for the health insurance program that covers poor folks. I’m told he hasn’t really addressed that particular point, which is a sore one with local officials. Some will see the “additional revenue options” and get interested, because that basically means “new taxes or fees.”

Click here to listen to his whole riff. The clip starts by glossing over the annexation question, and then launches into the other issues.

One final quote from the governor that may entice you to listen:

"If the state is ultimately responsible for education as the constitution says, then the state probably ought to be paying for it and probably ought to be picking up any of the cost from the locals. But in doing so, you're going to have to pick up some of the revenues as well."

The House Republicans have chosen their leaders for the 2007-08 session:

• Rep. Paul “Skip” Stam will be minority leader. Stam is a lawyer and known as a very good legislative technician, fixing typos and other unintended stuff that creeps into bills. He’s also someone who has helped craft legislation with Democratic leaders, so he has contacts across the isle.

• Rep. Bill McGee will be the Republican whip. I don’t know that I’ve ever interviewed him, which probably means he hasn’t authored any legislation I’ve written about in the past two years. The whip is responsible for vote counting and enforcing party discipline.

• Rep. Dale Folwell is the joint caucus leader, which is responsible for helping the House and Senate republicans to coordinate. Folwell is an interesting guy, not least because he set a long-distance motor cycle trip record to bring attention to backlog of organ donation cases. He’ll be a sophomore legislator next session, which is fairly soon to be in the party’s leadership. But he gained a lot of notice in his freshman run for being pretty successful running various bits of legislation. He’s also someone who has with Democrats on certain bills.

Democrats are not expected to choose their leaders, including their candidate for Speaker, until next month.

Sen. Marc Basnight, of Dare County, will serve as the Democrats top man for another term. His official title is the Senate President Pro Tempore. Constitutionally, he’s the guy in charge of the Senate when the Lt. Governor doesn’t show up to wield the gavel. In practice, he is the most powerful guy in the chamber.

Of local note, Sen. Katie Dorsett of Greensboro will be the Democrat’s whip next session.

Click here for a release that runs down the full slate of Senate Dem leaders.

I'm listening to the tax modernization committee over at the legislature this morning. This is the group looking at different ways to structure North Carolina’s tax structure, what rates are appropriate, which level of governments should have which taxing powers.

It’s pretty technical stuff, and a group of university professors are just finishing up giving an oral presentation with a bunch of slides. Apparently the honorables on the committee are feeling pretty frisky after looking at all those numbers.

Sen. Tony Rand, who is running the show, asked for paper copies of the presentation be provided.

“I still work with an abacus. This all makes me nervous,” Rand said.

And in a fit of optimism, Sen. David Hoyle mockingly urged caution with all this tax reform stuff.

“If we make the state too attractive, we’re going to have to put up with a lot more Yankees,” he said.

Rand allowed, “We make to put up gates at the border.”

So is anything getting done . . . other than witty repartee?

As with a lot of government operations, it’s hard to tell what the final product might be. But the folks in the room certainly sound like they’re serious about changing things about. What those changes will look like, who know. In general, the changes being advocated by the academic types would mean more things would be taxed (like newspapers!) and there would be fewer exemptions, but the rates would be lower than they are today. (Related.)

The Audit report for the first year of the North Carolina Education Lottery is out.

Click here to find a link to it.

The Lottery Commission is meeting this morning to discuss the results and I’m listening to that conference call. The audit looks at results through June 30, 2006, so doesn’t include anything from this fall.

Bottom line numbers so far in my reading: $229.5 million in gross revenue, with $63.5 million transferred to the various education funds during the first four months or so of operations.

Update: The audit was done by KPMG, who gave the lottery an "unqualified" opinion, which basically means they didn't find any major mistakes or malfeasance.

Update: The lottery commissioners have just been told that they’re probably going to be “covered persons” under the state ethics law. That means they’re going to have to fill out statements of economic interest and get trained on the new ethics laws.

Update: Click here for Wednesday's newspaper story.

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The House Select Committee on Stem Cell Research made its recommendation to the 2007-08 General Assembly today. The bottom line:

The House Select Committee on Stem Cell Research encourages the General Assembly to enact legislation to provide ethical guidelines for the conduct of stem cell research in the State.

Click here for a MS Word file of the whole report.

That’s a far cry from recommending state funding for stem cell research, which is what Rep. Earl Jones was advocating when the committee first started. That’s still his goal – Jones says he will file a bill for state funding of stem cell research next year – but he said Tuesday that the committee needed to focus on finding information and educating legislators.

Click here to find more information on stem cells from the National Institutes of Health.

More on the committee’s recommendation will be in Wednesday’s paper.

It was a bad, bad, bad night back at the home office.

The boys and girls over at Blue NC are chewing over Kay Hagan’s chances in ’08. Click here for background. A similar discussion took root over at Ed's joint.

The Guilford County legislative delegation will hold a public hearing on Jan. 9 at 8 p.m. in the Greensboro City Council chambers. They'll be there to listen to whatever is on your mind that you haven’t already posted to YouTube, MySpace or Blogger.

