Joe Hackney

Inauguration committee named

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 15:57:20 -0500

A dozen members of a state inauguration committee have been named.

The N.C. Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies will oversee the swearing-in ceremonies of Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue and other members of the Council of State, the inaugural parade and an open house at the Executive Mansion that same afternoon.

Perdue appointed New Bern law firm employee Sissy Chesnutt, former U.S. Rep. Eva Clayton of Lake Gaston and higher education administrator Jill Dinwiddie of Charlotte.

Gov. Mike Easley appointed Raleigh attorney Dee Becton Rozier, tourism development officer Kaye Myers of Fairview, and Wilmington attorney Linda Wilson.

Senate leader Marc Basnight appointed Sens. Katie Dorsett of Greensboro, Vern Malone of Raleigh and Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand of Fayetteville.

And House Speaker Joe Hackney appointed Reps. Linda Coleman of Knightdale, Margaret Highsmith Dickson of Fayetteville and Alice Underhill of New Bern.

Basnight, Hackney and the 10 newly elected members of the Council of State will also serve as non-voting members.

Correction: An earlier version of this post misstated Chesnutt's job.

Harry and David pay taxes after all

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 10:43:59 -0500

As it turns out, Harry and David do pay tax in North Carolina.

Earlier this week, we at Dome used the Oregon retailer as an example of a catalog-and-Internet outlet that does not pay North Carolina sales taxes. (House Speaker Joe Hackney is asking Congress to fix that loophole to bring in more state revenue.)

Bad example.

Under state law, if an out-of-state retailer has a physical presence somewhere in North Carolina, then their Internet and phone sales must include the state's use tax, which is essentially the same as the sales tax.

"We have actual stores in North Carolina," said Anita Espino, sales tax manager for Harry and David.

She wanted to make sure any holiday shoppers weren't surprised or upset when they're charged North Carolina taxes while visiting the company's Web site.

Dome would like to apologize and encourage our readers to consider buying a basket of their Royal Riviera Pears as a Christmas or Hannukah gift this year.

It's only $29.95 — plus taxes, of course.

Stein ready for grunt work

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 14:21:45 -0500

Josh Stein says he's gotten some good advice.

Taking a break from a two-day orientation for new legislators, the state senator-elect told Dome that leaders such as Speaker Joe Hackney, Senate president Marc Basnight and Lt. Gov.-elect Walter Dalton have told him and others to work hard.

"Be civil. Get to know your colleagues," he said. "Hackney said that occasionally partisan issues come up, but the bulk of the work here is what makes most sense. ... It's not particularly glamorous. Most of legislating is pretty much grunt work."

Stein, a Raleigh Democrat taking the seat of Treasurer-elect Janet Cowell, said he plans to focus on transportation issues with a focus on mass transit and improving health care and education.

In the meantime, he has a more prosaic concern.

"I'm trying to figure out how to sync my Blackberry to a PC and a Mac at the same time," he said.

Freshmen learn the ropes on Jones St.

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 13:46:37 -0500

Freshman legislators are learning the ropes today and tomorrow.

During a two-day orientation, five newly elected state senators and a number of new representatives are learning how to make their way through the General Assembly, literally and figuratively.

Sen.-elect Don Vaughan said the group has heard welcome speeches from Speaker Joe Hackney and Senate leader Marc Basnight, but the more critical information has been about logistics.

"Everybody's pretty green, and there are a lot of questions about how to get around the legislative building, where the Senate floor is, how many seats are in the Senate — basic types of things," he said.

Vaughan, a seven-term member of the Greensboro City Council and longtime lawyer, said the bill-writing part is not new to him, though he was interested to learn about the legislative Web site and get tips from state capital police about emergency procedures.

He said he also wants to do well in the former seat of U.S. Sen.-elect Kay Hagan.

"They are certainly big shoes to fill," he said. "Kay Hagan has been an outstanding member here for 10 years, so I'm here to learn and hit the ground running."

New legislators will have a second orientation on Jan. 7-8 at the School of Government at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Related: Basnight tells freshmen special interests are "in every shadow, in every corner."

Perdue paying her own way to Philly

ryanteaguebeckwith — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 13:29:29 -0500

Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue is not using state money to meet with Barack Obama.

A spokesman for the governor-elect said she will be traveling to Philadelphia on a chartered plane paid for by her campaign account.

Perdue will join a meeting of the nation's governors with the president-elect and vice president-elect Joe Biden to talk about the economic crisis.

The 10 a.m. meeting tomorrow is sponsored by the National Governors Association. Perdue and other newly elected or incumbent governors will argue for a federal-state partnership to boost the economy.

North Carolina could face a state budget shortfall of as much as $3 billion next year, according to a Perdue press release.

