Lawmakers: Accomplishments despite recession

Owens: Last session was 'three levels past difficult’

By Diana Mazzella
Staff Writer

Thursday, November 05, 2009

Despite an economic recession that made this past legislative session one of the most challenging ever, area lawmakers say they still managed to find money for critical needs and adopt legislation important to constituents.

State Reps. Bill Owens, D-Pasquotank, and Tim Spear, D-Washington, and state Sen. Ed Jones, D-Halifax, outlined the difficulties lawmakers faced crafting an $18.1 billion budget this summer during the “State of the State and Region” luncheon at The Pines in Elizabeth City Thursday.

About 160 area business and political leaders — a virtual who’s who of northeastern North Carolina — attended the two-hour event sponsored by five area Chambers of Commerce.

State Sen. Marc Basnight, D-Dare, and state Rep. Annie Mobley, D-Hertford, were also invited to the event but were unable to attend. They instead sent letters that were read by Chamber representatives.

In her remarks, Jennifer Palestrant, president of the Elizabeth City Area Chamber of Commerce, called the 2009 legislative session “unprecedented.” She noted that state government had to respond to a 25 percent budget hole, an unemployment rate above 10 percent, and home prices that had fallen approximately 20 percent.

Still, lawmakers and Gov. Bev Perdue had crafted a plan that, through a combination of spending cuts and tax increases, will “hopefully steer the state through these tough economic waters,” Palestrant said.

In a letter read by Currituck Chamber of Commerce President Shannon Kinser, Basnight pointed out the difficult choices lawmakers faced given the state’s $4.5 billion deficit at the beginning of the session. If lawmakers had not found other places to trim $2 billion in spending, he said, education would have suffered.

But despite those cuts, Basnight believes lawmakers were still able to do a lot of good this past session. His letter noted that legislation was adopted helping small businesses leverage federal grants; encouraging small businesses to operate in downtowns; enabling job creation in small communities; and offering tax credits for small businesses that offer health benefits.

Basnight also said that beach property insurance reform would help keep insurers doing business in the state before and after natural disasters.

During his remarks, Owens also said this past session had been the most challenging in his 15-year legislative career.

“In all the years I’ve been elected ... I’ve never experienced anything that we had to experience this year,” Owens said. “Difficult is not even the right word. It (was) about three levels past difficult.”

Owens recalled going from an Appropriations Committee meeting that made him depressed because of its talk of job and program cuts to a finance committee meeting where the discussion centered on raising taxes. To top things off that day, Owens said he discussed a bill Basnight was proposing to ban the use of plastic shopping bags in Dare, Currituck and Hyde counties.

“'Is there anybody in the room I haven’t made mad today; would you please let me know,’” Owens said he asked his fellow lawmakers that day. '“And not one soul raised their hand.’”

Lawmakers did the best they could given the situation they were facing, Owens said. Despite increased population and deep cuts in programs this year, the state still spends the same amount per person as it did 10 years ago, he said.

“We took a bad situation and did as much as we possibly could do, and I think we ended up with a pretty good budget — starting out (as we did) with a $41⁄2 billion deficit,” Owens said.

Jones, who represents Gates County in the legislature, noted in his remarks that next year will be just as challenging as this year.

“We did a lot this year with a little bit of money and we’re going back this year with a deficit,” he said. “We’re going to do some more cutting and tinkering a little bit with the budget.”

Focusing on local economics, Jones noted that Gates residents face additional challenges because the county lacks revenue-generating sources like hospitals and fast-food restaurants and offers few job opportunities.