SENATOR JERRY TILLMAN SENATE MAJORITY WHIP

SENATE UPDATE
July 21 , 2011 Symbolic Gesture Recently President Obama said passing a balanced budget amendment would be a symbolic gesture. Mr. President, it is sad indeed that American families and businesses dont have the luxury of symbolic budgets. The budgets Im familiar with are serious not symbolic Public Financing of Political Campaigns Ive never favored public financing of political campaigns. Never have Never will. Thomas Jefferson said this about using public funds to further political ideas (campaigns), To compel a man to furnish funds for the propagation of ideas he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical. How can anyone say it any better than that? You tell me Judge Manning Another Decree Judge Manning ruled last week that the state cannot deny poor children access to state run prek programs for four year olds. Several questions arise from Judge Mannings rulings: Does the state constitutional requirement of a free public education system apply to pre-kindergarten programs? Not to most of the people Ive heard from. What do you think? If someone starts a program for 2 and 3 year olds will the state also be required to offer it free of charge? Since the state does not have the resources to offer both More at Four and Smart Start (free), how do the taxpayers pay for it? Should those who pay taxes and dont want the services have to finance it all? What is wrong with those receiving the services paying what they can afford on a

sliding scale? What happens when we dont have the space and/or qualified teachers to accommodate every child?

Aside from the very basic questions above, consider the following: The State budget is completed and began July 1st, three weeks ago. School will begin in a few more weeks. Who will determine who gets in and who doesnt since Judge Manning says take everyone? Why cant Judge Manning wait and see how our legislative plan works or at least give enough time to make some adjustments.

Maybe Judge Manning should run for the legislature, it seems like he would rather legislate than adjudicate. We will see Merging Small Community Colleges This is a bad idea embraced by a few who only understand numbers. I will oppose this attempt to merge 22 of our smaller community colleges in order to save $5 million. The savings would be a pittance in a $20 billion dollar budget. This idea is penny wise, but pound foolish. The loss of identity, loss of local control, and the loss of local funding would do irreparable harm. Economic development centered around local community colleges would be lost. Programs tailored to local community needs would be lost and forgotten. I could go on and on. For the sake of brevity, I wont. I cannot foresee the time the legislature will buy this short-sighted and ill-advised plan. Not if I can help it Redistricting Maps Released Redistricting maps are now out. Committee meetings will be held this week (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday). Redistricting information is available on the N.C. General Assembly website. For updates click Here. Click on the links below to view the latest redistricting maps: U.S. Congressional Districts N.C. Senate Districts

N.C. House Districts Civitas Poll: Obama Sees 14 Point Drop in Job Approval Rating Raleigh, N.C. Since May, President Barack Obama has experienced a 14 point shift to the negative in his job approval rating among North Carolina voters, according to a new poll released by the Civitas Institute. The poll also revealed that voters continue to hold an unfavorable opinion of Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue. Forty-four percent of voters polled said they approve of the job that Barack Obama is doing as President of the United States. Fifty-two percent said they disapprove and four percent said they are undecided or do not know. This is a 14 point swing since a May 2011 Civitas poll when Obamas job approval rating stood at 51 percent approve 45 percent disapprove. Analyzing party registration, Democratic voters overall approve of Obamas performance (72 percent approve 25 percent disapprove). In contrast, Republicans largely disapprove of his performance by an 87 percent to 11 percent margin along with 60 percent of unaffiliated voters. This is the largest swing we have seen in the presidents job approval and could be another sign that Obamas support in North Carolina is waning, said Civitas Institute President Francis De Luca. Texas Republican Gov. Rick Perry leads Barack Obama 45 percent to 42 percent among North Carolina voters in a potential presidential matchup, according to a new poll released by the Civitas Institute. Forty-five percent of voters said they are leaning towards or would vote for Gov. Rick Perry if the election for President of the United States was being held today and the candidates were Perry, the Republican, and Barack Obama, the Democrat. Forty-two percent said they are leaning towards or would vote for Obama, and 9 percent said they are undecided. For the President to be trailing an unannounced candidate in a state he barely won in 2012 has to be concerning for the Obama team, said Civitas Institute President Francis De Luca. If Obama is hoping to catch lightning again and win North Carolina, he is going to have to hope for a weaker opponent than Gov. Perry or a big bounce from having the Democratic National Convention here next year. Promises Kept Governor Perdue and legislative Democrats drove this state to the edge of a $2.5 billion cliff. When we got here in January, it was worse than we could have imagined record deficits, maxed out debt limit, the highest taxes in the Southeast, high school

graduation rates ranked near the bottom nationally, and unemployment near 10 percent. We brought it back from the brink. We cleaned up their mess. We did what we said we would do. As promised, we made enormous progress getting government to live within its means, reforming public education, and enabling the private sector to create jobs and lead our economy out of the recession. And we did it all in one of the most efficient and productive legislative sessions in modern history. It was the quickest adjournment (87 legislative days) in a long session in nearly four decades (1973). It happened in the face of shameful rhetoric from those clinging to the tax-and-spend status quo.

