Senator Gene McLaurin
♦The NC Senate budget has been released this week. We will have discussions and deliberations in our committees on the
state budget proposal as put forth by the Senate leadership and will likely have floor debate on Wednesday and Thursday of this week. After the Senate approves a budget, it will be sent to the House of Representatives for their consideration. My priorities will be education, job creation, a fair and balanced tax reform plan, and ways we can make North Carolina government more efficient. The state budget is about people-their jobs, communities, and lives. I encourage you to contact me and share your views as the budget process continues over the next few weeks.
Our history lesson this week relates to the community of Laurel Hill in Scotland County. I stopped by Laurel Fest last weekend, which is a celebration of the town’s rich history in agriculture, textiles, and transportation. Settled by Highland Scots in 1732, this unincorporated community takes great pride in gathering together at the Laurel Hill community center. This year’s annual festival celebrated the great contribution of farmers to their community. Thanks to everyone who helped organize this event which featured great food, music, and fellowship. Being in Laurel Hill reminded me of the beautiful and historic Old Laurel Hill Presbyterian Church. The church was established in 1797 which makes it one of the oldest churches in our district. General William Sherman’s Union Army traveled through this area on March 7-9, 1865 and used the church property as a camping place. Some of the Union soldiers carved their names in the steeple tower before leaving. During the Depression, the church began having an annual Ingathering (or homecoming) on the first Thursday of November and the tradition continues today. I attended last year and enjoyed great food in a special place where generations have worshipped God.
This past Saturday afternoon I stopped by the Hamlet Depot and Museums to visit with friends in the area for National Train Day. In Main Street Park, local leaders held a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the newly refurbished locomotive and caboose. This was a great example of partnership between the State of NC through the Department of Transportation, City of Hamlet, and local citizens. I encourage everyone to visit and learn about the importance of railroads to our past, present, and future.
Monday night nine high school juniors and seniors from the Scotland Junior Leadership program visited the legislature. The program is sponsored by the Laurinburg/Scotland Chamber of Commerce. The Junior Leaders toured the legislative buildings, sat in on session in both the Senate and House where they were recognized, and have dinner with Representative Ken Goodman and myself. During our pizza dinner I explained a little about how the legislature works, important bills we are now discussing, and answered many of their questions. I asked the students how they would vote on some of the controversial bills and we talked about the arguments from both sides of these issues.
Mr. Tom Ramseur, President of the Stanly Chamber of Commerce and Mr. Bill Lawhon, Chairman of the Board of the Chamber traveled to Raleigh and brought with them a group of over 45 Stanly County business and community leaders. We met on Wednesday, May 15, for several hours to discuss the legislative session and the various policy proposals being debated. I spoke to the group, along with Representative Justin Burr, Speaker Thom Tillis, President Pro Tempore-Senator Phil Berger, and Lieutenant Governor Dan Forest. I was proud to have this group of successful, concerned, engaged individuals here in Raleigh to observe the legislative process and share their thoughts and concerns with us. Following our meeting, the group was recognized by the Senate body as was their President Tom Ramseur who will retire later this year after a distinguished career in business, community service, and in chamber leadership.
An update and explanation of two bills we debated this week:
SB 127: Creation of Prosperity Zones / Abolishing Regional Economic Development Partnerships
It is troubling that we have already heard of a proposal in the Governor’s proposed budget to completely cut all state funding from the NC Rural Center and from the Golden Leaf Foundation. Both of these programs have provided critically needed funding in rural cities and towns to repair water and sewer systems and help communities to develop new jobs and promote economic growth. Senate Bill 127 was debated on the Senate floor this past week. I opposed this measure, because I believe that rural communities across our state rely heavily on our regional economic development partnerships to create and foster a sustainable job market unique to the communities they serve. SB 127 abolishes state funding for the regional partnerships. The Department of Commerce in Raleigh would theoretically take on this responsibility. The same legislation then creates 8 new economic development regions in the state and requires liaisons from the Department of Commerce to fulfill the current functions of the partnerships. I met with Secretary Sharon Decker this past week at a meeting of the Agriculture and Rural Caucus within the Senate where she discussed her plan to reorganize the Department of Commerce and the state’s various economic development functions. While I am concerned for our rural communities because I feel economic development begins at the local community level and this action limits the influence of local, rural communities, I pledged to work with Secretary Decker to help her better understand the unique needs of our district.
SB 236: Counties Responsible for School Construction
This bill passed the Senate this week by a vote of 25-23. I dissented in my vote on SB 236 because I simply see no reason to take control of school property and school construction away from our local school boards and give it to county commissioners at this time. By taking this authority away from school boards, we are taking away a good example of checks and balances on the local government level. I feel that our school boards in Anson, Richmond, Rowan, Stanly, and Scotland Counties have handled this responsibility well and should continue to maintain and build our schools because the school building itself is an important part of the education of our children. Too many questions remain for me about maintenance, how the funds would be reallocated, and who would choose the location of where new schools would be built.
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 .
