A veto and other stuff
As expect, Gov. Mike Easley vetoed HB 1761, which would have given some no-strings-attached incentives grants to Goodyear Tire.
Easley said he took "no joy" in vetoing the bill.
"I was hoping to get through this legislative session without having to veto a bill," he said.
However, the measure would allow Goodyear to layoff up to 700 workers and still get nearly $40 million in state grants, something Easley said didn't make sense. He also said it was unfair to single out one company for aid when its competitors weren't getting the same thing.
More from the press conference, including audio, on the veto, transportation and Michael Decker is coming in a bit.
Update: It's never a good sign for your bill when the governor walks into the room and says he has to "deal" with it.
Click here to listen to Easley giving his rationale for returning HB 1761 to sender.
And click here to read his veto message to the General Assembly.
More after the jump.
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Easley said that this was probably his only veto for the session, with 85 bills left for him to act on before Saturday. (If Easley doesn't sign or veto them by Saturday midnight, they become law on their own. He often lets bills lie like that if they're parochial in nature or something he doesn't like but can't see his way clear to vetoing.)
Update: More from the news conference on other topics:
- Carolina Journal, a conservative newspaper based in Raleigh, has been chatting with former Rep. Michael Decker. Decker, you'll recall, pleaded guilty to accepting bribes to switch parties and keep former Speaker, and now convicted felon, Jim Black in power.
During that interview, Decker says that Easley was in on the deal to get him a cush job promoting tourism for the Cultural Resource Department.
Easley says not so.
"He never called me about Mike Decker or a job, so that's just misinformation," Easley said of Black. "He never discussed it with me. I don't know what he told Decker and I don't know what Decker has told other people."
- There's been much talk about the potential for a special legislative session to deal with the state's transportation funding shortfall.
Easley met with Senate leader Marc Basnight and House Speaker Joe Hackney earlier this week, and the consensus seems to be no deal on the special session. The governor said the three leaders and DOT should appoint a commission of some sort to study the problem and do a "thorough" job of it. It's unlikely that group would come back with anything before Jan. 1, which would sort of be getting on toward the regular short session anyway.
- And finally, an item ripped from today's headlines, Easley was asked about the recent report criticizing the pace of mental health reform in the state and its lack of focus on consumers. Click for to listen to Easley address that report.
Basically, he said he wants the incoming Secretary of Health and Human Services to focus on mental health reform. He said that some of the state's 25 LMEs - local government managers of mental health services - are good and some are bad. He also said the state should reduce the number of LMEs.
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