A few of the major accomplishments: Jobs/Economy We balanced a $19.7 billion bipartisan budget that fills a $2.5 billion deficit, cuts taxes, reduces government spending by $1 billion, and reforms public education despite a reckless, politically-motivated veto from the governor. The budget ends a temporary sales tax hike worth nearly $1 billion. Gov. Perdue and her Democratic colleagues raised the taxes in the peak of the recession and promised they would end this year, but they fought to keep anyway. The budget also ends Democrats temporary income tax surcharge and enacts a $50,000 income exemption for job-creating businesses. All told, our tax reforms will return more than $1 billion to the private economy, where the resolve and creativity of our states citizens and businesses will turn that money into lasting new jobs. Economists say our actions could create 15,000 jobs in the short term, and thousands more in the future. The medical malpractice and other tort reforms we approved will help North Carolina lure medical jobs and make health care coverage cheaper and more accessible for everyone. The current lottery-like system lets trial lawyers win big while doctors flee to other states where they can practice medicine without fear of frivolous lawsuits. North Carolina doctors practice defensive medicine, and often must order unnecessary tests and procedures to avoid being sued. That enormous added cost is passed on to taxpayers in the form of higher insurance rates and taxpayer-funded medical programs for the poor. Its one of the highest costs of health care, and these reforms help fix a broken system. We passed sweeping changes to the states regulatory environment that will simplify outdated rules and regulations. More than 15,000 new or amended regulations have hit

the books over the past decade. Many are complex, confusing, and unnecessary rules. They are imposed by unelected bureaucrats, and they cause uncertainty for the states businesses. The bill that passed the House and Senate prohibits new state regulations that are more restrictive than federal rules, and requires the state to review and eliminate burdensome regulations annually. The bipartisan regulatory reform legislation was the result of a joint committee we established shortly after session began. The committee toured the state and heard feedback from citizens, business owners and environmental activists.

Education Currently, more than 1 in 4 high school students in North Carolina do not graduate, putting us near the bottom in national graduation rankings. Many that do graduate are ill-prepared for post-secondary education, straining our community colleges and universities by requiring extensive remedial coursework. The facts are clear: our budget does more for K-12 classrooms than the governors proposed budget. But instead of merely throwing more money at a broken system, we made real changes and improvements to education. Our reforms will help more students graduate and create a more educated workforce the cornerstone of a vibrant economy. To lower class sizes in grades 1 through 3 smaller class sizes are proven to boost student achievement our budget funds 1,100 additional teachers in those grades. As promised, we eliminated the cap on the number of innovative public charter schools. The arbitrary, 100-school cap, imposed by Democrats, kept more than 20,000 families on a waiting list to enroll in a charter school. North Carolina students and families deserve more education options. As in any other important profession, we want the best teachers to rise to the top, and those struggling to improve or find new jobs. Thats why were funding development and implementation of a program that will pay teachers and state employees based on merit, not just seniority and academic credentials. Students who read at grade level by fourth grade are far more likely to graduate high school, studies show. Our budget funds a new, reading-intensive program that keeps students from advancing to fourth grade until theyre proficient.

Others We passed a hugely popular measure requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls. Studies show photo ID requirements boost voter confidence and

participation. Its a no-brainer. To keep municipalities from trouncing on the private property rights of residents, we crafted long-overdue, comprehensive annexation reform. It prevents municipalities from forcibly annexing property and saddling residents with the high costs of hooking up to municipal services. Residents often pay thousands of dollars to connect to water and sewer lines against their will. Its the first time North Carolinas annexation laws have been reformed in more than 50 years. We protected the Second Amendment rights of North Carolinians. A bill on the governors desk would further protect property owners who use a weapon in selfdefense, and expand the number of places citizens with a concealed carry permit can carry firearms. To protect North Carolinians from President Obamas overreaching federal health care law, we passed a bill early in the session that gave North Carolinians the right to opt out of the mandate to purchase health insurance. We thought North Carolinians deserved the same right the Obama administration extended to some favored corporations and Washington insiders. The governor said she would let the bill become law, and then vetoed it. Democrats say they want abortion to be safe, legal and rare. While we dont support abortion, we understand it is legal, and have passed legislation that makes it safer and, likely, rarer by requiring doctors to educate women considering abortions.

Space Shuttle Program Ends The space shuttle Atlantis touched down safely this morning, bringing the 30 year space shuttle program to an end. Ironically today is also the anniversary of Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin becoming the first men to walk on the Moon, during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. While the space shuttle program has ended, Americas spirit of discovery lives on, and will move to its next chapter. Congratulations to the men and women who have embodied this spirit, and served their country well. Quotes If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little things. Excellence is not an exception, it is a prevailing attitude. Colin Powell Leadership is not rank, priviledge, titles, or money, it is responsibility. Colin Powell

John F. Kennedy held a dinner in the White House for a group of the brightest minds in the nation at that time. He made this statement: This is perhaps the assembly of the most intelligence ever to gather at one time in the White House with the exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone. The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not. Thomas Jefferson It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world. Thomas Jefferson I predict happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them. Thomas Jefferson My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government. Thomas Jefferson Senator Jerry Tillman can be reached on Facebook Are you on Facebook? You can reach Senator Jerry Tillman by clicking this link. http://www.facebook.com/jerrywtillman Once you get to Jerrys page, just hit the like button at the top of the page and youll start getting updates during the week. If you don't have a Facebook account, you can sign up for an account so you can start getting Jerry's updates. Then tell your friends and neighbors who might want to know what Jerry is doing in Raleigh for the folks in Randolph and Montgomery counties. Again, just click: http://www.facebook.com/jerrywtillman To connect today. You Can Follow Senator Tillman on Twitter Go to http://www.twitter.com/jerrytillman and sign up to follow Senator Tillman.

SENATOR JERRY TILLMAN SENATE MAJORITY WHIP 628 Legislative Office Building Raleigh, NC 27601-2808 Phone: 919.733.5870 Fax: 919.754.3339 jerryt@ncleg.net To unsubscribe, please reply to this e-mail with unsubscribe in the subject line.