General Assembly On Schedule
In Beadying Stage Foi Session
(Ed. Note: This is the first of a series of weekly summaries ofj
the work of the 1949 session of the General Assembly of North j
Carolina. These summaries are not intended as a report on all i
legislation, but are confined to discussions of matters of gen
eral interest or of major importance.)^ I
Eyes which have seen the open
/ tag omS orvooDiiaUon of a good ma
ny sessions of the "General Assembly
saw nothing very unusual about the
vpening of the 1949 session. Typical
is the session 'which holds its cau
cuses on Tuesday after the fim Mon
day in January, convenes on Wed
nesday and elects its officers, meets
in joint session on Thursday to re
ceive the inaugural address of the
Governor in inaugural years, adopts
its rules 'before the week is out, re
ceives its committee appointments
early in the next week and sees the
Introduction of the appropriations
tills (the product of months of work
toy the Advisory budget Commis
sion) before the week is out ? typi
1 cal because those are the things that
: HAVE to be done before a legisla
ture can begin to conduct its regu
lar business. The 1949 legislature
has done just that. Anticipated con
tests for some of the offices in both
houses developed in only one In
stance in which J. C. Pittman won
out in the race for President pro
item at the Senate's Democratic cau
cus. Xfcrr Craige Ramsey of Rowan
was nominated for Speaker of the
House without opposition at the cau
cus of House Democrats, and both
caucuses named the? same people
who served in 1947 to their other e
Jective offices. There being only two
Republicans in the Senate and elev
. en jn the 'House, the Democrats were
naturally elected. In his inaugural
on Thursday, Governor Kerr Scott
revealed a multi-point program of
action, discussed below. Most of the
points were generally received as
forward-looking, most of them call
for the spending of more money
than has ever been spent before, and
many of them are from the stand
, point of many legislators, controver
Rial. The rules adopted by the Sen
ale represent no major changes from
the 1947 rules. Since 1941 the House
hUs had the so-called "gag 'rule")
governing the removal of a bill from
a committee and the adoption of a
minority report of a committee.
Whether the House rules adopted
this year making changes in this]
respect represent significant chang
es is a matter on which reasonable |
men have tflready differed. Mon
day's committee appointments plac
ed experienced men in the chair
manship of the committees which,
in view of existing commitments
and circumstances, seem to consti
tute the more important commit
tees for this session. These commit
tees, with their chairmen, are as fol
lows: Appropriations ? -Pate, Sen
ate, Taylor of Wayne, House; Fi
nance ? Hankin, Senate, Moore, |
House; Education ? PJttman, Sen
ate, Edwards of Greene, House;
Roads ? Ward, Senate, Hatch,
House, Propositions and Grievances!
? Vann, Senate, Caveness, House.
The appropriations bills, introduced
on January 13, receive a detailed
treatment below.
Governor Scott delivered his inau
gural address on January 6, giving
precedence in his program to round
ing out the all-weather road system,
$2400 minimum salaries for teach
ers, stale aid for school building
construction, and general implemen
tation of the Medicai Care Program.
A week later the money bills em
bodying the recommendations of the
Advisory Budget Commission were
introduced. The Supplemental Ap
propriations Bill sets up $13,560,000
with which to pay teachers and
state employees a salary raise of a
bount 20 percent retroactive to No
vember 1, 1948. The Appropriations
Bill for the next biennium provides
for salary increases at the same rate
and divides the funds as follows:
1948-50
Operating the General Assembly $
The court system . ??.449
Executive & Administrative offices & agencies 8,384354
Educational institutions 11,039,970
Hospitals, orphanages and correctional
institutions 10.929,988
Teachers & employees retirement, aid io dependent child
ren & the aged, and other contributions
Pensions
Contingency & emergency fund
Support of public schools
To redeem special school ?ihniM 5 ng bonds
?Department of Agriculture
from Agriculture Fund)
Highways and public works
To pay highway bonds and interest
12,634,647
235,512
1,000,000
83,040.0571
100,788
1,142,791
56,018,279
4,037,802
523.M9
11, 401 ,227 1
1,000,000
84,481,470
243,183
1,145,091
?ass
Grand Total $189,348,253 $191,522,979
for new permanent improvement pro'
jects at srtate institutions.
Discussing the Bevenue Bill in his
budget message, the Governor not
ed that provision was made for re
duping the sales tax on farm ma
chinery to the rate oji industrial ma
chlnery, but that no provision was
made for removing the sales tax on
meals" or for adjusting Schedule "B
license tax revenue between the
state .and local governments as he
had advocated. He also drew atten
tion to the bill's proposal to' lower
corporate franchise taxes, thus cut
ting receipts $800,000 in the coming
piennium.
