The Daily Tar HeelThursday, August 31, 19897A
7 .mpoths of dScy5omi
break legislative records
By JANNETTE PIPPIN
Staff Writer
' Controversial legislation such as a
$9 billion highway bill kept state
legislators on their toes, but it was the
seven-month session that broke the
records.
. After 215 days, the N.C. General
Assembly adjourned Aug. 12
breaking the record for the longest
session. The previous record was set
in 1983 with the House working 138
days and the Senate working 137,
according to records in the General
Assembly's library.
"It was a very trying session for a
number of reasons, but mainly it was
too long," said Rep. Joe Hackney, D
' Orange.
Highlights of the 1989 session
included a $9 billion highway trust
fund bill, a revised state income tax -code
and a merit pay proposal for
state employees.
The highway, bill, approved July
28, will finance a statewide plan for
building four-lane highways and
urban loops and paving rural dirt
roads during the next 13 12 years.
A 1-cent vehicle sales tax increase
and an additional S-cent tax on
gasoline will fund the bill.
Controversy regarding the tax
increases and a diversion of funds
kept the bill on the floor most of the
session.
Diverting $335 million from funds
for the highway plan during the first
two years will pay for teacher and
state employee raises.
"The most important piece of
legislation is the budget and the
.allocation of money," Hackney said.
"With this bill being such an
important and far-reaching one, there
was a lot of conflict over increasing
taxes and whether to use some of the
funds for pay raises."
Not everyone was satisfied with
the bill, but legislators agreed the bill
is better than nothing at all.
"It's one of the largest
appropriation bills that has been
passed since I've been in the
legislature," said Sen. A.D. Guy, D
Onslow. "I think the state will fare
well."
Besides the pay raises
accompanying the highway package,
state employees can now receive
more merit pay. On the last day of the
session, legislators gave final
approval for guidelines on a 2-percent
merit pay raise for state employees in
addition to a 4-percent salary increase
approved earlier in the session.
Also on the last day, the General
Assembly approved revisions to the
state income tax code regarding
pension tax exemptions. Revisions
allow retired state, local and federal
government employees to receive
identical $4,000 state income tax
exemptions on their pension. For the
first time, private business retirees
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will get $2,000 exemptions.
Rewriting the tax code came in
response to a recent U.S. Supreme
Court ruling that struck down a
Michigan law taxing pensions for
state and local retirees in a different
manner than federal employees were1
taxed. North Carolina had a similar
law.
In other business, the General
Assembly raised tuition at state
universities by 20 percent for state
residents and removed pork-barrel
spending from the budget. The
spending allowed legislators to use
funds for local projects in their
district.
In the final days of the session, the
governor's bid to receive veto power
failed in the House.
'The session was a success for me
personally and overall also," said
Sen. Robert Shaw, R-Guilford. "But
several items were left undone."
Debate over legislation that could
lower the legal level of intoxication in
the state from a blood-alcohol content
of 0.10 to 0.08 is being held over
until next session.
Discussion about revisions to the
state's Open Meeting Act was also
put on hold.
Mayor unopposed for fal! race
By JESSICA LANNING
Assistant City Editor
Chapel Hill Mayor Jonathan
Howes will campaign unchallenged
for his second term this fall and the
candidate said he prefers running
unopposed.
"It is less taxing I can
concentrate on my job rather than
campaign for it," Howes said",
describing the pressures that can
build up when running a
competitive campaign.
Running unopposed will also
keep expenses down and save time
needed to raise money, he said.
"I think people in this community
consider it unseemly when you
spend money when you don't need
to."
The money remaining from his
campaign two years ago, along with
additional personal funds, will be
used for newspaper and radio
advertising and other campaigning
expenses, he said.
Howes still plans to campaign
actively for votes to defeat any
possible write-in candidates and to
participate in local political forums.
Attending forums is the "standard
vehicle" for campaigning in Chapel
Hill, Howes said. He plans to attend
forums on Oct. 3 for the Alliance of
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11
Jonathon Howes
Neighborhoods and on Oct. 28 for
the League of Women Voters.
Howes said he believed there
were five major issues that will be
important in the upcoming elections.
These issues include downtown and
revitalization of that area, housing
and the homeless, transportation,
recycling and the environment, and
drugs and crime.
"These are what I consider the
most important strategic issues with
long-term significance to the town."
Anyone running for a council seat
should think about and address these
issues, he said.
First elected in 1975, Howes has
served three four-year terms on the
council and will have served in
Chapel Hill government for 16 years
at the end of his present term as
mayor.
Employed by the University in
the Department of City and
Regional Planning, Howes teaches
courses in politics and planning and
a seminar in planning and
government.
Howes said he chose to run for
re-election because he did not want
to leave some projects in midstream.
The new library, the new addition
to the municipal building and the
recycling program are some of the
projects Howes hopes to complete
during his next term as Chapel Hill
mayor.
"I think two years is a short
period of time and certainly not a
sufficient amount of time. I'd like to
spend at least two more years
working on these programs."
Watch for expanded Editorial and Sports coverage in The Daily Tar Heel
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