UPDATE: Jones and Onslow Counties - 6th District

July 1, 2010 I want to begin this week by saying, if I’ve seemed a little partisan in my last couple of updates, I apologize. Sometimes, the people in charge can make things a little frustrating. Today marks the beginning of a new fiscal year, and, we have a budget! Listed below are a few of the problems with this $20.6 billion budget. 1. It doesn’t address the $3 billion shortfall expected for next year when stimulus money and temporary taxes are due to expire 2. $175 million in additional debt without voter approval 3. Uses lottery money that was allocated for school construction to help balance the budget- a broken promise 4. $2 million for coastal wave energy research to “capture the energy of waves” Tuesday, while we were debating the budget, our State Treasurer, Janet Cowell, sent the following statement in a press release regarding a provision in the budget: “Underfunding the pension system by $310 million is a short-sighted and fiscally irresponsible way to balance the budget. Pension contributions function like credit card debt in that they are contractual obligations with compounding interest. Left unpaid, the next bill gets bigger and harder to pay. Legislators are setting themselves up for a $1.2 billion pension bill in 2011 – a year in which the projected budget shortfall is $3 billion. It is my responsibility as Treasurer to sound the warning call that we are starting down a dangerous path. I urge legislators to uphold the 69 year tradition of meeting our pension obligations lest we go the way of too many credit card debtors who find themselves in a deep hole they cannot get out of.” This is interesting because this is what we, as Republicans, have been arguing from the beginning of the budget process- that we need to look ahead to next year and make sure we’re looking out for the state’s future economic climate. Get ready for the worst train wreck the state’s ever seen next year. Bill of the week- I want to know what you think. We heard House Bill 1726, Improve Child Care Nutrition/ Activity Standards, in the Health Care committee yesterday. The bill would require that the Division of Child Care Development recommend nutritional guidelines for child care facilities. The recommendations include: Limiting or prohibiting the serving of whole milk to children two years of age or older or flavored milk to children of any age Limiting or prohibiting the serving of more than six ounces of juice per day to children of any age Limiting or prohibiting the serving of juice from a bottle Creating an exception from the rules for parents of children who have medical needs, special diets, or food allergies Is this something the state should be regulating? Senator Harry Brown