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The Carolina Review: Governor Is Supporting "Dram Shop” Legislation l
ROUTINE ...North Carolina
legislators settled into their
early session routine last
week, huddling anxiously
around crowded Appropria
tions Committee and subcom
mittee meetings. Formal ses
sions for both the House and
Senate were short.
The work in earnest began
after the governor’s State of
the State address on Monday
night. In his address, the
governor had little new to say.
As expected, Gov. Hunt did
commit himself to lifting the
current salary freeze on
teachers and state
employees, and expressed
hopes for an across-the-board
increase later in the year.
In truth, with the state
revenue picture as is, the
governor couldn’t say much
more than “very little.”
“But didn’t he say it well,”
said one enthusiastic senator.
Other action centered
around the governor’s DUI
proposals. A public hearing
was held on Wednesday
revealing some dissension
over the minimum age limit
for beer purchases and the
more controversial “dram
shop” law.
The “dram shop” law
would create civil liability
against the ABC permit
holder who sells alcoholic
beverages to someone later
involved in an accident.
One senator on the
Judiciary subcommittee stu
dying the “dram shop” law
seemed convinced that some
version of it would be passed.
“The governor is for it,” he
said, “and his people assured
me outside the committee
room that whatever comes
out of our committee will be
passed.”
The senator might be only a
bit naive in his assessment of
Gov. Hunt’s ability to per
suade the lawmakers to pass
the “dram shop.”
CRACKS...Cracks are
already beginning to appear
in Gov. Hunt’s previously
outstanding lobbying record
in the General Assembly.
Legislative fiscal analyst
David Crotts helped to chisel
one crack when he testified to
a joint Appropriations Com
mittee during the week.
Crotts said the governor’s
budget forecast was over S9O
million short of other, more
realistic income projections
for the state.
A number of senators were
willing to point out privately
that the same thing happened
two years ago.
“Just remember,” said
one, “the governor’s income
projection was wrong then,
and our’s (the Assembly’s)
was right.”
As a matter of a fact, both
were wrong, but the gover
nor’s was more wrong.
By Friday, perhaps a more
serious crack had appeared
orchestrated by Senate Presi
dent Pro Tem Craig Lawing
of Charlotte.
Sen. Lawing proposed a bill
that would repeal the con
stitutional succession amend
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Automation Is Endorsed
A year-long General Ac
counting Office study en
dorses the Postal Service’s
acquisition of automated
equipment and its use for let
ter mail processing and says
the agency should proceed
with ZIP plus 4, the expanded
ZIP Code, if certain condi
tions are met.
In commenting on the GAO
report, Postmaster General
William F. Bolger says, “The
GAO has dme a thorough job
in analyzing automation and
ZIP plus 4, and they’ve con
cluded the program can result
in savings to the Postal Ser
vice and mail users.
“Expected savings are of
the magnitude that will
enable the Postal Service to
hold postal rates stable for
longer periods and are just
too great to ignore,” Bolger
adds.
He points out that while the
GAO findings raise some war
ning flags about ZIP plus 4,
they also acknowledge the
benefits of automation and
ZIP plus 4. The expanded ZIP
will allow automated equip
ment to sort letters directly to
the carrier’s route, bypassing
several processing steps.
Hie report concludes: “The
potential incremental gain to
the Postal Service in moving
from automated use of the
five-digit code to automated
use of the nine-digit code is so
great in comparison with the
incremental cost that if cer
tain conditions are met, the
move to ZIP plus 4 would be
more than justified.”
Bolger says that GAO ques
tions about equipment perfor
mance and business mailer
acceptance of ZIP plus 4 will
be satisfied, and the program
should proceed considering
the major benefits to mailers,
the public and the Postal
Service.
In 1961, Congress acted to
allow the Postal Service to
prepare for the automation of
letter mad processing, in
cluding the purchase and in
stallation of automated equip
ment, informing and wen-king
with major mailers to
prepare for ZIP plus 4, and
training postal employees. At
the same time, Congress pro
hibited the Postal Service
from implementing the ex
panded code and offering
mailers a rate discount before
October 1,1963. Congress also
asked the General Accounting
Office to study the cost effec
tiveness of the system and
report on it on December 1,
1982.
