The Moore-Berger budget “deal” STILL sucks.
Yessirreebob.
The word is out that the cartels controlling each chamber of the General Assembly have come up with a “deal.” *Never mind that it’s been carved out behind closed doors with only a handful of folks in on the conferring. *
BIG SPENDING. The veto-proof “conservative” revolution presiding on Jones Street has apparently decided to abandon any pretense of fiscal conservatism. They’ve gone from $22.9 billion in 2017 to $25.7 billion in 2022 to a whopping $30 billion in this current “deal.” (The leftists on “the other side of the aisle” couldn’t have done it, um, “better.”). I’m sure we have to account for population growth and stuff costing more. But are we really supposed to believe there is nowhere in state government where belts can be tightened? Nowhere ???
BIG PIMPIN.’ Our “representatives” are still selling themselves to the highest bidder. Supposedly, the sleazy casino deal has been taken out of the budget – FOR NOW. Believe you me, 
it will be back at a time when so many people aren’t paying as much attention. Too much money has been passed out and passed around for this to simply “go away.”
The sleazy land grab in Guilford County – reportedly tied to the casino deal — is apparently still on.
Nominal Republican Catherine Truitt – superintendent of public instruction — has apparently persuaded the smoke-filled room boys to delay implementation of the Parents Bill of Rights until January 1, 2024. Supposedly, the current arrangement makes it too challenging to implement. The PBOR was one of those bills meant to simply codify common-freakin’- sense. Kinda like — if you have male anatomy, you need to stay the hell out of the ladies restrooms and locker rooms. It’s common sense that parents have the final say over their kids. The commies have done such a fine job of taking over our judiciary and public school systems that you’re forced to push laws like this.
Honestly, how much work is involved in hammering home the point that parents are the bosses? This is a cave to the tranny cult and Catherine Truitt’s marxist co-workers and pals. Get this delay nonsense OUT of the budget.
Legal weed has got to be still in there SOMEWHERE. In the wake of all the fuss about casinos, that’s been conspicuously sidelined. Find it, and get it out of the budget.
Snitches get Stitches. Insurance commissioner Mike Causey made the, um, “mistake” of telling someone with a badge when there was an attempt to bribe him. For that, he’s seeing some good ol’ prison yard-style retaliation. He and his staff already got booted from their office space.
Now, an item in this budget “deal” strips Causey of the title of state fire marshal. Never mind that the insurance commissioner has held that role since the 80s. Never mind that the state’s fire departments have seen drastically-improved ISO ratings under his watch. There may be a big contributor hiding in the shadows behind this. However, this is truly a case of finding a solution to a non-existent problem. In addition to being good ol’ hard-ball politics. The word we have is that senators Jim Perry, Dave Craven, Todd Johnson and Danny Britt are all behind this effort to stick it to Causey.
An ‘Express Line’ at security checkpoints? Yep. 
That’s in the budget. For $2000 per person, lobbyists can skip the lines for having their persons and bags checked at the legislature. “Liaisons” can get the same deal for merely $1000.
I wonder who gets to pocket THAT cash? How is the legislative building made safer with this move?
Legislators gain tighter controls on public information. We’re talking about quite a corruption-laden crowd here. How is this GOOD for US?
Apparently, this add to the budget allows individual lawmakers to decide whether or not their information is public. Of course, this comes from the top. (*Hmmmm … sounds like someone is worried about getting investigated sometime soon.*)
If you’re tired of the corruption – if you’re tired of big contributors and lobbyists getting their concerns put ahead of yours – it’s time time to act. Give your alleged honorables an EARFUL. Filing for the 2024 primaries starts in December. Find a few good men or women in your communities to take on the good fight. (Of course, let us know. Through our readership, you just mind some really good logistical and financial help.)
Public records;
It’s been at least 2 months since I asked for a copy of an email that was sent to one of the Chairs of the Senate Redistricting and Elections Committee.
Crickets.
