Hearing was better than e-mail

House Speaker Joe Hackney said the budget public hearing helped bring home how state spending affects people.

"There's nothing like hearing the personal stories and how the programs we fund affect them," Hackney said as the hearing wound to a close.

He said lawmakers routinely receive e-mail messages on countless subjects. But seeing people talk about the state's spending was far better.

Hackney, the House appropriation chairs and a handful of other lawmakers stayed throughout the three-hour hearing. Rep. Darren Jackson, a freshman Democrat from Raleigh said the hearing was also helpful for the audience members across the state, who got a flavor of the many directions lawmakers are pulled by constituents.

"It's a tough year," Jackson said, of the state's budget picture.

The hearing was a well-attended event that included plenty of speakers from the usual constituent and advocacy groups. But it also featured personal stories from state residents.