Fred Smith supports the line-item veto. 

The Republican gubernatorial candidate said that it would allow the governor to eliminate pork from the state budget, noting it has worked well in South Carolina.

"I can't think of anything that would create a more effective and efficient government than for the governor to have the ability to line-item veto pork-barrel spending," he said.

Although several recent bills to grant the veto have gone nowhere, Smith said that could change with new legislators.

"You have to have a legislature that wants to control spending," he said. "With the legislature we have today that's run by the liberal Democrats, that's not the case."

Previously: Richard Moore, Bill Graham support line-item veto; Beverly Perdue, Bob Orr not optimistic. 

Bob Orr is not optimistic about the legislature passing the line-item veto.

"It was hard enough to even get the veto for the governor," he told Dome. "While it sounds good in principle, I think the chance of that happening is pretty remote."

He said the governor can always use the regular veto to keep legislators from adding pork.

If the governor builds good relationships with legislators in both parties, Orr said he could keep special provisions from being added to the budget in the first place.

He also questioned the commitment of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Richard Moore to making the budget process more open during an election year.

"During the budget process, you never hear from those folks," he said.

Earlier: Moore, Bill Graham support line-item veto; Beverly Perdue not optimistic.

Bill Graham supports the line-item veto.

The Republican gubernatorial candidate said that the governor is the only statewide elected official who oversees all agencies.

"Having the line-item veto allows voters to hold one person accountable for spending," said spokesman Aaron Lay.

He said that Graham thinks that individual legislators are beholden to their individual districts and often put the value of a project in their area above the state's fiscal soundness.

"Even after getting the veto, North Carolina has one of the weaker governors in the country," Lay said. "It's a matter of empowering the governor." 

Previously: Richard Moore calls for the line-item veto; Beverly Perdue says it's unlikely.

Beverly Perdue supports a line-item veto, but she's not optimistic.

The Democratic gubernatorial candidate's staff said that she thinks it would be good for the governor to have the authority to strike specific items from the budget. But given its history in North Carolina, she does not think it would pass.

She thinks that "newer ideas" with a "record of success," such as her proposal for an outside commission propose cuts, hold more promise for budget reform, show more promise, said campaign spokesman David Kochman.

Perdue was in the state Senate in 1995 when the legislature approved putting the general veto on a statewide referendum.

A line-item veto was discussed as part of that package, but dropped as part of a compromise.

Earlier: Richard Moore calls for line-item veto.

Richard Moore opposed a line-item veto for the president.

During his 1994 run for Congress, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate told Project Vote Smart he opposed a federal line-item veto that would allow the president to strike specific items from the budget.

(Congress granted the power in 1996, but it was later struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.)

Earlier today, Moore called for a state line-item veto for the governor.

In a press release this afternoon, the campaign of his Democratic rival, Beverly Perdue, said Moore had "flip-flopped" on the issue.

Moore's campaign said his current position came from his time as treasurer.

"Over my ten years of executive branch experience, I've come to the view that the line-item veto will give the governor more accountability in the budget process," Moore said in a statement.

Bills to give the governor the line-item veto have gone nowhere.

Since 2003, four bills have been introduced that would give the governor the authority to veto specific items in the budget. 

As constitutional amendments, each of the bills would have required approval in a statewide referendum.

But none of them even made it out of committee. Two bills in 2003 were referred to House committees, as were a 2005 bill and a 2007 bill.

Except for state Rep. Pryor Gibson, a Wadesboro Democrat, the bill's backers have all been Republicans. Gov. Mike Easley has also supported line-item veto power.

North Carolina has only had the gubernatorial veto since 1997. 

Most governors can veto specific items in the state budget.

According to the National Conference on State Legislatures, 43 states have given the governor the authority to issue a line-item veto, which allows them to strike a specific budget provision without vetoing the entire bill:

This is an example of how shared budget power has evolved over time, in this case in response to a practice known as "log rolling," whereby spending to benefit special interests was included in appropriation bills to gain support for passage.

North Carolina is among the seven states that don't have the power. The others are Indiana, Maryland, Nevada, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.

Executives in American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia don't have the power either.

Earlier today, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Richard Moore called for a state referendum to give the governor the line-item veto in North Carolina.

Richard Moore called for a more open budget process.

The Democratic gubernatorial candidate proposed opening all budget meetings at the legislature and requiring at least one week to review the budget before a final vote.

He also called for giving line-item veto power on the budget to the governor with a ballot referendum.

"Significant state budget decisions are often made behind closed doors by a select group of legislators," he said in a statement. "The next governor can help end pork barrel spending with sunshine and accountability."

The state treasurer said that the two measures would help reduce pork, citing two special provisions authored by Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue.

The first, in 1996, was for a $21.3 million reserve fund for repairs and renovations. The second was a 1997 provision for $8 million for the Secretary of Cultural Resources.