It almost makes one wonder whether the crooks in charge in the Legislature have learned from Biden and his cronies the art of distraction. Put up a big fuss over medicaid expansion and casinos to keep everyone’s attention off of a lot of other crap getting slipped into the budget. When I was there, I saw early on that bills supported by “leadership” that couldn’t pass on their own got put into the budget and enough good stuff was in there to make you hard pressed to vote no on the budget, even with so much garbage in it. Thom Tillis couldn’t get his $10 million give away to victims of sterilization passed on its own; so he put it in the budget. Every time we were discussing how to fund this or that other issue, I would say, “I know where you can get ten million dollars,” and Tillis would grimace at me because he knew what I meant. So I voted no on the budget in 2013, insisting that Planned Parenthood should be made to cough up that money, not taxpayers, many of whom weren’t even paying taxes in or before 1973 and probably didn’t even know that people prior to that year had been sterilized because Planned Parenthood and the Democrat-controlled State government considered them unfit to reproduce. As for what cuts could we make in the State budget, I say cut out all targeted financial incentives and grants to business concerns. It is not right to fund those on the backs of the taxpayers, and it would free up a lot of money for better use or reduction of the total budget. But the last thing the powers that be in Raleigh care about is what is fair to the taxpayers.
The NC Republicans are taking cues from the Jersey Republicans in the mid 90’s. Forgetting their base; cutting deals with Democrats and not serving the public. At this rate they will be as relevant as the NJ Republicans have been since 2001. I lived it then and reliving it now.
Berger and Moore are throwing aside one of the most basic rules of politics – Don’t piss on your base”. In a whole series of issues, they are not only pissing but defecating on the GOP base. That is not likely to end well. We saw what happened when they pissed on the base to pander to the special interests in repealing HB2, the bathroom privacy law. That cost them the supermajority which we did not get back until a Dem switched parties this year. Their pandering to the special interests has a political price.
We desperately need new leadership in both House and Senate and not warmed over retreads from the current failed leadership.
Hoping you pick up the provision or whatever it is called, included in the NC budget, that Dare County, has to build “essential worker housing” with no regard for the town’s votes. Check out outer banks voice and outer banks today. Why would this be included in the North Carolina budget. The Dare County official, denies knowing about this. Just puzzling to me. Nags Head did study showing essential workers, EMS, teachers, ect made too much to qualify for this essential housing.
Whatley supports RINOS such as Berger, Moore, and Tillis because they raise BIG BUCKS for the GOP. It’s truly pay to play. Berger and Moore rule the General Assembly with an IRON FIST, just as Basnight did. Speaking of Dare, Looky Looky, the GA Kidwell, Goodwin, and sadly Sanderson SQUASHED LOCAL control of their County. Say What? I smell RINOs supporting the Wooda investors, not the citizens of Dare. Follow the investors and the circle is complete.
The only one of the local legislators who is on good terms with the legislative power players on the budget is Goodwin, and he represents only a small part of Dare County. Given the recent and ongoing battles Kidwell and Sanderson have had on some key issues with the leadership, those budget writers are not likely to be doing them any favors. They are more likely to be getting even over Kidwell and Sanderson not following the leadership’s marching orders. This provision was added in the Senate, not the House, but I would guess that Timmy has signed off on it. Once the train is on the track on the budget, amending it gets real hard, but every effort needs to be made. Taking zoning power away from local government on low cost housing is a national policy objective of the Democrats, and it is outrageous that this is being done in a Republican-written state budget. It shows that we have some major work to do in the primaries. But then again, Obamacare Medicaid expansion, the Green New Deal, transgender bathrooms and some other things were national policy objectives of the Democrats, too. The mess we have in Raleigh is shameful
I am not exactly sure where you got the information that “legal weed” was in the budget, but it is WRONG. Weed was the ONE thing that was never part of the budget conversation. Contrary to the popular belief cannabis companies (particularly those in the medical space-which is the only form of cannabis legalization on the table in NC, see S3) are not the big money donors that folks think they are, and they are definitely NO WHERE CLOSE to CASINO donors! I am sure some GOP activist passed along the “legal weed in the budget” narrative to you or maybe a staffer who wanted you to believe they actually knew something… Not defending the folks on Jones Street but if you want to deal in facts then deal in the actual facts vs hearsay and inuendo.