WEEKLY LEGISLATIVE SUMMARY
? , ' . "? " ! ' . ' .5;.; . ? *;? y.
By The Institute of Government
NOTE: This Is the lixth of o
series of weekly, summaries pre
pared by the legislative stall of
the Institute of Government on
tb? work of the North Carolina
General Assembly of 19S3. It is
confined to discussions of mat
ters of general interest and ma
jor importance.
The General Assembly waited
for the Governor's budget mes
sage during this seventh legisla
tive week and turned for diver
sion to other subjects, such a*
girls' basketball, automobile rac
ing, and roasted oysters. Pamlico
County officials and the state pri
son were hosts on Wednesday to
legislators and other guests at an
oyster roast at the prison; Wake
County citizens turned out in
force on Thursday to oppose leg
islation which would permit Sun
day automobile races at the
Southland Speedway;- and both
houses agreed on Friday that a
regulation of the State Board of
Education prohibiting girls' bas
ketball teams from participating
in tournaments outside fheir
home counties was impiactlcal,
no matter how laudable the ob
jective .(Item: the regulation was
overruled).
The Governor continued to con
ler with legislators in the man
sion throughout the week while
his budget message was being
ironed out for Tuesday delivery.
In the meantime it was becoming
evident that much important leg
eolation, including the legislative
programs of several state depart
ments. was being held up, possl
bh pending approval by the chief
executive
The rate of bill introduction is
ahead of 1951 in the House,
slightly behind in the Senate. If
legislation of- state-wide interest
is slow reaching the eapitol, it
can be said that local liegislation
is picking up. Through Friday 266
local bills had been introduced as
compared with 191 at the same
time last session. Speculation
next week will center on the Se
nate. which now has a rule pro
hibiting the introduction of local
bills after March 1. To date 5P
local bills have been introduced
in the Senate, In comparison with
over 250 for the entire session In
1951.
Appropriations
Since January 21 ^he 89-mern
bcr joint appropriations commit
tee has been sitting three after
noons each week to hear depart
ments, institutions, and agencies
explain why they should get a big.
ger slice of the pie. By Wednes
day, February IS, all had been
head. Total requests over and a
hove the $63S,000,000 in appropri
ations recommended by the Advi
sory Budget Commission reached
$145,386,074 from the General
Fund and about $118,000 from the
Highway Fund.. This total in
cludes $110,595,617 for permanent
Improvements (of which $<U?,tK)0, -
(XKi was requested for school
building purposes) and $31,790,157
for operating funds. Next week it
is expected that the Governor's
budget message will be r??ad to
the legislature on Tuesday, after
which (he appropriations com
mittees will iK'gin wielding the
paring knife. As yet no one knows
whether there will l>e a sub com
mittee appointed to make the
first draft of the ultimate biennial
money bill. That. too, may be de
cided next week
Finance
Despite implications in the $1 15
million additional appropriations
requests, some legislators con
tinue to direct their attention to
ward possible tax reductions
with emphasis this week on the
income tax. Two bills envision in
creased deductions for gifts made
by individuals to organizations
operated exclusively for religious,
charitable, literary, scientific and
educational purposes. Estimated
to reduce state revenues by $500,
000 per year. Hep. Falls' IfB 309
?would permit individuals to de
duct up to 20 per cent (instead of
only 10 per cent as now provided)
of net income for gifts and con
tributions; still greater deduc
tions would be allowed by Sen.
Shuford's SR 161 which would in
crease' allowable deductions from
10 per cent of net income to" 20
per cent of gross income for such
gins. Another bill (HB 302) would
permit deductions of commuta
tion expenses in computing tax
able net income. Designed to at
tract mining industries to the
state but with little immediate ef
? I
feet on Btate revenues anticipated
SB 144, endorsed by 18 senators,
would adopt the federal rule of
depletion allowances In permit
ting deductions for depletion of
mines, natural deposits and oil
and gas wells. To adjudicate
questions of liability for state and
local taxes a Tax Appeals Com
mission would be established un
der provisions of HB 32(5. The
Joint finance committee can be
expected to withhold final action
on all tax bills pending the Gov
ernor's budget message and final
determination on appropriations.
Education
Two more bills concerning sub
jects mentioned In the Governor's
Inaugural message were Introduc*
ed this week. SB 124 appropriates
$339,720 for each year of the bi
ennium to set up a program of
driver training and safety educa
tion in all publlfc high schools.
HB 367 attacks the school conso
lidation problem and proposes a
solution under which most of the
schools closed in recent years
could be reopened. An able sub
committee was appointed by
Chairman Maddrey of the House
education committee to consider
all consolidation bills Introduced
and draft a state-wide bill. The
subcommittee now has under con
sideration HB (Bertie) and
HB 310 (Moore), designed to per
mit reopening of closed or con
solidated schools, and will now re
ceive I1B 3H7.
Local Government
| Another proposal giving county
commissioners authority to fix
county wmployees' salaries has
reached the General Assembly,
this oncwith statements that pos
sible unconstitutional delegation
of legislative power had been a
voided by limiting county com
missioners' power to reduce or in
crease salaries to 20 per cent ptr
fiscal year. Meantime the city of
Raleigh requested annual appro
priations of $00,000 to compensate
the city for fire and police pro
tection and garbage collection for
non-taxable state property.
