The 2019 long session kicked off on a cold day in January. The majority’s budget was crafted in the warmth of spring and vetoed in the heat of summer. Fall’s beauty has taken a back seat to brief floor sessions with a paucity of votes, many ‘no vote’ sessions, a few hastily called committee meetings, stripped bills with titles that in no way reflect their contents, and several nonsensical recesses of varying lengths.
March is the mid-point of a 3 month NCGA marathon to get policy ideas fleshed out, bills drafted and sponsors lined up—all before a self-imposed legislative clock runs out.
The biennial budget dance began March 6 when Gov. Roy Cooper rolled out his proposal: $25.2 B for fiscal year (FY) 2019-20 and $25.96 for FY 2020-21, described as containing “visionary investments in education, health care and infrastructure with no tax increases”.
The General Assembly returned to Raleigh on January 30. As a result of the 2018 elections there are now 65 Republicans and 55 Democrats, breaking the Republican supermajority that had been in place since 2013. I expect a much better environment for bipartisanship, a plus for crafting good legislation. It will definitely be needed to pass controversial bills.It’s clear that two issues in particular are on everyone’s radar and will be the focus of what is predicted to be a lengthy ‘long’ session.