House Speaker Joe Hackney joined a press conference co-sponsored by the National Governors Association on the same topic in Washington today.

Taxing the Internet

ryanteaguebeckwith — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 13:21:14 -0500

Taxing the Internet

"It's a tax that is already on the books, so it is not a new tax."

— House Speaker Joe Hackney, arguing for Congress to allow states to collect sales tax on items sold to North Carolinians through catalogs or over the Internet, after a press conference on Dec. 1, 2008.

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Should sales tax extend across state lines?

ryanteaguebeckwith — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 13:07:26 -0500

Should Harry and David pay taxes in North Carolina?

Right now, if you order a gourmet gift basket as a holiday present over the Internet or through a catalog from the Oregon-based retailer or other out-of-state companies, you don't pay North Carolina sales tax.

House Speaker Joe Hackney would like to change that.

Since the late 1990s, North Carolina and other states have worked to streamline their sales taxes — often a hodgepodge of different rules and confusing legal language — into a more uniform system.

(Dome readers may recall this was the reason for the 2003 soda tax hike.)

More uniform rules would make it easier for states to collect sales taxes from transactions handled in other states. But since the tax collection would go across state lines, it needs Congressional approval.

Hackney said he will talk to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi this afternoon about granting states the rights to interstate sales tax collection. He said it would bring in an additional $400 to $500 million a year for North Carolina's state budget, especially helpful given the current budget crunch.

"It's a tax that is already on the books, so it is not a new tax," he said. "It's just collecting the one that's there."

Correction: Harry and David pay taxes in North Carolina after all. See a complete explanation here.

Hackney: Stimulus would help N.C.

ryanteaguebeckwith — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 12:51:06 -0500

Joe Hackney says federal stimulus would boost the North Carolina economy.

The speaker of the N.C. House of Representatives argued at a press conference in Washington, D.C., this morning that billions in spending on infrastructure projects, social welfare programs and renewable energy projects would keep the economic situation from worsening.

"We are doing the best we can to cope with our fiscal situation," he said. "Now it's time for Congress and our next administration to support our state efforts."

As current president of the National Conference of State Legislatures, Hackney was also scheduled to speak with U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi by phone this afternoon. He sent a letter to President-elect Barack Obama last month requesting more funding for states.

The National Governors Association has identified $136 billion in specific transportation projects it says could be ready to begin if funding is approved by Congress.

Hackney would not identify specific projects in North Carolina, though he said that replacing the Yadkin River Bridge, extending urban highway loops and improving mass transit systems would likely be included.

"I think every state has a list of ready-to-go projects, but it serves no useful purpose to run that out today," he said.

Hackney asks Obama for stimulus money

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 10:08:18 -0500

Joe Hackney is hitting Barack Obama up for money.

The speaker of the state House wrote a Nov. 12 letter to the incoming president asking for an economic stimulus package to include funding for states.

"As you know, 49 states have requirements to balance their budgets each year," he wrote. "During uncertain economic times, the decisions that state legislatures and governors have to make to keep their budgets balanced — cutting spending, raising taxes or both — can have the pro-cyclical affect of deepening and prolonging any slump."

The letter outlines options for a stimulus package that would include increased spending on repairing and replacing infrastructure, boosting Medicaid, food stamps and other social welfare programs, and changing sales and use tax collection.

The letter was sent on behalf of the National Conference of State Legislatures, where Hackney is currently serving as president.

NCAE gave $267k in '08 races

ryanteaguebeckwith — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 11:40:03 -0500

The N.C. Association of Educators gave $267,230 to state candidates this year.

The state teachers association contributed $129,230 to 84 candidates for state House, $94,850 to 39 candidates for state Senate and $20,000 to six statewide candidates.

It also gave to heavily to Democratic committees: $23,000 to the Democratic House committee, $22,150 to the N.C. Democratic Party and $22,000 to the Democratic Senate committee.

A smaller amount went to GOP groups: $1,500 to the Republican House committee, $1,000 to the Republican Women's Caucus and $500 to the Republican Senate committee.

Half the money went to incumbents. Sixteen of the 18 candidates who were challengers to an incumbent were Democrats. One-hundred and eleven Democrats and 18 Republicans received money.

The largest recipients were House Speaker Joe Hackney ($7,500), Senate leader Marc Basnight ($6,500), Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue ($6,500) and Sens. Vern Malone and Martin Nesbitt ($4,500 each).

Attorney General Roy Cooper, Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, Labor Commissioner candidate Mary Fant Donnan received money, as did David Young, who ran in the Democratic primary for state treasurer, and Eddie Davis, the NCAE head who ran in the primary for superintendent of public instruction.