In September 1962, installa
tion of computer-driven op
tical character readers began
in mail processing facilities.
By mid-1984, plans call for
automated equipment to be
installed in 118 mail process
ing centers across the coun
voters to either keep the suc
cession amendment, repeal it
for one four-year term, or.
create a six-year term.
try. These facilities handle
75% of all outgoing and 68% of
all incoming mail.
In responding to the GAO
report, the Postmaster
General said the Postal ser
vice agreed with the report’s -
recommendation that longer
tests be conducted to ensure
optical character reader
reliability.
Bolger pointed out that the
Postal Service Board of
Governors on December 7 ap
proved a filing be made to the
independent Postal Rate
Commission for a rate incen
tive of a half-cent per piece
for mailing 500 or more First-
Class letters or cards bearing
ZIP plus 4 codes. “Our
market research indicates
that approximately 12-billion
pieces of mail-one out of
every five pieces entering the
First-Class mailstream-can
be expected to qualify for the
ZIP plus 4 rates within one
year of implementation of
that price incentive.”
The Postmaster General
says the Postal Service
recognizes GAO’s concerns
that, because the ZIP plus 4
program is voluntary,
mailers might decide not to
participate. “We have had
much experience in working
with mailers, and we believe
we understand their needs.
We realize that customers
will respond only if they see
an advantage to iheir
business,” he says.
“The mailers’ costs for con
verting to ZIP plus 4 are
minimal when compared to
the savings they can realize
through longer-term rate
stability, more accurate and
consistent mail service, and a
ZIP plus 4 usage rate dis
count,” adds the PMG.
He explains that the Postal
Service accepts GAO recom
mendations on beefing up its
technical conversion
assistance to mailers, in
cluding a program to improve
thecurrent optical character"
ability to “read” mail.
“Direct contact with business
mailers and materials to ex
plain the advantages of ZIP
plus 4 will also be expanded,”
he says.
The Postal Service
response to the report
disagrees with the
methodology GAO used that
reduced the return on invest
ment (ROI) of the program. A
major point was the treat
ment of the proposed one-half
cent rate reduction as a pro
gram cost, whereas the
Postal Service sees it as a pro
gram benefit.
“While there are always
some risks and uncertainties
in a large investment such as
ZIP plus 4, we believe they
are minimal, while the poten
tial benefits are enormous,”
says Bolger.
Sewer Grant
Is Approved
WASHINGTON-Sen. John
East, R-N.C., said this week
he was “extremely pleased”
that the Department of Hous
ing and Urban Development
has given apparent approval
for a one-million dollar grant
for water and sewer work in
the city of Manteo.
The grant, a HUD Com
muntity Development Block
.Grant administered by the
state government, will help
the city prepare for its
scheduled 1964 celebration of
the 400th anniversary of the
founding of the first American
colony on Roanoke Island.
“Sen. Helms and I have
stressed the importance of
this grant to HUD officials
several times, and we’re very
glad to see it come through,”
Blast said.
Both Sens. East and Helms
contacted HUD Secretary
Samuel R. Pierce in
November, urging him to
fund the project.
“The 400th anniversary of
the settling of Roanoke is an
important event not just for
North Carolina, but for the
whole country. It is a signifi
cant part of our heritage,”
said East.
"Subdua your appetites, and
you've conquered human
nature." Chariot Dickent
THE CHOWAN HERALD
Observers speculated tha
Lawing had the bill drawn up
. at the behest of Lt. Gov. Jim
my Green, a longtime oppo
nent of the succession amend
ment and close associate of
111 i / Y->- ■ >
Hoke Roberson, Jr.
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Lawing. Green is running for
governor and such a proposal
might be a shot in the arm for
his sagging conservative
constituency.
“Anytime you give the peo
plea choice, it can’t be bad,”
said one source in Green’s
office.
Across the parking lot in the
governor’s office, though,
Hunt aides were mapping
strategy to defeat the Lawing
proposal. The governor and
his supporters were taking
the measure perssonal since
he is the first chief Executive
to benefit from the
Thursday January|t.
amendment.
“The governor
assurances from Craig thifc
there was nothing personal,” l
said Hunt press aide Brent i
Hackney, “still, it looks bad.” ,