There will be plenty of talk in the Triangle about health care in the coming days.

The N.C. Chamber is hosting a conference on health care on Wednesday, Sept. 30, featuring Ron Brownstein, political director for Atlantic Media Co. and a former political columnist for The Los Angeles Times.

Among those taking part in panel discussions at the Sheraton Imperial in Durham will be Bob Greczyn, president and CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, Grace Terrell, president and CEO of Cornerstone Healthcare, and and Paul Wiles, president of Novant Health.

On Tuesday, Sept. 29, N.C. Policy Watch is bringing in Wendell Potter, a former health care insurance industry executive who is critical of industry efforts to block health care reform. He will speak at the Marbles Kids Museum at lunch time.

While he won't just be talking about only health care, journalist Michael Barone is expected to dissect the agenda of President Barack Obama for the John Locke Foundation at a lunch on Wednesday, Oct. 7, at the North Raleigh Hilton.

Barone is a contributor for Fox News and a senior political writer for the Washington Examiner.

Among the many taxes that didn't make the compromise proposal under consideration today was a plan to seal corporate loopholes.

Combined reporting is when a business with operations in multiple states has to report its income from all operations, making it harder to conceal actual profits. The Department of Revenue now has the power to demand combined reporting in specific cases. A House proposal would have required it for all.  

The North Carolina Chamber, a business lobby, opposes combined reporting, Lynn Bonner reports. Adopting such a tax policy would put the state at a disadvantage with other southeastern states, which do not require it, said Sherry Melton, the organization's spokeswoman.

"It doesn't make a lot of sense to do something that would negatively impact the business environment," she said.

Legislative analysts predicted requiring combined reporting would have raised $18.5 million this year and $43 million next year. 

Phil Kirk, who has done just about every job in Raleigh except run the Zamboni machine at Carolina Hurricanes games, has a new job.

Kirk will go to work in July for Brady Services Inc., an energy services company specializing in heating, air conditioning and energy efficient buildings in Morrisville, reports Rob Christensen. He will work as new business development/corporate marketing leader for the company’s energy services group.

Kirk is a former president of the N.C. Chamber, former chairman of the N.C. State Board of Education, former state secretary of Health and Human Services, former chief of staff to two governors and a former state legislator.

Most recently, he was vice president for external relations at Catawba College. He currently serves as chairman of the board for the Public School Forum of North Carolina.

U.S. Sen. Richard Burr will speak at the N.C. Chamber Monday.

The Winston-Salem Republican will speak about President Barack Obama's energy plan and how it might fare in Congress at the group's third annual manufacturing summit.

The event will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Sheraton hotel in Greensboro. Burr will be at the event from 10 to 11 a.m.

Garrett Perdue has been spotted again. 

The son of Gov. Beverly Perdue was seen Wednesday at the 19th annual "Rush the Growler" party sponsored by the N.C. Beer & Wine Wholesalers Association.

The event is well attended by legislators, former legislators, staffers and lobbyists at the association's headquarters on Person Street behind the Governor's mansion.

What is "Rush the Growler"? During Prohibition, the "growler" was the jug or pail where they put the moonshine. When the person carrying the growler showed up at the party, it was rushed by the crowd.

Garrett Perdue is a lobbyist with Womble Carlyle, the state's largest law firm. Although he's been seen at the legislature and the N.C. Chamber's annual meeting, he and his firm have said he does not engage in state lobbying.

The movement to overhaul North Carolina's 1930's era tax structure gained critical support Tuesday, when a committee of business leaders said it bakced lowering income taxes, but requiring that personal services be taxed.

The bipartisan committee called for lowering the highest marginal rates on corporate and personal income taxes, saying it would make the Tar Heel state more competitive in recruiting new businesses, Rob Christensen reports.

But it also proposed broadening the sales tax to include services that are now exempt — from lawn services to lawyers.

"We want it to be pro business," said John McNairy, president of Tidewater Transit Co. Inc. and co-chairman of the committee said a news conference at a downtown hotel.

The recommendations of the 20-member committee comes at a time when the state legislature is giving a serious look at changing the tax system and facing a $2 biillion plus shortfall this year and a $3 billion shortfall next year.

More after the jump.

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* Gov. Beverly Perdue bets Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire over the Sweet Sixteen game between Carolina and Gonzaga tonight.

* Perdue will speak at the N.C. Chamber's annual meeting on Tuesday, just after former Gov. Mike Easley receives an award from the group.

* CNN anchor Anderson Cooper will give an afternoon lecture on the campus of Elon University on Tuesday, April 7.

* Former Solicitor General Walter Dellinger remembers his friend, historian John Hope Franklin, in the pages of the Washington Post.

* Gov. Beverly Perdue proposed eliminating 1,411 positions, of which 444 are vacant now. Of the other 967, 619 would be reassigned.

* Liberal health care advocate Adam Searing says the budget includes "a serious effort to protect critical health services," gives a run down.

* N.C. Chamber head Lew Ebert likes spending on K-12 education and workforce training, small business tax relief and lack of broad-based tax hikes.

* Anti-tax Americans for Prosperity's state chapter, not surprisingly, doesn't like proposed increases on alcohol and tobacco taxes and licensing fees.

Conservative consultant Frank Luntz will speak in Raleigh Tuesday.

An author and pollster, Luntz will be the keynote speaker at the N.C. Chamber's second annual Government Affairs Conference, which will be held at the Raleigh Convention Center.

He'll speak at a 12:30 p.m. lunch for registered attendees.

Other speakers include Senate leader Marc Basnight, Speaker Joe Hackney, Senate Republican leader Phil Berger, House Republican Leader Paul Stam and Chamber head Lew Ebert.

Breakout sessions will focus on environmental rulemaking in North Carolina, pro-growth tax policies, trends in worker compensation, and potential labor and employment law changes.  

Tickets to the conference are sold out.

While labor made gains in North Carolina this year, big business got a little less organized.

At the same time that the SEIU and SEANC were playing a stronger role in state elections, the biggest advocacy group for corporate interests essentially disbanded.

But John Davis, the former head of N.C. FREE, said that doesn't mean business is any less powerful.

"Business still has the upper hand in this state," said Davis, now an independent consultant. "I think what you're seeing with labor is the beginnings of them becoming a serious player in North Carolina. They're a serious player at the state legislative level, but I think you're going to see them grow exponentially."

As head of N.C. FREE for 23 years, Davis said he didn't see labor spending begin in earnest here until the 2004 and 2006 elections, in part because of the growing role of so-called 527 groups, which can run independent political campaigns.

He cited SEIU's contributions to FairJudges.net in 2006 and to the Alliance for North Carolina this year as evidence of their growing role. While N.C. FREE is not around to represent business interests, he said groups like the N.C. Chamber may play a larger role, as will ad hoc groups like the one that opposed the transfer tax.

"I don't expect business to do anything but man up to labor," he said. "They have the resources to do battle politically, and they'll find some way to do it."