The Raleigh Report: February 18, 2005

Barely weeks into our legislative long session, talk of issues of concern to North Carolina Freedom Works/CSE fill the halls.

We are closely monitoring and working against efforts to increase our state’s Cigarette Tax. Although in recent sessions similar proposals have failed to move through the legislature, we believe there is now more support. We have notified representatives and senators of our concern and encouraged them to vote NO to proposals to increase North Carolina’s Cigarette Tax. We have also notified our legislators that votes to increase our state’s Cigarette Tax will likely be SCORED by Freedom Works/CSE. Many legislators have responded to the e-mail stating their continued commitment to NO NEW TAX INCREASES. We thank them for their continued commitment to the taxpayers of our state. The proposal is House Bill 286 entitled, “Increase Cigarette Tax” and was sponsored by Representatives Weiss, Justice, Womble, and Glazier. The proposal currently sits in the House Committee on Finance.

Like with the proposals to increase our state’s Cigarette Tax, there seems to be growing support in Raleigh to increase the way our state taxes alcohol. Freedom Works/CSE continues to be opposed to all so-called “Sin Tax” proposals. “Sin Taxes” represent regressive taxation and unfairly target one group of citizens.

NC Freedom Works/CSE continues to work in opposition to a State Lottery in North Carolina. House Bill 3 entitled “Local Option Education Lottery”, sponsored by Representatives Owens, Glazier, Hunter, and LaRoque, now sits in the House Committee on Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House. Instead of a statewide lottery referendum, House Bill 3 gives counties “the authority to allow the operation of a lottery in that county, to provide for state regulation of locally approved lottery operations, and to distribute to each county and the cities located in the county twenty-five percent of the net proceeds of lottery operations to the counties for school construction and to use additional funds to implement and enhance educational programs”. Freedom Works/CSE contends that a local option education lottery proposal is simply another attempt at achieving a State-Wide, State-Run Lottery in North Carolina. We will remain adamantly opposed.

Several positive proposals regarding forced annexation are on our radar screen. Senators Brock and Horton have sponsored Senate Bill 19, “Annexation Referendum”. Senate Bill 19 is “an act to restore the pre- 1959 annexation law by requiring a referendum on annexation of petition of the residents being annexed, and to allow the city to provide for a referendum on annexation”. The proposal has been referred to the Committee on Judiciary 1. We would like to thank Senators Brock and Horton for their continued commitment to personal property rights issues.

Representatives Culpepper, Williams, Alexander, Luebke, and Weiss have sponsored House Bill 236, “Federal Jurisdiction”. House Bill 236 would limit the 98-year old law giving the federal government the exclusive right to buy and use North Carolina land as it wishes. The proposal stems from the Outlying Landing Field (OLF) issue. In eastern North Carolina, the United States Navy has been condemning land from willing sellers! While passage of HB236 could come too late to help the citizens of Beaufort and Washington counties defend against the OLF government land grab, it represents a major property rights infringement and could prevent such abuses in the future. The proposal has been referred to the House Committee on Environment and Natural Resources.