With these major differences ap
parent at the outset, it is reasonable
to expect considerable debate and a
roendment before the money bills
On the came day the money bills
were introduced Governor Scott
sent a special-budget message to
the Legislature carrying his com
ments on their provisions. He point
ed out that the road appropriation
for the next biennium falls far short
/of the amount needed for his pro
gram, and stated that he will pre
pare a special message on that sub
jeot. He also pointed out that the
? Appropriations Bill fails to provide
the teacher salaries and school build
ing aid advocated by the State Edu
cation Commission and endorsed in
his inaugural address.
(With the new Governor's apparent
approval, the Permanent Improve -
Bill would appropriate $27,453,282 to
finance the completion of projects
? ?autihormvl in 2947 and $44,346,952
??Of vaiue i*t fz.(*09ct \
are enacted. Opening salvos have
been fired by the introduction of f
separate bills designed to carry out
some of the Governor's recommen- ,
da t tons. On opening day two bills 1
were introduced calling for state aid
to counties for school building con
struction: HB 3 provides for the (lis- ;
tribution of $50,000,000 to the coun- .
ties by the State Board of Education, I
35 percent on the basis of school
membership and 65 percent on a
need-ability to pay'formula; HB 4
would distribute $40,000,000 for sim t
ilar purposes under regulations to ?
be worked out later this session: |
This week three identical bills werei
Introduced undertaking to fix tea
cher, principal an dsuperintendent
salaries for 1948-49 at the mini-. J.
mums recommended by the State Ed ;
ucation Commission and endorsed
by Governor Scott. Sales tax exemp
tions were asked for restaurant
meals in line with the Governor's
program (HB 8), as well as for fuel
sold to farmers for agricultural pur
poses (HB 11). HB 7 proposed a
raise in. the income tax exemption
for dependents from $200 to $600.
? A drastic form of the much-dis
cussed statewide Uquon referendum
is proposed in SB 38, under which
the voter would express himself on
whether beer, wine and 'liquor would
be banned in every coOnty or whe
ther its sale and manufacture 1
should be introduced into every
county, ending local option in any
event. Other bills would: repeal the
mo?- >r vehicle inspection law, laun
ch tfte State on a program of gener
al assistance to the needy, and re
[ quire administrative boards to file !
certain regulations with the General
('Assembly.
STAMP PADS
Carter Size O
GUARANTEED
FOR
impressions
160,400
30c per pad
HERALD
Publishing House
Phone 167 and 283
Over $3,3SS.SW Paid
Stole In Bmi Taxes
Raleigh ? Beer excise and 11/
cense taxes collected by the State :
In 1948 totaled $5,368,517.46, figures
ob<ained> from the State Department {
of Revenue' revealed today. ,
The total does not include sales
taxes paid on beer or beer license
taxes paid. to local and Federal a
gencies. .
Half of the excise taxes collected
by the State on beer are distributed
anually to counties and municipal- j
ities in which beer sales are llcen- i
sed. The beer tax year ends each j|
September 30. Local governments re |J
ceived a total of $2,959,665.86 as j'
their share of the tax for the year !
ending last September 3u. I
In December, the State collected
$339,928 in beer taxes.
MOM SOUP TO DESSERT
GcmrmmETM/u
i > n * *_.*?'? ?'?'? *???. ? *?' *V -v..-".
A *Um of OOLDtN GUIRNWT
.Milk la a healthful count in
itaelL Yet GOLDEN GUEKNSEY
>? tlto Ideal for uk Id cream
aoupt . . . gravid ... other
cooked diahes. Yoo .can even
make delightful whipped cream
from rich GOLDBN OUBWfct
?op milk I Here's how:
Let GOLDEN GUERNSEY Pop
mi Ui stand 24 heart. Ckill Nno . I
howT> in freezing tray. ChtU '
bawl and beater. Whip!
Archdale F crrnts
Phone 24(5
? ? ? wmmmmmmmmmmmmm
WANT A
NEW
CAR?
*"f .Y
? < ' '.. ? ?'
Let Us Help You
' . .V
between WANTING a new
car and HAVING one.
Ark about our low-cost auto loan
plan that assures borrowers of
all-around satisfaction.
First National Bank
Member ? D I C
Typewriter Ribbons? Phones 167-283
y*?' ?" tatwyto Ik. f ,w All.. Sho* Svrt.y (minis- NBC N?te?t.
iJtfM k tk# l?i< TMm tn4s > liMip CBS Mawli Sm yo?f M*nfip? b tim. and sUOm
PHONE 138
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