Go let them know what should be on their minds.

She turned us into a newt . . . but we got better.

News from other corners of the Internets:

• Chris Fitzsimon says the House Speaker race is still a toss up. The House Dems will get together on Jan. 10 to make their picks, but as legislators keep reminding me, nothing is done until Jan. 24 when the gavel comes down. Local note: Rep. Hugh Holliman says he’s out of the race for Speaker.
  
• Edwards…John Edwards…is he expected to say something or something?
  
• House pages are kind of expendable but we should probably at least feed them.
  
• Run for governor Orr else?
  
• Kerra Bolton: Black had his good points.

Both Americans for Prosperity and The Civitas Institute issued statements today condemning the lottery following the release of its first fiscal year audit. (For more on the audit, including a link, click here.)

From the AFP Release:

On behalf of grassroots membership of Americans for Prosperity-North Carolina, State Director Francis De Luca today called on Governor Mike Easley, Lottery Commission Chairman John McArthur and Executive Director Thomas Shaheen to explain why the NC Lottery has chosen to offer fat bonuses to lottery executives while not fully funding gambling addiction treatment.

“Governor Mike Easley and the North Carolina Lottery are busy creating new gamblers but are not funding the promised treatment for addicted gamblers,” said De Luca. “They have made a choice to offer big bonuses rather than treat compulsive gamblers. There should be no bonuses (already in excess of $1 million) until the lottery folks first give the Department of Health and Human Services the full $1 million they are required to give for Gambling Addiction Programs. Only $2,274 has been transferred to DHHS for gambling addiction programs so far!”

De Luca is calling for a public explanation of why the percentage of lottery revenue going to education is lower (27%) and the percentage going to prizes was higher (57%) than what was in the legislation authorizing the lottery. (35% and 50% respectively)

“The grassroots membership of AFP-NC wants an immediate explanation of why bonuses take priority over mental health services for problem gamblers, and why the full 35% is not going to fund education.”

First off, the 57 percent figure given for the prize payout is wrong, unless you cheat a little bit with the math. It’s closer to 51 percent.

Basically, the audit report covers the first nine months of there being a lottery organization and the first three months the lottery was selling tickets.

And it is perfectly fair and accurate to say that during that time, the lottery only transferred about 27 percent of its earnings to education.

I asked the lottery for a response. Deputy Director Alice Garland wrote this:

The first year of operation included 7 months of operations and 3 months of selling tickets. So that 3 months of revenues coming in had to cover 7 months of expenses going out. In addition, there were significant one-time start-up costs, including purchasing vehicles, computers, furniture, etc. I don’t think anyone expected the lottery to make the 35% the first year. In fact, the Legislature did not appropriate any lottery dollars in FY06 to beneficiary programs—a clear indication that the lottery was not expected to return 35%. Our first transfer of FY07 was slightly higher than 35%.

That’s a fair response, but AFP spokesman Dallas Woodhouse points out that the law doesn’t give any grace period for the first few months of operation and the lottery’s own website doesn’t make mention of a grace period.

I think it’s fair to expect the lottery to lag a little bit during its first quarter of operation, and it might be more fair to wait until March 30, 2007 and look at a full year of operations before jumping on them. But AFP and Civitas are advocacy groups that don't like the lottery, so they're unlikely to show any such forbearance.

The other area where AFP and Civitas criticize the lottery is that it did not transfer a promised $1 million to gambling addiction programs. Rather it paid about $2,274 to DHHS for those programs, far short of even what would have been a pro-rated amount of $225,000.

Again, from Garland:

This program is fully funded in FY 07. DHHS was not ready to receive the full appropriation in FY06. We have funded what they have requested. We worked closely with them at start-up and were very responsive to their needs.

The bottom line here is, I think, that both groups have a fair if not fatal criticism about the lottery. And if it was anything other than a highly controversial state-sponsored gambling enterprise, no one would be batting an eye right now. But, it is a controversial state sponsored gambling enterprise, so one can expect these sorts of criticism to continue.

More in Friday’s paper.

I hope everyone had a merry Christmas, or at least a pleasant break from the daily grind for those who don’t celebrate the holiday. In this week between the arrivals of Saint Nick and Baby New Year, you can expect not a whole heck of a lot to get done here in Cap City. The walk into the office this morning was quite lonely. Still, here are a few things to catch up on as the eggnog wears off:

• In case you missed it, Inside Scoop offered up its annual Scoopie Awards.
• The new state innocence commission is hard at work.
• The hardest working man in journalism takes a look at the 2008 state political contests.
• Season’s greetings from the nation’s governors.
• Apparently, North Carolina has scratched its lottery itch.
• Kerra Bolton considers the Bubba Buddha of Easley. You think Buddha liked racin’?
• Scott Mooneyham considers Easley’s push for an adoption tax credit.

Other things to ponder this week: North Carolina’s minimum wage rises to $6.15 an hour on January 1; new lobbying laws go into full effect on the same day; if rumors can be believed John Edwards will official announce a run for President this week; and we are now just under a month away from the start of the 2007 legislative session.