Judges and Court Procedure
The General Assembly has not.
forgotten our judges anil solici
tors. Bills introduced this week
would raise salaries of supreme
court Justices from $14,400 to $16,
000 (with an extra $500 for the
chief justice), superior court
Judges from $10,000 to $12,000,
superior court solicitors from
$6500 to $7150 (plus an expense
allowance increase of $150), and
emergency judges from $&) to
$100 wetkly. 1IB 163. a Judicial
Council bill endorsed by the Gov
ernor to add six additional superi
or court resident judges, passed
.second reading in the House on
Friday. Hep. Womble of Wake
objected to third reading of the
bill, stating tha.t no provision was
made to relieve the crowded doc
ket in Wake County, where it
sometimes takes five years to get
a civil case tried.
The Judicial Council (assigned
by law the duty of continuous re
search on means to improve court
procedure and administration)
has already seen two of its recom
mended bills pass both houses.
However, the General Statutes
Commission < assigned by law
the duty of continuous research
to revise and 'correct the statu
tory law) has seen four of its
bills reported unfavorably, al
though five of the original 17
have passed both houses and five
more have passed the Senate. .
Miscellaneous
The smooth progress of the
Governor's highway reorganiza
tion bill was jarred slightly as it
reached the floor of the House
on Thursday. A spirited, if futile,
show of opposition by Rep. Riser,
culminating in the first call for
the "ayes and noes" of the 1953
session, .was crushed as SB 88
was passed with only eight dis
senting ^uHes. The bill was rati
fied on Friday and is now law.
Another administration measure.
Hit 205. creating a commission to
study and recommend changes
in the state governmental struc
ture, was reported favorably by
House Judiciary 1, but floor con
sideration was postponed until
next Tuesday. Agriculture got in
to the "commission'* picture on
Monday when a bill was intro
duced authorizing the Governor
to appoint a seven-member com
mission to make recommenda
tions to the 1955 General Assemb
ly on locating and financing a
produce marketing center. At
GAULT 'S APPLIANCES
415 N. Piedmont Ave.
Phone 225
Connty's January
Bond Purchases
Were SS7.093.75
Sale ot United States Defense
Bonds In Cleveland County for
the month pf January 1953 total
tempts to deliver the "coup de
grace" to the ailing Ku Klux Klan
aDpeared simultaneously in both*
House and Senate on Wednesday.
HB 306 and SB 140 clamp strict
regulations on all secret societies
in the state In terms broad enough
to Include college fraternities and
the Communlat Party.
ed $57,093.75, &11 in Series E
Bonds. This sales announcement
was made today by County De
fense Bonds Chairman George
Blanton, based on the monthly
sales report from Allison James,
State Director of the U. S. De
fense Bonds Division in Greens
boro.
The total figures for North
Carolina's 100 counties were as
follows: Series E $3,820,217.50;
Series T $281,000.00; Series J & K
(combined) $442,348.00; totaling
$4,543,765.50.
County Chairman Blanton in
announcing the above sales, re
ported that they contributed to
wards, a very successful January
for Defense Bonds sales through
out the nation. In a letter to
State Defense Bonds Chairmen,
Sears Employees Get
Report On Profits
A report o t their participation
in the 1952 profits of Sears, Roe
buck and Co. made good reading
this week to 24 Sears employees
in Shelby.
With the receipt of annual in
W. Randolph Burgess, Deputy to
the Secretary of the Treasury,
make the following statement re
garding the nation's sales: "Jan
uary sales of Defense Bonds are
encouraging- To sum.oar'ze ?
sales of Defense Bonds o^. all Se
ries were 14 percent higher than
in January, 1952, and redemp
tions were 12 percent lower than
a year ago.
dividual statements, they learned
the extent to which each has
shared in the company's profits
last year as members of "The
Savings and Profit Sharing Pen
sion Fund of Sears, Roebuck and
Co. Employees."
At a meeting of fund members,
Harold Love, manager of Sears,
disclosed that this local employee
group has to its credit in the
fund 842 shares of Sears stock
plus a cash balance of $15,345.00.
Based on a year-end market value
of $60 per share for the Sears
stock, this group now has a total
investment worth $65,865.
Mr. Love said that 114,600
Sears employees throughout the
nation are members of this 37
year old fund and they now have
a total investment worth $455,
000,000. Of this total, only $74,
000,000 represents the amount de
posited into the fund by the em
ployee members from their wages
and salaries.
As the largest single stockhold
er of Sears, Roebuck and Co., the
fund now owns 25 per cent of the
company's stock, Mr. Love dis
closed.
Started back in 1916, the Sears
fund is designed to permit em
ployees to share in the company's
profits and to assist them in creat
ing a financial reserve to help
take care of their needs following
their eventual retirement" irom
business. All regular Sears em
ployees are eligible to Join th6
fund after one year with the com
pany. ^ .
Employee-members deposit five
per cent of their wages and sala
ries up to a $500 maximum depo
sit into the fund each year. Sears
annual contribution into the fund
is based on an established per
centage of its net, profit before
taxes. This sum is credited to
employee-members on a length
of-service basis.
Many contestants in the 1952
State corn contest Increased
theeir yields by use of irrigation.
SELL IT THRU THE
HEBALD
WANTAD5
aeMTtc. sax"""-'"""
OR ELECTRIC, ON THIS NEW
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1695
And Your Old Stove!
1
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$59.95 ~
wu>vn anj ^ 1 -
$S9 3S nd X#?0IVN
Va,uei9^i5K
2 Oou?>le.rw,st
Rug
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19