Senator Gene McLaurin
♦Last week parts of our state were affected by a major storm. One of the counties in our district, Stanly County declared a state of emergency Thursday evening and has qualified for state disaster assistance. Thousands of people in the county were without power for several days and there were downed power lines and trees throughout the area. Federal, state, and local emergency management personnel worked hard in a cooperative manner to clean up the debris and damage caused by the storm. The power crews worked around the clock to restore power. My thanks go out to all who were involved in helping Stanly County and those parts of the state that have been impacted by the storm. We live in a great state and at times like this we see so many examples of neighbors helping neighbors and trained, dedicated people helping others.
The big news in Raleigh is tax reform. I have been hearing about tax reform in NC for a number of years because our state tax code is based on a manufacturing economy and today’s economy is more service based. As a state, we need to address the best method to fairly and responsibly raise the revenue needed to pay for education, health care, human services, public safety and the other services provided by state government to our citizens. A number of well-meaning, but unsuccessful attempts have been made in the past to modernize our tax code. Governor McCrory has publicly stated he wants any tax reform to be revenue neutral so we will not have to cut more education and human service programs. The NC Senate and NC House majorities have different ideas and their tax plans shift the tax burden to local governments and non-profits, like hospitals. Many special interest groups want to make sure their members or clients are not adversely affected. All of these differences of opinion are being debated in Raleigh right now. Despite the fact that one political party is in control in Raleigh, there is much disagreement even among the majority party leadership about how to reform NC’s tax code. Things came to a head this past week when Senator Bob Rucho, the Chair of the Senate Finance Committee abruptly resigned his chairmanship and criticized the compromise plan that was being offered by his own party. He blamed some in his own party for caving in to special interests.
My objective with any tax reform plan is that it does not hurt our hard working citizens and senior citizens. We need a fair and balanced approach and we need to invest in our state to assure a quality public education and provide other needed public safety and human services that our citizens and businesses need. As it is currently written, HB 998 imposes a flat personal income tax and eliminates the corporate tax rate by 2017 with a sliding scale reduction over the next three years. This seems like a step in the right direction. However, when you look closer, this bill simply shifts the tax burden to many churches, non-profits, hospitals, senior citizens, businesses, and property owners who pay property taxes to their local governments. In addition, the bill eliminates the personal income tax deduction, standard and itemized deductions, as well as deductions on Social Security Income and other retirement income. Churches and non-profit organizations will no longer receive a sales tax refund on purchases over a certain threshold. Rural hospitals will lose their sales tax refund on purchases over a certain threshold. I have heard from every hospital in our district with concerns about House Bill 998. Of the 250 non-profits who will be affected, 90 of these are hospitals. As hospitals face many challenges over the next few years implementing healthcare reform, and providing treatment to every patient, I can understand their concern. These changes could result in the loss of healthcare jobs in our communities.
(See fiscal analysis: http://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2013/FiscalNotes/House/PDF/HFN0998v4.pdf )
Over the past few weeks, I have heard from hundreds of citizens in our district, with an overwhelming number requesting that I oppose this plan. My priorities have always been job creation, promoting education, and the health and well-being of our citizens, so I could not in good conscience support a plan that shifts the tax burden to our lower and moderate income working families and individuals. Local governments will lose several current revenue streams which could potentially force them to raise property taxes. I spoke on the Senate floor against the bill describing my 15 years’ experience as mayor and the unfairness of shifting the tax burden to those who pay property taxes. For example, to make up for lost revenue, Laurinburg would have to raise property taxes by 18.2%, Albemarle by 11.5%, Rockingham by 9.3%, Wadesboro by 4.7% and China Grove by 4%. Our county governments were still calculating the impact as I write this report but it would be substantial. I am against passing the buck to our cities, counties, churches, property owners, hospitals, non-profit organizations.
In committee work this past week we worked on Senate Bill 628: Promote and Protect NC Lumber.
As a member of the Senate Agriculture, Environment, and Natural Resources Committee, I had the opportunity to work across the aisle to help amend and pass a bill to ensure that NC lumber is promoted and given preference in the popular LEED ( Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) building program. The LEED program has been effectively designed to provide a rating system for design, construction, and operation of energy efficient buildings in the public and private sector. My Senate colleagues and I worked with representatives of the architects, concrete, steel, and lumber industries to bring about a compromise that promotes NC lumber in the LEED certification program.
On the Senate floor I explained and presented two house bills this week. One, House Bill 763 was a bill Representative Ken Goodman ( D-Richmond) and I worked on together at the request of an attorney in our district. It is a family friendly bill which gives couples who have separated an option to reconcile without voiding a previous agreement. Another bill, House Bill 396, I explained and presented at the request of the sponsor Rep. Rick Catlin ( R-New Hanover) which is an education act to help citizens better understand water quality issues with their private water wells. Both bills passed the Senate unanimously.
I had a chance to visit with the Alzheimer’s Association this week, as they came to the legislature to increase awareness of the disease and help to educate people on the signs and symptoms. They shared with us the possible causes and risk factors, warning signs, issues related to diagnosis and treatment, as well as the hope of finding a cure. This is a devastating disease that affects so many people we care about. If you would to know more or have questions about signs your family member may exhibit, please visit the following link: http://www.alz.org or call their help line at 1-800 272-3900.
As always, please reach out to me and share your concerns by calling my office at 919-733-5953 or writing to Gene.mclaurin@ncleg.net .
